Michael Mixtacki

Michael Mixtacki is an Instructor of Percussion at Texas Tech University, teaching applied percussion and drum set lessons, co-directing the TTU Percussion Ensemble and directing the TTU Samba Ensemble. Prior to his appointment at Texas Tech, Michael taught at Northern Illinois University (2012-2016) and the University of Texas at San Antonio (2016-2020), where he was also the founder and director of the UTSA Percussion Camp.

Michael's performance experience spans a wide variety of ensembles across diverse musical genres. As an orchestral musician, Michael has performed with the Lubbock Symphony, Mid-Texas Symphony, San Antonio Symphony and the Madison Symphony Orchestra. As a jazz drum set player in South Texas, Michael performed with the UTSA Faculty Jazz Quintet, the South Texas Jazz Quartet, and the Katchie Cartwright Brazilian Jazz Trio among others. While living in the Midwest, Michael was a founding member of several global music ensembles, including Ire Elese Abure in Chicago, IL (Afro-Cuban folkloric music), Ritmos Unidos in Bloomington, IN (Caribbean jazz), and Grupo Balança (Brazilian popular music)in Madison, WI. He had the honor of participating on two Grammy nominated recordings with Wayne Wallace and Michael Spiro, and recorded two albums on drum set, lead vocals and percussion with Ritmos Unidos. Michael's research interests brought him to Havana and Matanzas, Cuba on multiple research trips to study Afro-Cuban folkloric drumming and song. He continues to study, arrange and compose music that explores the intersection of Cuban and Brazilian music with contemporary percussion literature. Michael is a frequent guest artist at many colleges, high schools and summer workshops across the country, and has participated in numerous clinics and performances at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, the Jazz Education Network Convention, and the Texas Music Educators Association Convention.

Michael earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master's degree from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Texas Tech. He is an official clinician for the Latin Percussion Department of Education, is a Yamaha Performing artist, and endorses Sabian cymbals, Remo drumheads, and Innovative Percussion sticks and mallets.