MICHAEL NOONE was born in Sydney and studied music at the University of Sydney. A graduate of King's College, Cambridge, he has dedicated a lifetime to the study of Spanish Renaissance music. As scholar and musicologist he is frequently heard at international conferences, and is known especially for his work in the archives of El Escorial and the Cathedral of Toledo. Most excitingly, his archival researches have recently led to the discovery of many previously unknown works by such important Spanish Renaissance polyphonists as Cristobal de Morales, Francisco Guerrero, Alonso Lobo, and Gines de Boluda. His edition of these works, under the title of Codice 25 de la catedral de Toledo was published in 2003 by Editorial Alpuerto and Fundacion Caja Madrid.

He has taught at the University of Sydney, the University of New South Wales, the Canberra School of Music, Cornell University, and the University of Hong Kong. He has published widely on Spanish music, notably in his book Music and Musicians in the Escorial Liturgy under the Habsburgs, published by Rochester University Press in 1998 and now teaches at Boston College.

Michael has also made a name for himself as the conductor of a variety of ensembles in Britain, Australia, Hong Kong, the USA, and Spain. In a series of recent collaborations he has recorded eight award-winning CDs of Spanish music with the Orchestra of the Renaissance, the Song Company, and the Sydney Chamber Choir, and Ensemble Plus Ultra.

In 1999 he formed a specially fruitful relationship with the Glossa label, recording his first Glossa CD in that year. To commemorate the 400th anniversary of the death of Francisco Guerrero, Michael conducted the Orchestra of the Renaissance in this recording of the composer’s 1582 Requiem, in a liturgical reconstruction performed as it might have been at Guerrero’s own funeral in Seville Cathedral in November 1599. This was quickly followed by three more award winning recordings for Glossa in which Michael again conducted the vocal and instrumental forces of the Orchestra of the Renaissance.

In 2006, Michael Noone was honoured by His Majesty King Juan
Carlos with the Royal Toledo Foundation's medal. The coveted award
recognizes Michael's publications, performances and recordings of Spanish
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