Michael Staron - A teacher, composer, and bass player with nearly 40 years of professional experience, Michael Staron has performed with some of
Music professor, composer, and bassist Michael Staron launched his professional career at the age of 15. After honing his skills on the trumpet, double bass, and bass guitar, Michael Staron won an Illinois State Scholarship and gained admission to the Music Composition program at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. Studying under recognized composition professors and performance instructors, Michael Staron received a rigorous, traditional education and earned his Bachelor of Music degree (Composition) from DePaul University in 1979. Michael Staron later entered graduate school at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, focusing his academic efforts on jazz performance and jazz education. A recipient of an Eckstein Grant, a National High School Music Institute (NHSMI) Fellowship, and a teaching assistantship, Michael Staron graduated from Northwestern University in 1999 with a Master of Music degree in Jazz Pedagogy.
Over the years, Michael Staron has played in a wide range of capacities, including various bands, musicals, and entertainment revues. Local Chicago contractors have hired Michael Staron to perform with numerous entertainers of widespread renown, including Red Skelton, Sid Caesar, The Stars of Lawrence Welk, The Shangri-Las, The Marvelettes, and Eddy Arnold. A member of national touring companies, Michael Staron has traveled across North America playing in musical theater performances of Evita and was hired locally to perform and substitute with the National Touring companies of A Chorus Line, Rent, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
As a professor, Michael Staron splits his time among several Chicago-area colleges, including Triton College, and his alma mater, DePaul University, where he has taught Understanding Music since 2003. In addition, Michael Staron has maintained membership in the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, the Chicago Federation of Musicians, the American Federation of Musicians, the Theater Musicians Association, and other professional organizations. Michael Staron lives and works in Chicago, Illinois.