Bio

Michael Wilkinson joined the faculty at USC in August 2017 as Assistant Professor of Trombone and has since thoroughly enjoyed immersed himself in the local scene, performing with the South Carolina Philharmonic, the Soda City Brass Band, various jazz ensembles at Pearlz Upstairs, teaching/performing at the USC ColaJazz Camp, and performing with the newly-formed South Carolina Jazz Masterworks Ensemble. Prior to USC, he was Assistant Professor of Trombone and Jazz Studies at the University of Central Florida (UCF), performing extensively with the Brass Band of Central Florida all over the Central Florida area, as well as brass band competitions in the US and England.

Prior to teaching at UCF (2011-2017), Michael was Visiting Instructor of Trombone at the Crane School of Music in Potsdam, NY (2010-2011). He was also Faculty Associate in Jazz Studies at Arizona State University (2008-2010), where he also completed MM (2009) and DMA (2013) degrees in Trombone Performance. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education (1998) from the University of Arizona, and is an alumnus of the Disney/Grammy All-American College Jazz Band at EPCOT (1996).

Pre-graduate school, Michael taught middle school band in Tucson, AZ (1999-2007), while also working as the musical director, lead trombonist, sound engineer, and auxiliary percussionist for a local salsa band, Descarga. As a recording artist, his first solo jazz CD, "Wait for Me!,” was released in 2017 on Random Act Records. He can also be heard as a featured jazz soloist and ensemble member on the Brass Band of Central Florida’s “15,” (2015) and with the UCF Jazz Professors on Flying Horse Record’s “En Plein Air” (2015) and "Do That Again.” (2013).

Michael is an S.E. Shires Trombone Artist and plays Shires tenor and bass trombones. He also performs on alto trombone, F contrabass trombone, and euphonium, and has studied with Tom Ervin, Gail Wilson, Ralph Sauer, and Sam Pilafian.