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Michael Parkinson

Conductor-trumpet performer-group leader-educator-clinician-consultant

About Me

Michael Parkinson is a professional trumpeter, conductor, music educator, clinician and consultant in metro Kansas City. He is a KHS America Professional Artist and XO Trumpet Artist. Mike is the director of the TRINITY Jazz Ensemble, an ecumenical group in residence at Rolling Hills Church in Overland Park and JAZZ Spoken Here, a post-bop sextet. He is also a clinician/performer for the Kansas Touring Artist Program and Nottelmann Music. Mike is the author of BASIE, BEBOP, BALLADS & BLUED jazz ensemble literature guide and BEYOND THE BLUES, a guide to score/part editing , literature selection, and rehearsal techniques. He also presents workshops on Music Entrepreneurship, improvisation, and ensemble techniques.

Mike most recently served as Director of the School of Music at Middle Tennessee State University where he founded the Improv Ensemble and taught courses in jazz studies. He performed with the MTSU Jazztet on tours of China in 2017 and 2018, and was named Guest Professor of Performing Arts at the Wuhan Conservatory of Music. He previously served as Director of the Ohio University School of Music and as Music Department Chair at Webster University in St. Louis. He taught courses in jazz studies, contemporary music, and entrepreneurship at Ohio and founded the New Music Ensemble and the Mini-Big Band at Webster. In his administrative positions, he has worked extensively in development and alumni relations, marketing and recruiting, facilities improvements, international relations/partnerships, curricular design, faculty assessment, student wellness, and entrepreneurship. He also held faculty appointments at Case Western Reserve University, Furman University, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City as Director of Jazz Studies.

A native of Cleveland, Tennessee, Mike received the DMA in Wind Conducting from the University of Cincinnati, the MM in Trumpet Performance from Kent State University, and the BM in Music Education from the University of North Texas. He also attended the University of Tennessee, Berklee College of Music, and the Eastman School of Music. He studied trumpet with Frank Brown, John Haynie, Harry Herforth, and Marie Speziale; and conducting with Kelly Hale, Donald Hunsberger, David Kuehn, and Terry Milligan. His primary influences are Bob Brookmeyer, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Bill Scarlett, Kenny Werner, and Kenny Wheeler..

Mike has served as an adjudicator, clinician, conductor or performer at events such as MUSICFEST USA and the Greater Southwest Music Festival, and at schools and festivals across the United States. He has directed ensembles for conferences of the College Band Directors National Association, International Association for Jazz Education, International Electronic Music Plus Festival, National Association for Music Education, and the Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio and South Carolina Music Educators Associations state conferences. He has performed with American artists including Bob Brookmeyer, Bill Dobbins, Gary Foster, Bobby Watson, Gary Wittner and Phil Woods, and Polish artists such as Marek Balata, Joachim Mencel, Janusz Muniak, Jacek Niedziela, Wlodek Pawlik, and Domink Wania. His experience includes shows such as George Burns, Glen Campbell, Rosemary Clooney, the Four Aces, and the Manhattan Transfer. He has recorded with harpist Michelle Himmell, the Spirit of Kansas City Orchestra, the St. Thomas Quartet, Kirby Shaw, Jazz Spoken Here, and the Webster jazz faculty. An avid supporter of “new music,” he founded the Webster University New Music Ensemble and led performances by student ensembles from UMKC and Ohio University for Society of Composers national conferences. He has worked with composers including Robert Cooper, Halim El Dabh, Donald Erb, Donald Freund, Gay Holmes Spears, Karel Husa, James Mobberley, Eugene O’Brien, Mark Phillips, Kim Portnoy, Paul West Osterfield and Morton Subotnick.

Mike served as Artistic Director of the International Summer Jazz Academy in Poland from 1995-2005, returning for 2021-2023,, bringing American, Austrian and Polish artists together to work with talented students from across Europe and the US. In recognition of his service, he was named Amicus Poloniae by the Republic of Poland. For his service to the state of Missouri, he received the Jess Cole Award from the Missouri Association of Jazz Educators. He is a Sigma Alpha Iota Friend of the Arts. He is a member of the International Relations Council, the Jazz Education Network, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Pi Kappa Lambda, the United Methodist Church, an honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma, an member of the board for Saint Louis Polonia. His interests include Formula 1 racing, reading, and Polish studies. He is married to Charlene Hanson, a native of North Dakota, who served as director of the Tennessee Philharmonic Orchestra Chorus and as director of music at churches in Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, North Dakota and Tennessee. The Parkinson family resides in Overland Park, Kansas.

My Jazz Story

I love jazz because it combines the rigors of freedom and discipline for the individual performer and the group. I was first exposed to jazz by my older brother Larry when I was a child. The first jazz musicians I met were saxophonist Ed Leamon and pianist Paul Lohorn in Chattanooga. The best jazz concerts I have attended include the Tony Williams Lifetime, the Bill Evans Trio, and the Phil Woods Quintet. The first major jazz record I bought was Miles Davis "Round About Midnight," the first BLUE NOTGE record I purchased was Lee Morgan, "The Sidewinder. My advice to everyone - keep your ears open!!!