Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and currently based in Toronto, Anthony has been involved in music since a very young age. Having played the accordion, the alto and tenor saxophones but being driven by the ever-present urge to want to play drums from the very beginning, Anthony built his own drum set and played from ear for years throughout his youth. He attributes a strong influence to having heard classical, cultural and popular music performed by his sister and brother in his early musical development.

For over twenty-years now Anthony has been blessed in sustaining a very active international performance, recording, production and teaching career in collaboration with a vast number of distinguished composers and performers from all styles of music.  He leads the Anthony Michelli Bass-less group, which features his original compositions that cross genre and style and is also an active member of the collective bands The Secret Quartet (U.K./CAN) and the Shape Shifting Group (U.K./U.S.A/CAN).

Thus far, Anthony has recorded in collaboration with several distinguished artists by performing on over one-hundred internationally released recordings in the contemporary jazz, original composition, popular and creative music genres spanning from the year 1995 to the present.

He has been nominated twice for the 2010 Toronto Independent Music Award (TIMA) in the Best Jazz Category (Steve Koven Trio) and for the Best Live Category (Paisley Jura).  Anthony is the recipient of the 2008 Mohawk College Incredible 40 at 40 for outstanding contributions to community and leadership performance. Michelli has been nominated for numerous JUNO Awards over the years as a member of several jazz, world and popular music categories.  He received the 2004 Mohawk College Alumni of Distinction Award and has been nominated for the prestigious Ontario Premier's Award 2004. In 2003 he received the Grand Prix de Jazz General Motors-Festival International de Jazz de Montreal Award (Nancy Walker Quartet) and the 1995 Jazz Report Award for National Post Secondary School Musician of the Year.

Committed to learning and sharing from an extensive educational background in music, Anthony has successfully graduated from Mohawk College, University of Toronto,
Banff Center for the Arts, Lake Placid Center for the Arts and York University where he is completing his Ph.D.  For the past decade Anthony continues to be on faculty at York University in Toronto and Mohawk College in Hamilton where he teaches private lessons, small group ensembles, Cuban Music and is the designer and course director for the third-year university level Rhythmic Studies course.  He has taught at National Music Camp and has been a faculty assistant for nine years at the Inter-Provincial Jazz Camp led by Phil Nimmons.

Anthony has an extensive background in workshops, clinics and ensembles at many universities, colleges and music festivals having performed and led master-classes in the following countries Japan, Australia, China, Hong Kong, the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Bahamas, Barbados, Trinidad, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Luxembourg.
Currently Anthony is endorsed by Sonor drums, Paiste cymbals, Evans drumheads and Vater drum sticks and brushes, Cympad, HQ percussion practice pads, PureSound snare wires, PreSonus Audio and Earthworks Audio microphones. In the past he has been involved with Yamaha, Roland and Peavey in product clinics.

Some of the artists that he has performed at various international club and concert venues in large and small ensembles with and under the direction of include;
Kenny Wheeler; Norma Winston; Anthony Braxton; Reggie Workman; Maria Schneider; Jim McNeely; Ron Westray; Ray Anderson; Dee Daniels; Windsor Symphony Orchestra; Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra; The Royal Conservatory Orchestra; Jeri Brown;
Ranee Lee; Oliver Jones; Stan Sulzmann; Tim Ries; Dick Oates; Darryl Grant; Ingrid Jensen; Sara Jane Cion; Aaron Goldberg; D.D Jackson; Martin Speake; Nikki Iles; Rudy Smith; Hilario Duran; Sam Noto; Pat LaBarbera; Ed Bickert; Reg Schwager; Rob Piltch;
Lorne Lofsky; Rez Abbasi; Tony Malaby; Joel Frahm; Moe Koffman; Doug Riley;
Phil Nimmons; Kirk Macdonald; Mick Hutton; Niel Swainson; Dave Young; Gary Williamson; Bernie Senensky; Don Thompson; Peter Appleyard; Joe Sealy; Mike Murley; Phil Dwyer; Carol Welsman; Hugh Fraser; Nojo; Babak Amini; Faramaz Aslani ;…

Anthony has been involved and toured internationally with the following groups;
Brian Dickenson Trio; Adrean Farrugia Ricochet Group; Darren Sigesmund Quintet; Nancy Walker Quartet; Dave Young Trio; Rob Clutton Group; Quinsin Nachoff's Magic Numbers-Trio with string quartet; Lina Allemano 4; Steve Koven Trio; William Carn Quintet; Heather Bambrick Group; Mike Cado Tentet; Martin Speake Trio; Nikki Iles Trio & Quintet; Ben Castle; Anthony Kerr; Sara Jane Cion (Naxos); Quinsin Nachoff Quartet (Musictronic); Shirley Eichardt; Rez Abbasi (Reztone/Cathexis); Carn-Allemano Quintet (CAP); Andrew Downing's Attention Span (Black Hen); David Occhipinti Trio (Unity-Page); Jake Langley B3 Trio (Radioland/Verve); Duncan Hopkins Quintet (Unity-Page); Son (aka Chilly Gonzales / Warner Brothers); David Szandor Szigeti (aka Taylor Savvy); Giampaolo Scatozza (aka JUNIK); The Canadian Ambassadors Big Band. He has shared the stage with the Pharoah Sanders Group and the Brad Mehldau Trio.

Anthony is grateful to be a member of various creative and diverse musical projects allowing him to perform in many styles while applying his unique approach to the drums. His need to progress and quest for knowledge is constant, studying tabla, composing music and focusing on his own projects.