Michael Hopkins
Music Director, Youth Orchesta Program
Michael Hopkins is an Associate Professor of Music Education at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he teaches courses in string education. Prior to joining the faculty, Hopkins was an Associate Professor of Music at the University of Vermont from 1999-2010 where he was conductor of the UVM Orchestra and taught courses in music education and music technology.
Hopkins has appeared as a guest conductor at orchestra festivals throughout the United States and is the founding director of the Burlington Chamber Orchestra. He is very active as a composer and arranger, with over 30 published works for orchestra. His music is published by Alfred Music Publishing, Grand Mesa Music, Tunbridge Music, and Kendor Music Publishing, Inc. His works have been commissioned by many schools and ensembles throughout the U.S.
Dr. Hopkins has performed as a double bassist with professional orchestras in Vermont, New Hampshire, Michigan, Colorado and Wyoming. Hopkins is the author of the award winning Web site The String Pedagogy Notebook, a resource for string teachers and performers. The site has received hundreds of thousands of visitors. He has published articles in the Journal of Research in Music Education, American String Teacher and The Instrumentalist. He has given many presentations at national and state conferences on various topics in string education and music technology. He has served on the faculty of the American String Workshop, as the executive director for the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, and is past president of the Vermont chapter of ASTA with NSOA. Hopkins received his Bachelor's Degree in music education from Colorado State University and his Masters and Ph.D. in music education from the University of Michigan.