Atlanta-based trumpeter Michael McKenzie is a versatile musician with over 25 years experience in commercial, R&B, jazz, and classical music. He began his career with the Wayne County High School Band in Jesup, GA and began playing with the Jekyll Island Dance Orchestra as a high school student. These experiences led Michael to Florida State University where he completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Trumpet Performance and was a student of Bryan Goff.
Michael’s music career took off in Tallahassee and he began playing with a number of R&B groups including The Blues Factor, The Mighty Big Blues Band, and ACME Rhythm & Blues. He also played lead trumpet with the Frank Brown Big Band and the Tallahassee Swing Band and performed as the lead trumpet player with Seaside Music Theater Pit Orchestra in Daytona Beach for seven summer seasons. Michael has toured with the Glenn Miller Orchestra throughout the United States and Japan as a section musician and featured trumpet soloist.
After completing his tour with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Michael began studies at the University of Miami. During his time at Miami, he studied trumpet with Gilbert Johnson and jazz improvisation with trombonist Dante Luciani and was a graduate teaching assistant. Michael was a member of the award-winning Concert Jazz Band directed by Whit Sidener and performed with the University Symphony Orchestra and the Bop Brothers.
Michael has appeared as a back-up musician with numerous internationally renowned stars of the music world. Throughout his career, Michael has worked regularly as a free-lance musician throughout Florida and Georgia and performed for countless wedding ceremonies and musical theatre productions. Michael relocated to Atlanta in the summer of 2008 and is looking forward to the many musical opportunities that Atlanta has to offer.
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