was born in Heidelberg, Germany, where he was given his first opportunity to show his musical talent at a school performance at the age of eight, in front of an audience of 200 people. This early success led to an eager decision to become a guitarist. He made his living by performing in clubs and at private parties. Michael began to travel to Spain to attend classes with John Williams. In France he worked with such masters as Manuel Barrueco and Eduardo Falu. In 1986 Michael graduated from the prestigious "Hochschule fuer Musik des Rheinlandes" in Cologne, Germany and started to give concerts throughout Europe. Michael Zanabili's playing is built on emotions and feelings rather than structures and tradition, something that always troubled him during his classical studies in Germany. Working with Barrueco and Falu confirmed his belief to listen to your heart first. "You can know everything about music, but if you don't feel it, the result will not be music" On one of his many trips, Michael fell in love with San Diego, CA and decided to move there. He gave up his life in Germany and came to America with little more than his guitar in his hands. Continuing to create his own style of guitar music, which is influenced by Classical, Jazz and Flamenco, he started to record his first album: Plaza de la Libertad, a tribute to his "place of freedom". Zanabili treats every string with an individual respect, to draw from its unique sound, never descending into a cloud of undefined sound waves. Instead he translates subtle feelings into music, giving importance to every single note and thus developing an intimacy with his audience. The guitar is used as an instrument to reveal every emotional phase so that no listener could resist its passionate charm. The 20th Century Guitar Magazine called it: "A stunning fusion of Acoustic, New Age, Jazz and Spanish classical guitar wizardry... Zanabili's classical and Flamenco guitar techniques are dazzling and totally engaging." Michael is currently one of the top selling acoustic guitarists in the country. His music has been featured in Hollywood movies. He also wrote a song recently for the MTV series "Wild Boyz". Michael now lives in Lake Tahoe and in SW Florida.