At the age of 19 trombonist Michael Priddy performed with The Cleveland Orchestra for the first time and continued to perform on occasion in concert as a substitute and extra musician throughout the next 3 years, once as a recording participant. Michael attended the Cleveland Institute of Music from 1994-1999. Michael’s first full-time job was with the United States Air Force Heritage of America Band located at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton Roads, VA. He performed in the military for 4 1/2 years, playing for over 100,000 people with music ranging from Sousa marches to Glenn Miller style big band shows to modern symphonic band literature and orchestral transcriptions. During his service, Mr. Priddy performed Independence Day concerts in places like Yorktown, VA and Colonial Williamsburg.
Michael Priddy left the US Air Force in 2003 to become the bass trombonist of the Quebec Symphony. During his tenure there, the OSQ was directed by Maestro Yoav Talmi, former Music Director of the San Diego Symphony. Aside from the daily work of learning French and playing in the orchestra there, he also taught at the McGill University, Schulick School of Music in Montreal. While in Canada, Michael was a frequent substitute and extra musician with the Montreal Symphony, with whom he performed at Carnegie Hall.
In 2007, Michael Priddy was invited to audition for the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, an audition which he won. He moved to China and played with the HKPO under the direction of Maestro Edo de Waart for three seasons. Michael took part in two tours of mainland China by the HKPO, traveling to Beijing, Xian and twice to Shanghai. Michael also was busy outside the orchestra, teaching at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and also at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, along with having many private students. During his time in Asia, Michael also substituted with the Malaysia Philharmonic in Kuala Lumpur.
Michael Priddy can be heard on numerous recordings including 14 CDs with the USAF Band, a recording of Stokowski transcriptions of Mussorgsky’s music with The Cleveland Orchestra, and even on the soundtrack of a 2001 remake of the 1951 gladiator film Quo Vadis. Originally from Elizabethtown, KY, Michael joined the San Diego Symphony in January 2011 after winning the bass trombone audition.