Born in 1944 in Western Australia,[2] Michaels began taking violin lessons at the age of five, and soon was recognized as a prodigy.
[3] At 14, he became the youngest performer ever to win the Australian Broadcasting Commission's concerto competition,[4] and made his first recording, which sold out within weeks of its release.
Smalley's "Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano" (1990–91), commissioned by the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, bears the dedication "To Geoffrey Michaels".
[11] Michaels was a founding member of the Liebesfreud Quartet,[12] and also performed in many other chamber ensembles, including the Janus Piano Trio, Performers' Committee for Twentieth Century Music (New York), Richardson Chamber Players (Princeton), and Vancouver New Music Society.
[13] Geoffrey Michaels died on 17 February 2024, aged 79, at the Samaritan Center in Voorhees Township, New Jersey, from complications of Parkinson's disease.