Composer Michael Sitton holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Illinois, the M.Mus. from the University of Kentucky, and the B. Mus. from Mars Hill University in his native North Carolina; he also holds the Diplôme de concert from Paris' Schola Cantorum, where he studied as a Harriet Hale Woolley Scholar of the Fondation des Etats-Unis. Since 2009 he has been Dean of The Crane School of Music at the State University of New York at Potsdam, with previous appointments as Dean of Fine Arts at Eastern New Mexico University, and as professor, department chair and administrator at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia. 

Active as a performing pianist and teacher, Sitton has pursued a strong interest in composition during most of his career, primarily working in the choral medium; he had had numerous works published, performed, and recorded, with frequent commissions by churches, prominent ensembles and performers. He lives in the village of Potsdam in New York’s North Country near the Adirondack Park, where he enjoys frequent outdoor adventures.