Photo by Meza Films

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Spring 2022

  • Guest composer for The Tower Quartet’s Spring Concert

Fall 2021

  • Peregrine Studio releases their debut EP, Next Up!

  • Peregrine Studio releases their collection of spooky tunes on their EP, Halloween.

Fall 2020

  • Peregrine Studio, a student-led record label is established at Fort Miller Middle School.

Spring 2020

Fall 2019

Spring 2019

  • Uni Music Mentors - Songwriting releases their debut album: Newcomers

  • Uni Music Mentor Composition students record their original compositions with members of the CSUN Honors Quartet.

  • Performance group receives a unanimously Superior rating for their performance at the LAUSD West District Instrumental Summit

Fall 2018

  • Uni Music Mentors receives sponsorship from performance rights organization, SESAC to cover the cost of contracting AFM Local 47 string quartet and from Composer, Paul Buckley, who graciously offered his recording studio, Tangent Recording, as our recording space.

  • Byers establishes Uni Music Mentors, a program that enables public high school students to be mentored by music industry professionals. The program features two paths: Composing and Songwriting. Byers has worked closely with program co-founders Becky Kneubuhl (Composing) and Jason Soudah (Songwriting) to bring about a high quality program for students to experience what it’s like to write and record their own music with the help of the industry’s best. Mentors for this year include  Deborah Lurie, Daniel Heath, Rebecca Kneubuhl, Layla Minoui, Anne-Kathrin Dern, Johnnie Newman, Jason Soudah, Satellite Sky, and Sydnie Brazile and Nathan ReyesSpring 2017

  • Performance group is one of 13 programs throughout LAUSD to receive the Human Relations Award for promoting diversity and equity in the classroom for their Live-To-Picture performance of the original score for Trafficked in the U.S., a documentary by Charles Vijay Kumar that focuses on two women trying to escape the life of sex trafficking in Los Angeles, CA.

Micah Byers is a composer, arranger/songwriter, and educator who learned to read music before he could read words. His career has been a smorgasbord of delightful gigs beginning in 2012 with creating an eerily delightful street-performing character named MrBeforeDawn and music directing for Circus Et Cetera. Dressed in a shabby suit, bow tie, and make-up, Byers plays toy piano and melodica simultaneously while collaborating with opera singers, jugglers, fire-dancers, and aerialists. He has taken his act to Europe, touring in over ten countries, and playing concerts for thousands at festivals. In 2016, Byers became a resident composer/arranger for Valley Chamber Ensembles, providing original music and arrangements for over 5 programs throughout their 2016-2019 seasons. He regularly writes, records, and produces songs with Lah Dah Dah Collective, write custom library music for ARKIVAL, and arranges for Hal Leonard’s ArrangeMe program.

Byers film scoring work has been played in historic theaters including The Egyptian Theatre, The Theatre at Ace Hotel (previously known as United Artists Theatre), Crest Theatre, and the Soraya (previously known as Valley Performance Arts Center) while a part of the opening program of a John Debney film music concert.

Byers is a California credentialed music educator and facilitator on the topics of curriculum and music education. He has led a series of professional developments for the Arts Education Branch and secondary VAPA teachers of Los Angeles Unified School District. In 2017, Byers established University High School’s Instrumental Music Department as one of LAUSD’s leading music programs for composing, arranging, songwriting, and recording. His program emphasizes the importance of learning from working professionals and regularly hosted guest artists for lectures, performances, interviews, masterclasses, and mentorships. Guest artists include:

Fashawn, Jeff Atmajian, Deborah Lurie, Cindy O’Connor, Tony Morales, Daniel Heath, Jason Soudah, Michael John Mollo, Rebecca Kneubuhl, Layla Minoui, Anne-Kathrin Dern, Johnnie Newman, Dmitry Rachmanov, Elena Mindlina, Jason Stoll, Will Brahm, and more.

Other program highlights include over $5,000 in student-written grants from United Talent Agency and student acceptance into competitive college music programs including CSU Northridge. He currently serves as Director of Music at the Juan Felipe Herrera Elementary STEAM school in Fresno, California. He previously served as the Director of Instrumental Music and Music Technology at University High School in Los Angeles, CA from 2017 - 2020 and Fort Miller Middle School in Fresno, CA from 2020 - 2022.

Byers’ passion for story-telling is evident in his career as a circus performer, world traveler, musician, and educator. He aims to inspire others’ creativity and help tell stories through his original music, scores, and educational programs.

Byers is a graduate from California State University, Northridge with a Bachelors of Music in film scoring and a California K-12 Single Subject Teaching Credential in Music, and California State University, Fresno with a Masters of Arts in Music Composition. Byers currently resides in Fresno with his favorite filmmaker and wife, Zoë, and their son, Benjamin.