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Michael Kollwitz is a Billboard-charting artist, author, and one of the most prolific recording musicians on The Chapman Stick®—a rare instrument combining guitar, bass, keyboards, and percussion in one.

He has released over 30 albums, including Best of Serenity (2023), Stick Around (2025), and Aerial View (2025). Earlier works like Serenity II, Serenity III, and Santa Plays The Stick all reached Billboard’s Top 10, with Santa Plays The Stick named Zone Music Reporter’s Best Holiday Album of 2019.

His award-winning book, Stick With It – Adventures of a Chapman Stick Player (2023), and his new speaking program, Stick With It – Stories in Sound, have been supported by multiple arts grants. Today, Michael’s music is heard worldwide—in hospitals, spas, on airlines—and his performances continue to inspire through both sound and story.

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Billboard-charting artist, author, and speaker Michael Kollwitz is among the first musicians to master The Chapman Stick®, a revolutionary stringed instrument invented in the 1970s. Since 1976, he has studied directly with its creator, Emmett Chapman, and has devoted nearly five decades to sharing its sound.

Michael has released more than 30 albums across genres from jazz and rock to New Age and holiday. His Serenity series and Santa Plays The Stick all reached Billboard’s Top 10, with Santa Plays The Stick winning Best Holiday Album of 2019. His recent albums—Best of Serenity (2023), Stick Around (2025), and Aerial View (2025)—highlight the Stick’s expressive, cinematic voice.

His music has aired worldwide, including NPR’s All Things Considered, and is played in over a thousand hospitals through The CARE Channel. Carlos Santana once described his music as “a gift of the heart.”

Michael is also the author of Stick With It – Adventures of a Chapman Stick Player (2023), which won awards and support from multiple arts grants. Expanding on the book, his new program Stick With It – Stories in Sound blends live performance with stories of resilience, creativity, and innovation.

Now based in Sedona, Arizona, Michael continues to perform, record, and inspire—sharing the uncommon beauty of The Stick through both music and storytelling.