Michael Martin is a multi-instrumentalist, performer, songwriter, producer, recording artist, and music mentor based out of Denton, Texas. Born in New Mexico before relocating to Texas as a child, Michael grew up listening to Classic Rock and Mid-2000s Rock which heavily influenced his drumming style. He played in the Honor’s Concert Band as a percussionist and as the drummer for the Tivy High School Gold Tones, an award winning high school jazz big band. The summer after graduating high school Michael joined Ingram’s Point Theater Production of “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story,” as a singing drummer and an actor. The show was a huge success, selling thousands of tickets and catapulting the group to local Hill Country fame. The members of the band decided to continue playing together as a 50’s and 60’s tribute group, covering Buddy Holly, Elvis, The Beatles, Chuck Berry, Richie Valens and many more all over the greater Texas Hill Country for the last 11 years.
After graduating from Texas A&M with a bachelor of arts in English (rhetoric), Michael began teaching lessons privately for a small studio based out of College Station. It was here that he fell in love with teaching music to students as young as three and as old as 70, devoting his energy to the study of music pedagogy and interpersonal development, all while performing in as many as five different bands at a time. In pursuit of a greater appreciation of music and its study, Michael relocated to DFW and began taking classes at Collin College, where he sang in Chamber Choir, Jazz Choir, Opera, and played drums for several small combos. Here he took private lessons in classical voice, commercial and jazz voice, jazz drumset, jazz guitar, jazz piano and classical piano, while also garnering excellence awards in music theory, sight reading and ear training and musical performance. He also competed in the Texoma NATS Advanced Men’s Classical Division for Opera, winning first place in the Spring of 2019 and later received an associates in music from the college.
Michael then transferred to the University of North Texas where he studied jazz voice and performed regularly with many of the vocal jazz ensembles, singing with the top group, Jazz Singers, his senior year. It was at UNT that he truly sharpened his skills and his voice, as well as his arranging and notation engraving skills. Under the direction of Jennifer Barnes, Rosana Eckert, Tyler Thomas, and Marion Powers, Michael learned the power of not only proper technique and artistry, but the habits and practices of a professional musician. He currently plays drums and sings for Odd Folks (Mid-00’s Rock), plays keys and drums for Billy Law (Americana/Folk), plays drums and sings for The New Buddy Holly Band (50’s and 60’s tribute band) and performs and records for various bands and projects.
In 2023 Michael took over as Lead Administrator for Lone Star Music Academy, a fast growing music academy based in Flower Mound, Texas. During his time as an administrator, bookkeeper, and summer camp director he honed his skills by managing ever-changing and highly complex teaching schedules for 40 different instructors and 600 students. During his tenure the business saw significant growth as he led the charge in adopting a new operating system, enrolling a record number of new students, and streamlining processes for the entire business. He brings all of these skills and experiences to his new role as administrative coordinator for the Division of Jazz Studies at UNT, as well as a deep appreciation for music and music education.
