Michael Mannella, a native of Detroit, Michigan, joined the faculty of UC Davis in the fall of 2023 and has been a member of the United States Air Force Band since 2005. He currently acts as the personnel manager for “The Commander’s” Jazz Ensemble and is a member of the concert band.

Active as a solo, chamber, and orchestral musician, Michael has performance experience in a wide variety of settings. He has played with the symphony orchestras of Virginia, Buffalo (New York), Lansing (Michigan), Boston (Massachusetts), and Detroit (Michigan). He has also performed at the Bremen (Germany) International Military Tattoo, the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) conference in Los Angeles, the Monterey Jazz Festival, and has been a featured performer at the Brazilian Trombone Festiva and the Boston Festival of Bands. He has accompanied a wide variety of artists including Crystal Gayle, Lionel Richie, Jane Monheit, Alan Baer, Darlene Love, Jiggs Whigham, and Ann Hampton Callaway.

Equally as passionate about music education, Michael has maintained active private studios in Michigan, Texas, Massachusetts, Germany, and Japan and has served on the faculty of the Longhorn Summer Music Camp and the Interlochen Arts Camp. In addition, he worked as a teaching assistant at the University of Texas at Austin and assisted in the direction of the athletic bands.

Michael completed his coursework toward his Doctor of Musical Arts in Trombone Performance from the University of Texas at Austin, his M.M. from the University of Michigan, and his B.M. from the University of Michigan. Additionally, he spent one summer as a fellow at the Hot Springs Music Festival, another as a member of the American Wind Symphony and was selected to attend the Joseph Alessi Seminar in 2012. His primary instructors include Janet Kagarice, Nathaniel Brickens, David Jackson, H. Dennis Smith, and Thomas Cook.