Michael Allen composer / arranger

Michael Allen is music director, principal arranger, and tuba player of the Boulder Brass and is also the principal tuba of the Central City Opera Orchestra, Colorado Ballet Orchestra, Colorado Chamber Orchestra, Opera Colorado Orchestra, and the Boulder Philharmonic. He is also the instructor of tuba at the University of Wyoming and Metropolitan State University of Denver. Formerly he was the principal tuba of the Denver Chamber Orchestra, and has been a member of the Dallas, Aries, and Colorado Brass quintets. He has performed with the Colorado, Denver, Colorado Springs, and Fort Collins Symphonies, the Dallas Chamber Orchestra, and the Summit Brass. He previously held the position of assistant professor of tuba and euphonium at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

An accomplished arranger and orchestrator, he has arranged and published over 250 works for brass quintet and brass ensemble. His arrangements have been performed and/or recorded by: the Canadian Brass, the Summit Brass, the Dallas Brass, the Boulder Brass, the Burning River Brass, the Monarch Brass, the Capitol Brass, the Michigan Chamber Brass, the Saint Louis Symphony Brass Ensemble, the New York Philharmonic Brass, Philadelphia Orchestra Brass, the Nashville Symphony Brass, and the New York Big Brass.

His orchestration of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition for full orchestra was premiered by the Boulder Philharmonic in October of 2007 and performed again in 2009 by the Colorado Springs Philharmonic Orchestra to critical acclaim.

He received his Bachelor of Music degree in tuba performance from the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver where he studied with Walt Zeschin, John Daley, and Paul Brooks. He received his Master of Music degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder where he studied with J. Michael Dunn and Dr. William Stanley. He has also studied wind and orchestral conducting with Allan MacMurray, Theodore Kuchar, F. Joseph Docksey, and Vincent LaGaurdia.