Dr. Michael Stiles, horn & natural horn
Performer, Educator, Administrator
Dr. Michael Stiles is a Bloomington, Indiana based performer and teacher on French horn. He received his Doctor of Music in Performance and Literature in December, 2021, with minor areas in music history and historical performance. He plays second horn in the Carmel Symphony Orchestra and is a regular substitute member for the orchestras in Columbus, Terre Haute, Evansville, and Lafayette, Indiana. He also performs on natural horn with ensembles including Bach Society of Minnesota, Haymarket Opera, North Carolina Baroque Orchestra, Choral Arts Philadelphia, and has appeared twice as a soloist with the IU Baroque Orchestra. He is currently Adjunct Instructor of Horn at Marian University in Indianapolis. For his doctoral dissertation he created a performer’s edition of Handel’s complete horn parts; soon to be published by BirdAlone Books and Music. In addition to his university-level teaching, he also teaches private lessons and sectionals for Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation in Columbus, IN, as well as Center Grove Community School Corporation in Greenwood, IN. He has previously worked as a Teaching Artist for The Philadelphia Orchestra and the El Sistema-inspired Play On, Philly. He is also the department coordinator for the Historical Performance Institute of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.
Prior to moving to Indiana, he lived in Philadelphia for 5 years working as a freelance player, educator, and arts administrator. He played with many ensembles in the region, including The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Orchestra2001, Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra, The Pennsylvania Philharmonic, Vox Amadeus, Theatre Horizon, and the Walnut Street Theatre. His primary teachers are Jeffrey Nelsen, Richard Seraphinoff, Dale Clevenger, Denise Tryon, John David Smith, and William Scharnberg. In addition to these widely respected pedagogues, he has studied with and played in master-classes for Liz Freimuth, Josh Phillips, Jeff Lang, Howard Wall, Lin Foulk, Jeffrey Agrell, Douglas Hill, Patrick Hughes, Kerry Turner, and Joseph Eger.