MICHAEL CIVISCA

Niagara Falls native Michael Civisca is a singer and songwriter often referred to as a ‘traditional pop crooner’. He is noted for his skill with American standards and love songs evoking the iconic male vocalists and timeless standards of the 50's and 60's.

Growing up, Michael listened to American pop music of the 1940's, 50's and 60's. At the age of ten, he started playing the trumpet and discovered artists like Herb Albert, and Louis Armstrong. By the time he was a young teenager, Michael knew the lyrics to countless American standards which was the beginning of his lifelong association with classic American pop music.

He graduated from Niagara Falls High School in 1981 and soon started his singing career at the Community Music School with vocal teacher Cheryl Hudson. He has also trained with Andy Anselmo, a Buffalo native who went on to become known as ‘New York City’s voice coach to the stars’. In 1995, Michael started singing professionally with various jazz combos, big bands and symphony orchestras.

He has performed throughout the United States, Europe and Asia, and has played leading roles in stage productions on Broadway and in Las Vegas. He recorded his first album in 1997, ‘Michael Civisca’, for Rhapsody Records followed by a brief contract with Sony Records, who released the album nationally, winning Civisca a wider following. Later, Civisca founded his own record label, Neptune Records, and released ‘Live With The Trio’. His fourth CD ‘Love is Like A Breeze’, for which Michael wrote the title track, was recorded at Sony studios in London, with veteran arranger/ producer Charlie Calello at the helm.

Michael approaches the Great American Songbook with true reverence, by studying many of his predecessors, with an earnest desire to remain true to the integrity of the music and to honor the people who wrote it. All About Jazz Magazine once wrote that Civisca is ‘a welcome addition to the male jazz/pop singers where fresh blood is desperately needed. If there ever were an ambassador to the Great American Songbook, it would be Michael Civisca’.

In addition to singing, he has worked as a voice actor, contributing his vocal talents to commercials, animation and movie soundtracks. His rendition of ‘Luck Be A Lady’ can be heard in the 1998 movie Mel Gibson movie ‘Payback’. To date, he has released five CDs; which all are available through various music outlets. It is our pleasure and honor to welcome Michael Civisca as a member of the Niagara Falls Music Hall of Fame, Class of 2022.