Michael Robinson is a versatile and engaging performer and educator from Lexington, Kentucky. He joined The Phoenix Symphony as Acting Associate Principal and Second Clarinet in 2023.

Michael was the second prize winner of the 2020 International Clarinet Association Young Artist Competition, the winner of the concerto competitions at both the University of Kentucky and Arizona State University, and was an invited performer at the 2022 and 2023 International Clarinet Association conferences. He has also performed at the Coltman and Fischoff National Chamber Music Competitions.

In addition to his work with the Phoenix Symphony, Michael works at Mirabella at ASU, a non-profit university-based retirement community, where he serves as the Arist-in-Residence Coordinator. The program has been lauded for its innovation by the Mather Institute and Leading Age Arizona. He has taught woodwinds, guitar, and piano for several non-profit organizations in Arizona and Kentucky, and served as a teaching assistant for the Arizona State University clarinet studio for four years where he taught private and group lessons to undergraduate students.

Michael is an avid performer on multiple woodwinds and has participated in hundreds of regional musical theater and opera performances across Arizona, Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio on flutes, clarinets, saxophones, and oboe. He holds a Bachelor’s in Music Education and a Bachelor’s in Music Performance from the University of Kentucky, and a Master’s of Music Performance from Arizona State University, where he is currently completing his doctoral studies. His primary instructors include Scott Wright, Joshua Gardner, and Robert Spring.