Born in Brooklyn, New York, Michael attended Hunter and Brooklyn College, keyboard studies at the Juilliard School and advance study at The Eastman School of Music where he earned a Ph.D. in Composition.

As an orchestrator, composer, and conductor Isaacson began assisting film composers Alex North, Elmer Bernstein, Charles Fox, Walter Scharf and composing his own music for the television mini-series Rich Man Poor Man II, Little Women, Hawaii 5-0 and Bionic Woman, many movies of the week, and the daytime series Loving and Days of Our Lives.  He has arranged for the Bob Hope Show as well as for John Williams and The Boston Pops.

In 1985, he began to produce CDs with members of The Israel Philharmonic in Tel Aviv. Out of this association came the founding of Michael Isaacson & The Israel Pops.

Dr. Isaacson has composed five Sabbath services, several cantatas, High Holiday liturgical music, life cycle settings, created, taught, and recorded an innovative ten lesson syllabus for teaching Jewish music composition, composed and conducted all the symphonic music forThe Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City and produced CDs of his own music with Cantors Roslyn Barak, Faith Steinsnyder Gurney, Thom King, and The Israel Philharmonic. His children's millennial service L'Maaseih V'reisheet - To Recreate The World made musical history when it was co-commissioned by forty congregations across America & Canada and simultaneously premiered.