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Michael Hunter Ochs

@michaelhunterochs

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Multi-platinum songwriter at Kobalt Music and co-founder of The Pursuit Of Harmony https://michaelhunterochs.com/media

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Sometimes music can lift our souls off the ground and reveal the world to us in a new light. Sometimes a simple song, sung from one heart to another, can inspire and ignite hope. Singing with the Oslo Soul Children to honor the winners of the Bridge Builder Award tonight…I don’t have the words…only that I am eternally grateful. More tomorrow…for now may these clips of our rehearsal bring a little smile your way. @ragnhildhiisaanestad @oslosoulchildren #hope #bridgebuilder #harmony taken in Opera House - Oslo by @michaelhunterochs

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5 years ago

Little story.

When I was 15, I spent a summer working at Right Track Recording Studio as a GA — a general assistant (thanks for that hookup, Dad and Simon Andrews, the studio owner). One day an assistant engineer found me in the lounge and said, “Michael, have you heard this new artist Richard Marx? You kind of remind me of a young Richard Marx. Maybe one day you two might do something together.”

I remember being completely blown away by “Don’t Mean Nothing.” I wore out that cassette.

Fast forward to today… and I just found out that Richard Marx sang background vocals on a song I co-wrote with Matt Scannell that was just released as the new Vertical Horizon single, “Last Night of Our Lives.”

That’s music. It builds bridges across decades. A kid ends up, somewhere down the road, connected to one of his early influences — exactly when the timing is right.

As long ago as we wrote “Last Night of Our Lives” (one of my first co-writes after signing with Kobalt Music Publishing), I never forgot that song. I always believed in it.

Full circle. by @michaelhunterochs

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7 months ago

As I write this from 35,000 feet on my way to Oslo (more on that later), I’m filled with a sense of gratitude and wonder.
Yom Kippur services this year were awe-inspiring—and somehow left me feeling vulnerable at the same time.
The care that Rabbi Feder and Rabbi Berg put into not only their sermons, but seemingly every word and breath uttered over the past 24 hours, took me someplace I don’t think I’d ever been on the High Holy Days.
I went far away. I visited with my parents during Yitzgor. I looked back at the year gone by, recognized the flaws and mistakes I made along the way (I'm sure there were more), and took a peek around the bend at what the coming year may have in store.
And then I returned to the Peninsula Temple Sholom sanctuary, where Cantor Yonah Kliger—dear friend, mentor and inspiration—led the congregation in song and prayer with grace, intensity, compassion, and a deep and reverent understanding of every note of each and every prayer. Oh, and, Keren Smith, led a meditative service with the astonishing cellist Jonah Kim that was unexpectedly soul stirring.
Deeply grateful to this community for inviting me to return, again and again as their Composer In Residence. Something very special in the works. and I’m already looking forward to next year with you.
More reflections to come… taken in San Francisco, California by @michaelhunterochs

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14 days ago

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19 days ago

10 years ago, Rabbi Peter Rubinstein and the 92nd Street Y commissioned a song from me. They hoped it might reach 50,000 views.
Within 24 hours, “A New Year” had been viewed a million times. It’s gone on to be sung by communities around the world, Jewish and non-Jewish alike — and been viewed over 12 million times. That’s 12 million little bridges, from one heart to another, and another, and another.
I am ever grateful to the team at 92nd Street Y, to Rabbi Angela Buchdahl for suggesting me for the project, and to Rabbi Rubinstein for his guidance and insight throughout.
Every year since I wrote it, the lyrics feel more relevant than the last. This year, more than any other, I pray this is the year strangers become friends. The year of love and kindness. The year of peace.
Shana Tova to all who celebrate, and to all of good will. 🕊️
Here’s the story behind the song’s creation — including my conversation with Rabbi Rubinstein and Cantor Yonah Kliger. by @michaelhunterochs

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21 days ago

One of my favorite times of year. by @michaelhunterochs

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2 months ago

An honor to be invited as keynote speaker for this year’s 84th Annual Glazer Institute Interfaith Forum—the longest-running interfaith program of its kind in the United States.

Previous speakers include Elie Wiesel, whom I had the privilege of hearing speak in Nashville years ago. His words stayed with me and, in many ways, changed the course of my life.

For more than eight decades, the Glazer Institute has been doing something that feels especially urgent today: bringing people across lines of faith, culture, and community into the same room—not because they agree on everything, but because understanding begins when we are willing to encounter one another.

At a time when the world seems increasingly determined to divide us into opposing sides, this work matters.

We can keep building walls. Or we can build bridges. I vote for more bridges. by @michaelhunterochs

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2 months ago

When I was 15, I spent a summer working at Right Track Recording Studio as a GA. One day an assistant engineer said, “Have you heard this new artist Richard Marx? You remind me of a young Richard Marx. Maybe one day you two will do something together.”

I wore out the “Don’t Mean Nothing” cassette.

Fast forward a few decades. One of the first songs I wrote after signing with Kobalt was “Last Night of Our Lives,” with Matt Scannell — an extraordinary songwriter and lead singer of Vertical Horizon. I always believed in that song, but somehow it remained in a closed, dusty drawer for 20 years.

Now, all these years later, it’s Vertical Horizon’s new single. And somehow, Richard Marx — one of my earliest musical influences — is singing background vocals on it.

Watching the song come to life in front of 10,000 people reminded me: we don’t always know the where or the when. Whether it’s the stars aligning and finding the person who changes your life, reconnecting with a long-lost friend, discovering a new sense of purpose, or a song finally finding its moment — sometimes the things that matter most, that feed our souls and fill our hearts, don’t always come easily.

They can take immense sacrifice, commitment, faith… and sometimes, letting go.

I never knew when or how this song would find its moment. Maybe that’s the point. We don’t get to know when the things we pour ourselves into will find their way back to us. We just have to believe that some things are worth the sacrifice — even when we can’t see where they’re leading. by @michaelhunterochs

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2 months ago

So crazycool that Instagram renewed the license for our little song for their Instagram Television commercial. We wrote it one afternoon in Berlin over 5 years ago and it finally found its way. by @michaelhunterochs

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2 months ago

A short highlight reel from my recent residency at the Glazer Institute.
Moments like these remind me why I've spent so much of my life writing songs—not just to be heard, but to bring people together. I'm grateful to everyone who made this experience so meaningful, and for the conversations, friendships, and music we shared along the way.
In many ways, experiences like these have inspired a much bigger project that's been quietly taking shape for many years. I'm excited to finally begin sharing that journey with you in the coming weeks.
I hope you enjoy this small glimpse into it.
Thank you Rabbi Mark Miller, Temple Beth El of Bloomfield Hills, MI, and the Glazer Institute - the longest running interfaith forum in the United States. by @michaelhunterochs

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2 months ago

Always grateful for the opportunity to bring diverse communities together through the gentle power of song. Joining in this spirit with the Glazer Institute alongside Rabbi Mark Miller and Rev. William Danaher -- what a beautiful evening of building bridges. (Photo: @trescox ) by @michaelhunterochs

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5 months ago

One of my earliest co-writes—back when I had just signed my first deal with Rondor Music—was with Gina Schock. At the time, I didn’t even know her last name. She showed up at my tiny studio, which, in reality, was set up right next to my bed in a Greenwich Village apartment.
Gina walked in, made herself at home, and started looking around. On the wall was a photo of me with Belinda Carlisle, taken on my very first trip to Los Angeles when I was 18. I had just told my friend Adam that one day I thought I might write a song for Belinda. We turned around—and there she was—buying an ice cream cone at a little spot in Hollywood. Adam pushed me to go say hello and snapped the photo. I’m still trying to track that picture down.
So Gina sees it and says, “Hey Mike—is that you with Belinda?” And that’s the moment it hit me: I was writing with Gina from the Go-Go’s.
We became close friends that day, and somehow we’ve stayed connected all these years.
Last week in San Francisco, Gina opened an incredible exhibition of her photography from those touring years—headlining and touring alongside everyone from the Stones, to KISS, to The Police. While walking through the exhibit, I stopped short. Under the glass, among all that history, was one of the songs Gina and I had written together.
You never really know where a song will land. Or how long the friendships born from writing one will last. by @michaelhunterochs

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