Michael Crane, GPD in Marimba
Michael Crane
Drums, Percussion
Teaching Philosophy
“My primary concern as a teacher is creating an empathetic and adaptable learning environment that most efficiently meets students' goals. With a background in public schools, I have firsthand experience with diverse learning styles and the impact of an individualized curriculum. After working with the student and parent to define an achievable goal for the student’s playing, I will tailor my instruction to that student in a way that pushes them toward that goal while doing so in the smoothest way for them. For example, some students thrive under a very structured regimen, while others get the most out of being explorative and creative - if I can convey a concept in a way that is meaningful or exciting for them and/or allows them to most easily access that information, I feel I’ve done my job properly.
For me, a strong musical education also builds a student’s traits beyond the music. Learning an instrument teaches students practical skills such as the value of consistent work, tolerating and learning from failure, fostering an intrinsic desire to improve their abilities, and building confidence in their own expression and creativity. Music also teaches interpersonal skills - the ability to listen and work with others, to be responsible for your own part in the greater whole, and to develop an understanding of cultures and time periods. Most students will not pursue music professionally, so I believe emphasizing the development of these skills through my instruction is incredibly valuable to share. I aim to achieve an environment where students can feel safe to explore and make mistakes, to express themselves, and to have fun making music - a place where developing the above skills happens naturally through celebrating successes and exposing them to new ideas and experiences.”
Biography
Michael Crane is a percussionist/marimba specialist, educator, and composer based in the Boston area. Currently, in addition to working as a private instructor for Note-worthy, Michael is a freelance percussionist, a high school marching band instructor, and a commissioned composer for the marimba and other mallet percussion instruments. Michael’s performance experiences range from signature solo marimba recitals to contemporary chamber music and musical-theater percussion. In 2025, he formed The Flying Woodsmen Marimba Duo with fellow marimbist Josh Bellis. The duo focuses on bringing the marimba to new audiences with easy-listening music, ranging from pop arrangements and jazz standards to world music and other generally groove-based styles.
As a composer-performer, Michael aims to be an ambassador for his own music and, consequently, his unique artistic voice on the instrument. Through this, his own creativity meets technical proficiency; he’s developed what he feels is an innovative push for the marimba in a new direction. This combination has also given him the means to truly convey his own ideas through artistic expression - something he hopes to also instill in his students. His compositions have been performed by others in international competitions, and graduate, doctoral, and professional recitals. In 2026, his piece Schizocapsa was commissioned for Marimolin, a long-standing and developmentally important contemporary violin-and-marimba duo comprising Sharan Leventhal and Nancy Zeltsman.
Michael has won awards in both marimba performance and composition, including the Great Plains Marimba Competition, where he placed as a performer in 2018 and won the composition competition in 2026. Michael holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, where he studied with Kevin Bobo, John Tafoya, Michael Spiro, and Steve Houghton, as well as a Graduate Performance Diploma (GPD) in Marimba from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee under Nancy Zeltsman, Matt Smallcomb, and Ivana Bilić.
Outside of music, Michael enjoys exploring non-musical arts, playing various card-based games, and traveling.
Michael began teaching in 2019 and joined Note-worthy Experiences in August 2026.
