As a classical saxophonist Michael has received worldwide recognition for his performing and teaching. He is a performing artist for Yamaha and a regular guest clinician, recitalist, and soloist at high schools, universities, and music camps across the country. Michael has recorded on such labels as ASV, Canyon, AUR and Delta, including an appearance with the Orquesta Filarmonica de la Ciudad de Mexico. He is also a contributing writer for Yamaha, Saxophone Journal and Saxophone Symposium, and is the author of Saxophone Master Classes. Michael's two solo CDs, An American Patchwork (1998) and Seasons (2001), have met with significant critical acclaim. Michael holds degrees from Indiana University, Arizona State University and the University of Arizona. His teachers have included Elizabeth Ervin, Trent Kynaston, Jean-Marie Londeix, Eugene Rousseau, Donald Sinta, Larry Teal and Joseph Wytko. His students have won such honors as the Down-Beat Student Collegiate Chamber Music Award, Level 1 in the National Foundation for Advancement of the Arts, the Yamaha Young Artist Award and numerous concerto competitions. In 1996 Michael was awarded the O.M. Hartsell Excellence in Teaching Award by the Arizona Music Educators Association. In addition to his active performance schedule, Michael Hester has devoted a great deal of personal and professional effort to teaching. He is the author of a critically acclaimed method book called Saxophone Master Classes, has written articles for the Yamaha Educator Series, Saxophone Journal and Saxophone Symposium. His research into early twentieth-century band music, specifically the saxophonists performing with the John Philip Sousa Band, is cited regularly in books, CD booklets, articles and dissertations by scholars around the world. He held faculty positions at Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona, and currently maintains a thriving independent private teaching studio. Michael is much sought after as an adjudicator for solo and ensemble festivals and concerto competitions and has been a clinician for Yamaha since 1991.