Dr.
Michael S. Misner, Co-Director of Operations and Education and WebmasterDr.
Michael S. Misner, Co-Director of Operations and Education and Webmaster
Dr. Michael S. Misner is the Adjunct Professor of French horn
and Music Theory at Prairie View A&M University and an active performer and teacher in the
Austin, TX area.
His professional career began his junior year in high school when he was
appointed as the third horn with the Enid-Phillips Symphony of Enid, Oklahoma; a
position he held for seven years. Upon graduation from high school, he was the
recipient of a full scholarship to Southwestern Oklahoma State University to
begin his studies toward a Bachelor of Music Education. During the first two
years, he studied with Jay Schale (SWOSU) and Dan Meier (principal horn of the
Oklahoma Symphony Orchestra). In 1988, he transferred to Oklahoma State
University and began studies with Bruce Heim (second horn, Tulsa Philharmonic).
While at OSU, he served as the principal horn for both the Wind Ensemble and
Symphony Orchestra. Upon graduating from OSU in 1991, he moved to Austin, TX for graduate
study and served as the teaching assistant to Wayne Barrington (formerly of the
Chicago Symphony) at the University of Texas at Austin. While there, he
performed with the University of Texas Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra. He
completed his Master of Music degree in 1993 and continued work toward his
Doctor of Musical Arts degree which he completed in May, 2001. His doctoral
treatise, "A Historical and Analytical Discussion of Reinhold Gliere's Concerto
for Horn and Orchestra, Op. 91," has received both national and international
acclaim. He has presented lectures at the Kendall Betts Horn Camp in
Lyman, NH and the International Horn Society Mid-South Horn Workshop held at the
University of Texas at Austin in 2005. He is also the Director of the
Creative Arts Ensemble at Prairie View A&M University which studies "Soundpainting, The Art of Live Composition" developed by Walter Thompson of
New York.
Michael’s solo concerto performances include winning the concerto competitions
for Oklahoma State University (1990) and the University of Texas at Austin
(1993). In November, 2000, he was a guest artist of the Enid Symphony Orchestra
and performed the Concerto No. 1 in E flat for Horn and Orchestra of Richard
Strauss. His most recent concerto performance was with the Williamson County
Symphony Orchestra in April 2005 where he performed the Concerto No. 2 in E flat
K. 417 of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. His ensemble performance credits include
Broadway Texas! professional musical theater company (principal horn), Fairfax
Symphony (fourth horn), Enid Symphony (third horn), and the Armonico Wind
Quintet and has performed with the Austin Lyric Opera, Austin, Ballet Austin,
Oklahoma, Mid-Texas, Waco, Victoria, and San Angelo Symphony Orchestras. In
1999, he served as the principal horn for the Austrian American Mozart Academy
in Salzburg, Austria. He continues to perform solo recitals in and around the
Austin area. In February 2003, he was a guest artist of the Spicewood Arts
Society. His most recent recording was with the Chamber Jazz Ensemble in
February 2006 (www.chamberjazzensemble.com). Michael has also shared the stage
with famous artists such as Mel Torme, Bernadette Peters, Larry Gatlin, Marvin
Hamlisch, pianist Ruth Laredo, and world renowned violinist, Itzhak Perlman. He
has also performed in various master classes with famous hornists such as
Hermann Baumann, Philip Farkas, Louis Stout, William Purvis, Mike Hatfield, and
the hornists of the Detroit Chamber Winds.
Michael has also studied privately with Kendall Betts, Roger Kaza, Mike Hatfield, Abby Mayer, Jeff Agrell, Edwin Thayer, Soren Hermansson, Lowell Greer, Jennifer Montone, Bernhard Scully, Kazmirez Machala, Peter Kurau, Lin Foulk, Randy Gardener. He is a heavily sought after horn clinician and teacher in central Texas.