Michael Harren is a composer, pianist, and theater maker whose work explores vulnerability, identity, and human connection through solo multimedia performance. His pieces weave personal narrative and live performance — piano, synthesizers, and electronic music built on Ableton Push — into intimate theatrical experiences. This practice was established with Tentative Armor and extended with The Animal Show, created during his residency at Tamerlaine Farm Animal Sanctuary and performed nationally. His current work, The Luminiviria Project, is an in-progress solo piece examining masculinity and technology. He has performed at Dixon Place, (le) poisson rouge, Joe’s Pub, and venues across the country. He is also the host of MikeyPod, a long-running interview podcast launched in 2005, and teaches piano in New York City.
Condition(s) & Date(s) of Treatment:
2018 Displaced fracture of the fifth metacarpal, surgically repaired with three titanium screws.
2023 Basal joint arthritis of the right thumb.
2026 Scaphoid and distal radius fractures of the right wrist.
What inspired you to start playing music?
Even as a child I loved music. My Mom and Dad listened to everything — traditional Irish folk, classical, Barry Manilow, The Beatles, Neil Diamond. I was always in chorus, and I spent hours playing my old, obnoxious chord organ. When I was around 13 my mom bought a piano for the family and the obsession really took root. I spent most of my time at that piano — teaching myself to read music and to play. When I started lessons, my teacher kept assigning me easy music that my adolescent self found too embarrassing to play. I now know she was trying to build my technique, but instead of practicing what she gave me, I just played the pop songs I wanted to play. Thinking I wasn’t practicing at all, she eventually told my Mom she didn’t want to teach me anymore, and I kept going on my own. I think about her a lot now that I teach piano myself.
Who are some of your musical inspirations?
I think the musician who has had the most direct influence on my own composition and performance style is Laurie Anderson. Her use of text, storytelling, and quirky tech performance has always grabbed my attention. I came of age in the 80s, right as synths and electronics were finding their way into music. In high school in Tyler, Texas, I used to sneak off campus at lunch, not to smoke but to spend my lunch money on 7″ singles at the record store nearby. Howard Jones, Thomas Dolby, Kate Bush, The Art of Noise were and continue to be mainstays for me. Yoko Ono, David Sylvian, Ryuichi Sakamoto…the list goes on.
What was the injury that brought you to MTF, and how did the injury affect your music?
Back in the Summer of 2018 I was walking down some basement stairs to teach a toddler music class. I had a backpack full of instruments on my back and my guitar in my hand. I slipped on my way down the stairs and caught myself with my left hand, fracturing my hand. I didn’t have health insurance at the time, so I walked around like that for about a month. I couldn’t play guitar for my teaching, and my left hand was in too much pain to play piano at all. Music is both how I make my living and how I make sense of my life, so being shut out of both instruments at once was frightening in a way that had nothing to do with money.
After about a month, a close doctor friend offered to x-ray my hand, and that’s when I realized the bone was broken and I would require surgery. Without health insurance or any savings to speak of, this was an absolutely terrifying discovery.
What was your experience with receiving care through MTF and your recovery afterward?
A friend connected me with Dr. Barron and the Musician Treatment Foundation. Before I knew it I was scheduled for surgery and on the road to recovery. A single affordable payment covered my diagnosis, surgery, and aftercare. A literal miracle.
Since then, Dr. Barron has treated my recurring basal joint arthritis and a more recent wrist fracture from falling on the ice last December. Dr. Barron and the Foundation have been life-changing for me and my music.
What’s coming up for you?
I am in the process of creating a new solo show called The Luminiviria Project. It’s a piece about masculinity, technology, and the ways we look for connection — part storytelling, part live music. Like my earlier work, I perform the whole thing myself, building the music live on piano, synths, and electronics as the story unfolds in the room. I had a work-in-progress showing at Judson Memorial Church earlier this year, and I’m continuing to develop it toward a full production.
Where can people find out more about you and your music?
My website is michaelharren.com, where you can learn about me, my music, and my podcast. I post more frequently on Patreon.