Michael Surratt is Director Emeritus of Music and Organist of the Union Church of Hinsdale, Illinois, after serving the church for 32 years. A church organist since the age of twelve, he has toured Europe and played organ recitals throughout the Midwest and Southeast, and has been featured in recitals on several Chicago-area radio stations. He also directed the handbell programs at the church, including the Allegro Handbell Ensemble, a group whose history spans four decades and includes dozens of concert tours throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Europe.
A native of North Carolina, Surratt attended the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio, and a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University in Illinois. Surratt has served as an Adjunct Instructor of Organ at Elmhurst College in Illinois and continues to be active in many professional musical organizations.
He has contributed to Overtones, a handbell-industry journal, and has served on the Communications Committee of the Handbell Musicians of America.