Michael Anthony Hernandez
Michael A. Hernandez is the Associate Director of Bands/Percussion Coordinator
for the two-time
Grammy Signature
Plano Senior High School Cluster in Plano, Texas.
An alumnus of the University of North Texas
in Denton, Texas, Michael served
as adjunct faculty at
Baylor University with the Golden Wave Band and the
University of Texas at Arlington
from 1999-2003.
Serving as the Associate Director of Bands, Michael conducts the
Plano Symphonic
and Concert 2 Bands, assists with the Plano Wind Ensemble, Plano Jazz Studies,
and has co-conducted the Plano Pops Orchestra. Hernandez has been associated with the
Plano Cluster Music program since 1991.
As a professional musician, he has performed with the
Dallas Winds, the
Allen Symphony, and the
Richardson Symphony in addition to freelance work in
the North Texas Metroplex. Michael was a member of the
Desperadoes Steel Drum
Band and the Serenaders Traditional Steel Drum Band in Trinidad and Tobago and a
member of the DFW-based Panhandlers Steel Drum Band. His marching percussion
experiences include the
Sky Ryders Drum and Bugle Corps, the
Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps and the University of North Texas Drumline. Formerly serving
as Operations Executive, Michael was a founder for the percussion-publishing company,
Drop6 Media, Inc., Hernandez is the author of
"Beats-A Drum Method," co-author of
the exercise book series:
"Listen In," and composer/arranger of several percussion
ensembles published through Drop6 Media, Inc., now owned by
Rowloff Publications.
Hernandez has coordinated the
Plano Percussion Program from 1992-1999 and 2003-present.
With Plano, Michael has developed a nationally recognized, award winning percussion program.
Comprised of Plano Senior High School, Clark High School, Vines High School, and formally
Jasper High School, Plano Percussion offers a myriad of percussion opportunities. In
addition to cultivating an enriching applied lessons program, Plano Percussion offers
the Classical and Pop Percussion Ensembles, concert and orchestral percussion study,
the drum set ensemble, Toolkit Sonnet, the Plano Tabla Group, the samba group, Plano
Batucada, the Plano Middle School Drumline, the Plano Drumaton, an annual event since
1998, the Plano Drumline Competition (PdlC), the Plano Percussion Chamber Music Festival,
the PanCats Steel Drum Band, the Pan Ragga Traditional Pan-‘Round-de-Neck Band, the
Plano Percussion Parent Ensemble (PPPE) since 2011, and Spettacolo, the percussion
program’s two-night percussion experience. In addition, Hernandez hosts the Plano MS
Summer Percussion Camp, the Toolkit Sonnet Drum Set Summer Camp, and has hosted the
Leigh Howard Stevens Pre-College Summer Marimba Seminar at Plano.
Michael is well respected in the percussion idiom and in demand as a percussion instructor,
drumline show designer, arranger, adjudicator and has served as percussion consultant with
many award winning band programs in the North Texas area. He serves as co-coordinator of
the nationally acclaimed
University of North Texas Marching Percussion Camp and held a
position on the indoor drumline staff at the University of Texas at Arlington.
Hernandez’ professional affiliations include
American Federation of Musicians (AFM),
Percussive Arts Society (PAS),
Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), and
National Bandmasters Association (NBA).
In addition, Michael maintains an active schedule as a freelance graphic artist.
Originally from San Antonio, Texas, he now resides in Plano, Texas with his wife,
Kimberly (Robinson MS Band Director, Plano, Tx), their son, Anthony, and Romo, the Cat.
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