Pianist Michael Salmirs, a founding member and artistic director of the Finger Lakes Chamber Ensemble, is well known as a recitalist and chamber musician. He has appeared as soloist with the Corning Philharmonic, Binghamton University Orchestra, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, and is frequently a featured pianist on their Sunday Chamber Series. In addition to performing most of the standard chamber music repertoire for strings and piano, he has premiered numerous solo and chamber works, and recently gave the world premieres of David Liptak's and Marek Harris's Piano Quintets. He has also participated in such contemporary music series as Binghamton University's Musica Nova, Cornell University's Ensemble X, Chiron, and has toured and recorded for the Syracuse Society for New Music.

Mr. Salmirs studied at the New England Conservatory and Eastman School of Music; his teachers have included pianists Leonard Shure and Rebecca Penneys and composer Karel Husa. Salmirs has taught at the Syracuse University School of Music and Hobart and William Smith Colleges. He is currently a faculty member at Binghamton University where he teaches piano and coaches chamber music. He also maintains a private piano studio in Ithaca and enjoys teaching students of all ages and levels.