Michael Strutt has performed in all major Canadian cities and in England, Spain, the United States and Poland. He studied the guitar with Bryan Lester, Terry Usher, John Duarte and Julian Bream in England. In 1965, he was a featured soloist on the television documentary of Bream's Master Class at Phillips House, Dinton. In 1968, he was first-prize winner in the Granada Television competition New Faces. At that time, he moved to London and performed in the West End production of the musical Man of La Mancha.

In 1976, he was a prize winner in the Concurso Internacional de Guitarra in Spain. He was awarded a concert series in Alicante province and full scholarship to the famous Santiago de Compostella Master Class. In addition to those classes with Jose Tomas and Jose Luis Rodrigo, he has performed on Master Classes for Alirio Diaz, Pepe Romero, Dik Visser and Leo Brouwer.

After moving to Canada, Michael became a faculty member at McGill and Concordia universities in Montreal, and the University of Ottawa. He is now Senior Lecturer in guitar at the University of British Columbia School of Music and Head of the String Division at Douglas College.

He was a regular jury member for the Canadian National Guitar Competitions and a member of the review team for the new Toronto Conservatory guitar syllabus and repertoire books. He recently updated the entry on Classical Guitar for the Canadian Encyclopedia of Music.

Michael Strutt's recordings range from numerous CBC broadcasts (Pacific Soundscape, Two New Hours, West Coast Performance and Arts National), to his album Komachi, his solo CD's Farewell to the Mountains and Recuerdos and the soundtrack of the motion picture Salvador. Chamber music CD's include Café Palermo and Stroll in the Cool with bassoonist Jesse Read, The River of Golden Dreams with flutist Anne-Elise Keefer and Estampas with the Vancouver Guitar Quartet. He has a special interest in contemporary repertoire and has premiered more than 30 Canadian guitar works, many written especially for him. Michael's article The Canadian Guitar appeared in Classical Guitar Magazine (June 1984) and Guitar Magazine (Toronto, December 1989). Composers Toru Takemitsu, George Crumb, R. Murray Shafer, Harry Somers and Alan Hovhaness have all warmly praised his performances of new music.

In addition to solo concerts, Michael has performed with Allegra (flute and guitar duo), Duo Sarasate (violin and guitar), Lyra (guitar, flute and violin), Guitaromanie (classical guitar, flamenco guitar and percussion) and the Vancouver Guitar Quartet. He has performed Rodrigo's Aranjuez concerto with the Vancouver Chamber Players, Castelnuovo-Tedesco's Concerto in D with members of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Robert Benedict's Concerto for Soprano and Guitar, and most recently, Quest by George Crumb. Other major chamber works include Night of the Four Moons and Mundus Canis by George Crumb, El Cimarron by Hans Werner Henze, Histoires en Ecrins by Thierry Pecou, Dark Angels by Peter Maxwell Davies and Romancero Gitano by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco.

Michael has presented a series of lecture/recitals for the University of British Columbia on Canadian Music for the Guitar, The Spanish Guitar, Segovia and the Guitar, The Music of Brazil, The Baroque Guitar and The Romantic Guitar. He was a guest Enrichment Lecture/Recitalist for Celebrity Cruises Mediterranean Tour 2003 and continues to be one of the cruise lines top ranked Enrichment Presenters. He has performed geographically and culturally relevant concert programs throughout the Mediterranean, Baltic, Caribbean, Central and South American itineraries.

Michael was a member of the charter class in the Graduate Liberal Studies Program at Simon Fraser University. He completed graduate studies in the spring of 1998, with the production of academic works relating to life-long interests in philosophy, semiotics and Zen Buddhism.