Michael McElroy, an educator, composer, Tony and Grammy Award nominee, founder of Broadway Inspirational Voices, is “committed to interrogating the intersection of Inclusion, Diversity, Belonging, and Equity in artistic and academic spaces.” He has developed myriad ways to use the human voice as a means of exploration, community building, and celebration. In the recognition that the contributions of Johann Sundberg and Ingo Titze to our field are based on live experience with music making, Michael McElroy’s work presents a kaleidoscope of performances and performance-based projects and products informed by creativity and evidence-based voice science and pedagogy. Knowing that every hypothesis begins with a creative idea, we seek to equate the body of creative work of Michael McElroy, with the scientific achievements of nominees in other categories.

From live presentations on Broadway, to national tours, film, television, concerts, and gala events, Michael McElroy has opened new areas of thought and inquiry. His association with the most significant performers of our time such as Audra McDonald, Kelli O’Hara, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and our own 2014 Vera Award winner, Denyce Graves, places Michael McElroy at the heart of the singing world.

Michael McElroy is an authority in the field as demonstrated by the interviews he has been invited to give to evaluate and promote newly published work. His many studio recordings, podcasts, and video appearances, published works, and performances of original work place him at the forefront of professional life in several genres.

His collegiate teaching career at Howard University, New York University, and University of Michigan as well as guest presentations at University of Melbourne, and University of São Paulo – to name only a few — have brought lifelong singing strategies to diverse populations of voice users. His professional service to the field includes work at Princeton University, the Juilliard School, Columbia University, the National Musical Theater Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, the Broadway Collective online program, the Wall Street Journal network summit, the National Association of Teachers of Singing, the St. Louis Symphony, and the Broadway Inspirational Voices Outreach Program. Mr. McElroy created, developed, and led the Broadway Inspirational Voices Outreach that touched the lives of the incarcerated, the hospital bound, and the poor by curating programs based on various voice-based art forms. Michael McElroy created a YouTube series that enables diverse artists to explore and study the intersection of African American music and the music theatre genre. He is a founding member of NYC Next, a group that rebuilds New York through the creation of live pop-up events. His work earned honors from universally recognized leaders in the arts, such as the University of Michigan and Carnegie Mellon University as well as a Tony Award for Excellence in Theatre and a Legacy Award for Young Performers of America. McElroy’s work has been funded consistently through successful grant proposals to national, local, and private sources. Through the support of outside funding, Michael McElroy has been able to explore a wide variety of pedagogical and performance avenues. The results of his explorations or “experiments” inform performers, cultural and political leaders, educators, and the public.