Drewes, Michael 09/18/1944

Michael Drewes was born and raised in Germany and moved with his family to Mexico City at age fourteen, where he lived for twenty-six years. His youthful interests centered on drawing, sculpting and designing buildings. He received his Bachelors degree in Architecture and his Masters in Art History from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, and his Ph. D. in Architectural History from the University of Kaiserslautern, Germany.



Drewes became curious about music in his mid-teens and learned to play the cello in school at that time. It was his only formal music training. Most musical knowledge was self-taught, sometimes under the guidance of experts.



As he started college, his mild interest became more intense, and he studied music theory, harmony and composing on his own. Musical ideas began to come to him, and he would write them down, sometimes with the aid of a neighbor's piano, and sometimes right from his head to paper - even symphonies - which he never heard, since orchestral facilities were not within his reach. He started his career with Mexico's Monuments Office, supervising restoration of church organs.



He continued to compose music, and filled notebooks of unplayed works. In 1985 Drewes moved to Israel, inspiring him to create different and more modern sounds, although his signature style continued to be basic classical harmonies. After eleven years living in Jerusalem (1985-1996), where he earned his living as restoration expert at the archaeological dig in Beit She'an, he moved to Miami. Musical ideas continued non-stop, and he went on to write them down. He dreams of being able some day to make his music come alive and breathe.