Michael Standard is an American composer and percussionist living in Tampa, FL. His music for band, orchestra, and chamber ensembles has been performed in the United States in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Tampa, as well as internationally in Canada and China. Michael has performed as a percussionist in ensembles in competitive festivals such as the Mostly Modern Festival and the World Youth Wind Orchestra Project. He has received grants from the Arts Council of Hillsborough County (Tampa, FL) and Art on the Beltline (Atlanta, GA). He has performed and presented the music of Tawnie Olson, Robert Morris, Jennifer Bellor, Steve Reich, Sohyun Lim, and others. His mentors include Baljinder Sekhon, Paul Reller, Robert Scott Thompson, Nickitas Demos, Robert McCormick, Stuart Gerber, Charles Settle, and Matt Ward. Michael serves on the faculty of the University of Tampa, where he teaches private lessons in Contemporary Technology. He also enjoys teaching percussion at Berkeley Preparatory School. Michael is a co-founder of the Homegrown New Music Ensemble, a nonprofit organization specializing in creative placemaking and artistic partnerships.