Michael Martin wears many hats, including composer, arranger, and Director of Choral Activities at Hilliard Darby High School. An adept musician, Martin began his musical career at the age of eight, training by ear.transferring to the piano, Martin began what was only the beginning of a lifelong career and passion for dedicating himself to music composition.
This passion for music has driven Martin to pursue excellence in vocal performance.former assistant conductor/accompanist of The Ohio State University Men’s Glee Club, Martin’s passion continued to grow deeper and resulted in the development of numerous choral groups within the educational and community environment.writing his first major composition at the age of 17, Martin pursued a college career at The Ohio State University, earning both a Bachelor of Music Education degree and a Master of the Choral Arts in Conducting, studying with James Gallagher, Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt and Maurice Casey and Dr. Ann Howard Jones.pathway provided an opportunity to study with and serving as accompanist for the late Robert Shaw, as well as an invitation to study at the Robert Shaw Choral Festival Chorus in France in 1994.
The Hilliard Darby Symphonic Choir also has worked with Eric Whitacre, a nationally known composer for the Eric Whitacre Festival that was held on the campus of Capital University.The groups have also worked with such notable conductors as Dr. Eph Ely, Keith Hampton, Donald Neuen, and Dr. Craig Jessop. Most recently, Martin continued doctorate level studies with Dr. Craig Jessop at Utah State University in the summer of 2010.
He has also performed and conducted major concerts throughout Germany, Austria, England, and France. Martin also conducted the Hilliard Darby Symphonic Choir on a tour of England, which included a performance at St. Paul’s Cathedral and at Carnegie Hall, New York for the performance of Durufle’s Requiem in 2006.addition, Martin performed and conducted his own arrangements for men’s voices with the OSU Men’s Glee Club of such notable works as Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera, and Stephen Sondheim’s Send In The Clowns, two of many arrangements included on the groups recordings.compositions are published with Alliance Music, Houston, Texas, Lawson Gould and he is also a staff writer and arranger for Warner Brothers/AlfredPublications, Miami Florida.
Martin’s career has spanned many facets, both in and out of the classroom.a graduate teaching assistant and adjunct professor at The Ohio State University, Martin served as conductor of the Symphonic Choir, Chorale and Men’s Glee, as well as instructor for undergraduate vocal pedagogy courses and conducting classes.’s civic responsibility has involved his creativity in arranging and conducting choirs and dramatic presentations for citywide celebrations, televised broadcasts and weekly worship services with the community. He also serves as clinician for the Michigan Choral Festival each year and also serves has served as adjunct professor for Ohio Wesleyan University.
