Michael Standard

Artist / composer / founder / vice president

Origin: Atlanta, GA
In Tampa: 2017 - present

Michael Standard is an American composer and percussionist living in Tampa, FL. He works in many capacities as an artist-advocate, and his music has been performed at international concerts and events. Recent projects include an original electronic composition to accompany Ya La’Ford’s art installation at the Indianapolis 500. Michael’s most recent composition for concert band, Shining Light, was commissioned and premiered by Xi’an Liangjiatan International School in Xi’an, China. He has performed with the Mostly Modern Orchestra in 2018, he performed internationally for the World Youth Wind Orchestra Project (Schladming, Austria) in 2015, and he has performed for the Terroir New Music series in Tampa, FL. Michael received a Professional Development grant from the Arts Council of Hillsborough County, and he won a grant from Art on the Beltline to compose Beltline Aviary, based on birdsongs common around the City of Atlanta. His brass quintet, (Un)becoming, was premiered by the Atlantic Brass Quintet for the inaugural Mostly Modern Festival in Saratoga Springs, NY. His mentors include Baljinder Sekhon, Paul Reller, Robert Scott Thompson, Nickitas Demos, Robert McCormick, Stuart Gerber, Charles Settle, and Matt Ward.

As part of his personal mission to empower students to engage in art-making, he founded the FORGE Composition Seminar. Michael is on faculty at the University of Tampa and Berkeley Preparatory School. A passionate advocate for new music, he co-founded Homegrown New Music Ensemble, a nonprofit organization which specializes in creative placemaking and community partnerships.