Profile:

Michael Dorf is a builder. He has founded several different businesses and non-profit organizations including the highly popular Knitting Factory in New York and Los Angeles, The Digital Club Network, Tribeca Hebrew, Bell Atlantic Jazz Festival, Oyhoo Music Festival, and the much anticipated City Winery. He currently produces concerts and special events through Michael Dorf Presents which has had a very successful series of tribute concerts at Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall including the Music of Joni Mitchell, Music of Bob Dylan, Music of Bruce Springsteen, Music of Elton John and Neil Sedaka's 50 Years of Hits. All of these projects share a unique mix of a high quality cultural showcase combined with a physical space creatively marketed to a targeted audience. It is no wonder that New York Magazine named him one of the "10 Most Influential New Yorkers."

BIOGRAPHY

At the age of 23, Michael Dorf founded the Knitting Factory in 1986 with his Bar Mitzvah savings and was the Chairman & CEO from inception to 2002. During this time period, he developed the company's international brand with expansion into Europe and Asia through the production and sale of records, as well as creating branded festivals and tours. Under the umbrella of KnitMedia from 1995 to 2000, Dorf was recognized as a pioneer in producing music on the Internet, through a variety of strategic relationships with Apple Computer, Intel, MCI and Bell Atlantic. During his tenure at the Knitting Factory, he produced over 200 recordings with Knitting Factory Records, a television series, and eventually expanded and built the Knitting Factory in Los Angeles. In addition, Dorf has also produced over 100 festivals and stages in Europe with partnerships such as Montreux Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, Vienna Jazz Festival, and dozens of others. In 2002, he left his operating responsibilities to start other projects and has subsequently sold his equity position and resigned from the Knitting Factory Board.

Since that time, Dorf has became one of the most prolific independent promoters in New York and main presenter of music in "downtown" New York. In November 2005, Mr. Dorf was lauded by The New York Times as "one of New York's most important music impresarios." He has produced the opening celebration concert for 7 World Trade Center, the first new building on the WTC site. In the last 4 years, Michael Dorf Presents has produced hundreds of concerts including the Music Downtown Series, Music of Series at Carnegie Hall, The Annual New York Jewish Music & Heritage Festival, Jewzapalooza, the "Downtown Seder", as well as several significant private corporate events.

Michael Dorf has also gotten very involved in several philanthropic ventures including the creation of a Tribeca Hebrew in Lower Manhattan, an after-school program which currently boasts over 150 kids. He served as the founding Chairman and is currently on the Tribeca Hebrew Board. He is additionally on the board of Music for Youth, Jewish Week, and Downtown Arts Development.

Michael is married with three children and lives in Tribeca, New York.