Biography

Miguel Atwood-Ferguson is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, conductor, band leader, arranger, and educator based in his hometown of Los Angeles, California.

The depth and range of Atwood-Ferguson’s work is vast, having contributed to over 600 recordings, and 2,500 live concerts. He has a rare gift and serious devotion and dedication to developing it; he effortlessly bridges diverse genres and generations of musical and cultural elements into cohesive and magical presentations. And it’s his ability to connect with music of all styles, forms and traditions that sets him apart. Miguel’s interests are many and he performs, tours and records with ensembles ranging from jazz, classical, hip-hop, electronic, avant-garde, and pop to name a few from countries all around the world. Many long years of practice and study prepared him for what is now a life of constant composing, conducting, performing, improvising, and producing.

Miguel’s formal violin lessons started at age 4, though he recalls experiencing music as early as in utero. “I experienced live music while my mom was pregnant with me when she went to weekly music nights with my dad at their friend’s house.” The child of two musical parents – his mother a special-education teacher, his father a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and accomplished recording artist – Miguel was raised in a creative environment, growing up in the famed artist district of Topanga Canyon.  With so many influences to mention, both musical and other, Miguel thinks back fondly on what he listened to growing up, “Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, opera, country music, Motown, Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley, and The Beatles . . .” Since his teenage years, Miguel listens to and finds great inspiration from, “My friends and colleagues, as well as greats such as John Coltrane, J.S. Bach, Maurice Ravel, Duke Ellington, Gil Evans, Milton Nascimento, Alice Coltrane, Egberto Gismonti, Hermeto Pascoal, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Bernard Herrmann, Henri Dutilleux, Billy Childs, Gerald Finzi, Fritz Kreisler, L. Subramaniam, Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitri Shostakovich, Béla Bartók, Zbigniew Seifert, Claude Debussy, Johannes Brahms, Igor Stravinsky, Charlie Parker, McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Thelonious Monk, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams, Woody Shaw, Eric Dolphy, Larry Young, Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, Miles Davis, Ray Charles, J Dilla, James Brown, Kenny Kirkland, Dave Holland, Unsuk Chin, Brad Mehldau, Mulgrew Miller, James Jamerson, Madlib, MF Doom, etc . . .”

Currently working on various solo, duet, ensemble, and concept records where he is the lead artist, Miguel also makes time to write and perform arrangements for a wide array of artists and bands as well as leading his groups Quartetto Fantastico, The Miguel Atwood-Ferguson Ensemble and specialized orchestral configurations. It is his goal “to build toward having an orchestra that plays music from across the globe with international musicians of Peace and Love.” All of this was set up by a career as a session violist and budding symphonic composer that started in his days as a junior high-school student at Paul Revere Middle School when The Pacific Palisades Symphony performed his ‘Serenade in D Major’. (By the age of 17, Miguel had already been the feature of segments on KCET and the Disney Channel, highlighting his incredible talents. It was clear then, that with focus and determination, Miguel would reach great heights, and when he presented his final project as a high school senior at Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences, his first viola concerto ‘In Memoriam Of Love Lost’, his path was all the brighter). He would move on from Crossroads to the University of Southern California, where he graduated with a degree in Viola Performance, and a growing resumé.

As a violist, Miguel appeared with Big Boi (Outkast) at the 2004 Kid’s Choice Awards on Nickelodeon, with Rihanna on the Jay Leno Show and at the 2007 American Music Awards, with Christina Aguilera on her 2006 MTV special ‘Back to Basics’, and with John Legend and Kirk Franklin at the 2008 BET Gospel Celebration. He also played with Shakira, Wyclef Jean and Gnarls Barkley at the 2007 Grammy Awards, with Hall & Oates on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Extra, and The Megan Mullally Show, and with Pink at the 2008 American Music Awards. In 2009, Miguel was on the season finale of ‘America’s Got Talent’, backing up Susan Boyle.  Miguel returned to CBS studios again to perform on ‘American Idol’ backing up Lana Del Rey and to Warner Bros. to perform with both Father John Misty and Mikal Cronin on The Conan O’Brien Show in 2014 and Robert Glasper in 2016. Miguel had the honor of playing violin on stage with Lady Gaga for her career breakthrough performance of The Sound of Music at the 87th Annual Oscar Awards in 2015. In 2017,  Miguel had the honor of arranging for and performing with a string quartet on the Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon for artists Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge supporting their duo group 'NxWorries.'

In orchestral settings, Miguel has joined the likes of John Williams, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Michael Tilson Thomas, Zubin Mehta, Emanuel Ax, James Galway, Sarah Chang, Feist, Roy Hargrove, Francisco Aguabella, Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, Wayne Shorter, Ray Brown, Brad Mehldau, Guru (Gang Starr), Vince Mendoza, and Henry Mancini among many others. In 2013, through a NEA grant, Miguel was commissioned to write a concerto for Flute, Viola, and Jazz Orchestra which was premiered to great acclaim. Miguel is currently working on his newest commission: ‘To Reveal The Unseen’, an original orchestral work for the symphonic jazz-pop orchestra Nu Deco Ensemble based in Miami, Florida.

As a studio musician, he has recorded for Mary J. Blige, will.i.am, Dr. Dre, Flying Lotus, Anderson .Paak, Raphael Saadiq, Kobe Bryant, Seu Jorge, Heath Ledger, Lianne La Havas, John Cale, Swizz Beatz, Eddie Murphy, No I.D., Barry Manilow, Kimbra, David Foster, Joss Stone, Bilal, Michael Bublé, Marisa Monte, Common, Randy Jackson, and on Ray Charles’ Grammy winning album ‘Genius Loves Company’.

As a featured artist, Miguel has performed and/or recorded alongside Hubert Laws, Billy Higgins, Kamasi Washington, Flying Lotus, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Shabaka Hutchings, Floating Points, Stephen ‘Thundercat’ Bruner, Erykah Badu, The Roots, Chaka Khan, Robert Glasper, Alphonse Mouzon, Airto Moreira, Buster Williams, The Cinematic Orchestra, Harvey Mason, Saul Williams, Henry Grimes, Patrice Rushen, Ndugu Chancler, Hiatus Kaiyote, Ravi Coltrane, Eric Harland, and The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble.

Miguel has had the honor of performing in the personal bands of Anderson .Paak, Flying Lotus, Austin Peralta, Kamasi Washington, Stephen ‘Thundercat’ Bruner, Bennie Maupin, Floating Points, Makaya McCraven, Jamael Dean, Dwight Trible, Mulatu Astatke, Arthur Verocai, Bebel Gilberto, Azar Lawrence, Wadada Leo Smith, Carlos Niño, Mia Doi Todd, Nate Morgan, Alex Cline, Vardan Ovsepian, Josh Nelson, and Chris Abani among many others.

Miguel has performed on six of the seven continents of the world and in numerous countries. In addition, he’s been a featured performer on the internationally acclaimed BBC Radio 1 program ‘Worldwide’ in London hosted by Gilles Peterson and on Los Angeles-based stations KUSC 91.5 FM, KCRW 89.9 FM and KPFK 90.7 FM. Miguel has also been a part of 3 TED Conference events as a performer, composer and guest programmer.

One of Miguel’s most incredible gifts is the ability to record ‘orchestras’ of himself, and was coined “The One Man Orchestra” by will.i.am. As a 1 man orchestra, Miguel composes for violin, viola, cello, and sometimes basses, piano, keyboards and percussion, and plays all of the instruments. A major part of his livelihood has been doing just that for esteemed people such as Oprah Winfrey, who in 2011, chose to use ‘Own It’, a song Miguel made with will.i.am for the Black Eyed Peas album ‘The Beginning’, as the theme music for the main promo of her new TV Network ‘OWN’.

Another of Miguel’s great achievements was in 2009 when he composed and conducted the historic ‘Suite for Ma Dukes’ concert in Los Angeles leading over 60 musicians, whom he chose and contracted, in tribute to the transcendent modern hip-hop producer J Dilla. As composer and conductor that legendary February night, Miguel featured special guests Bilal, Posdnous (De La Soul), Talib Kweli, Karriem Riggins, Stephen ‘Thundercat’ Bruner, and more. The Miguel Atwood-Ferguson Ensemble has featured guest appearances by Sly Stone, Shuggie Otis, George Clinton, Seu Jorge, Kamasi Washington, Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Leon Ware, Flying Lotus, Chris ‘Daddy’ Dave, Moses Sumney, Ambrose Akinmusire, Zane Musa, Marie Daulne (Zap Mama), J Rocc, Coco (Quadron), Georgia Anne Muldrow, Austin Peralta, James Gadson, Mayer Hawthorne, José James, Meshell Ndegeocello, Aloe Blacc, Pharoahe Monch, Daedelus, Sara Gazarek, Nai Palm (Hiatus Kaiyote), Deantoni Parks and Ndugu Chancler, among others.

One of the great honors of Miguel’s life happened in 2015 when the great Kamasi Washington asked him to conduct his orchestra for ‘The Epic’ album release in Los Angeles. It was a legendary night that led to a follow up performance. Miguel was out of the country at the time Kamasi asked him to record on ‘The Epic’ but is forever grateful to at least have the wonderful memories performing the music live as the conductor.

In 2016, Miguel had the joy of orchestrating and conducting the entire Season 1 of the acclaimed 'Luke Cage' series by Marvel Comics. Miguel helped define the character of the music for the series by selecting the instruments that you hear on the soundtrack and by the unique way in which he wrote for them each episode.  Miguel at times composed his own unique melodies around those of the credited composers in addition to helping conceive of the sound of the score itself by choosing to have the sound of muted brass throughout the soundtrack adding to the sinister qualities of some of the gangster characters of the show and by having the harp featured in the particular way Miguel chose to write for it.

Later in 2016, Miguel was reunited with Dr. Dre as he was called upon to orchestrate and conduct the score for Apple Music's 'Vital Signs' bio pic series starring Dr. Dre.

Miguel concluded 2016 with performing Suite For Ma Dukes at the London Jazz Festival to rave reviews. An organizer of the London Jazz Festival remarked that Miguel's performance was "One of the best performances in the history of the London Jazz Festival."

2017 saw Miguel continuing to score, write, record and perform towards his own projects like presenting Suite for Ma Dukes in Los Angeles, London, North Sea Jazz Festival, and New York's Lincoln Center all to great acclaim as well as producing the musical score for the recently released Puff Daddy's 'Can't Stop, Won't Stop' documentary of Bad Boy Records.

In 2017, modern icon, Questlove of the legendary band The Roots, reached to Miguel asking him to arrange and conduct a very special Orchestral concert for Amazon Music which featured the Roots, Chaka Khan, Robert Glasper, Erykah Badu, Black Thought, and Bilal. After the great success of that concert, Questlove employed Miguel once again in 2018 to arrange the bulk of the music for ‘4U: A Symphonic Celebration of Prince’ which toured globally to critical acclaim.

2018 and 2019 included Miguel leading his own groups to extremely receptive large crowds in New York, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Cape Town South Africa, and Geneva Switzerland.

Miguel then had the honor of being a co-writer on the song ‘Make It Better’ featuring one of the biggest legends of recorded Music- the Great Smokey Robinson. The song is featured on the 2020 Grammy winning R&B album of the year ‘Ventura’ by Anderson. Paak. Additionally, Miguel arranged and recorded string orchestras of himself on two songs.

In 2020, Miguel welcomed his son Sebastian Atwood-Ferguson (named after J.S. Bach) into the world. He has been immensely enjoying being a new father as he continued to finish his Vol. 1 of his inaugural album, ‘Les Jardins Mystiques’ and arrange/orchestrate for others. Miguel had the great honor of arranging and recording a string orchestra of himself on DOMi & JD Beck’s inaugural album as well as producing, arranging, and recording a David Bowie tribute ‘Life On Mars’ that was highlighted on BBE’s ‘Modern Love’ in tribute to the legend.

2021 saw Miguel putting final overdubs on Vol. 1 of his inaugural album, ‘Les Jardins Mystiques’ which he has worked sporadically since 2011. In total, it is a three volume, 10.5 hour work, with each volume being 3.5 hours long, spanning genres such as Jazz, Western European Classical, Ambient, and Electronic. Miguel’s two other biggest projects of 2021 were recording at home 686 tracks of himself playing Violin, Viola, and Cello on the Netflix 6 part series created by Colin Kaepernick and Ava DuVernay ‘Colin In Black and White’ scored by Kris Bowers as well as writing and recording string orchestras of himself on 3 songs on the highly anticipated new album ‘Fragments’ by Bonobo recently released in January 2022.

2022 featured Miguel’s Carnegie Hall Debut with his longtime close friend and collaborator Flying Lotus and harpist Brandee Younger as part of the Afrofuturism Festival. Later in the year Miguel had the great honor of arranging and orchestrating the orchestral concert debuts of both Hiatus Kaiyote and Flying Lotus which was held to great acclaim at The Hollywood Bowl and San Diego Symphony. 2022 also saw Miguel premiering his newly commissioned orchestral tribute to The Notorious B.I.G. as part of Lincoln Center’s Outside Summer Series to such success, that he was asked back to do it again less than 6 months later, this time making history inside David Geffen Hall making it the first time Hip-Hop music has ever been played there.

Hiatus Kaiyote called upon Miguel again in 2023, this time to write more orchestral arrangements for them, which they premiered to great acclaim at The Sydney Opera House. Some of Miguel’s string orchestral writing and recording are also featured on four songs from the 2023 album ‘Multitudes’ by the legendary artist Feist. Later in 2023, Miguel made his Hollywood Bowl conductorial debut when he led the orchestra in the 45min masterpiece ‘Promises’ written and produced by Floating Points in tribute to the great Pharoah Sanders with Shabaka Hutchings as soloist.

Miguel is elated to report that since the beginning of March 2021, he has been giving 1-3 free 60min Zoom lessons per week and plans to continue. Taking a little time out from his demanding schedule to give back in this way has been uplifting for him and a major source of joy. Miguel teaches composition, arranging, harmony, producing, music direction, improvisation, self-care, and how to develop and nurture one’s unique creative voice.

In 2023, after 14 years on and off in the making, Miguel released his first solo album, the 3.5 hour, 52 track ‘Les Jardins Mystiques Vol. 1’ (The Mystical Gardens), which Downbeat Magazine gave a 5 out of 5 star review and the famed British newspaper The Guardian named Contemporary Album of the Year and labeled ‘a masterpiece’.