Michael Thornton enjoys a distinct and varied career as an orchestral performer, chamber musician, horn soloist, and pedagogue. Currently the Principal Horn of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Professor Thornton is completing his tenure as Principal Horn of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra to join the University of Michigan SMTD Faculty.

As a passionate and dedicated pedagogue, Professor Thornton was previously Professor of Horn at the University of Colorado Boulder. His students hold positions in full time performing orchestras and premier military bands around the world, as educators at colleges, universities and public schools, and as arts administrators. Mr. Thornton was twice awarded the Marinus Smith Award for excellence in teaching. He works with talented young horn artists each summer at the Colorado College Summer Music Festival and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. In demand as a master clinician, he has taught classes at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Curtis Institute, The Juilliard School, the Colburn Conservatory, Interlochen National Arts Camp, and numerous other prestigious colleges, workshops, and symposia. Upcoming events include featured artist at the Taipei Brass Festival and the Panama Horn Festival.

Michael Thornton left his studies at The Juilliard School to accept the Principal Horn position with the Honolulu Symphony. He has performed and toured extensively as a guest with orchestras including the Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Korean Broadcast Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Aspen Chamber Orchestra, and others. His discography includes orchestral recordings on Naxos, Koch, Hyperion, and BIS labels, and his two solo and chamber recordings, Inspired by Brahms and Passages can be found on Albany Records.

Having performed on six continents, Mr. Thornton has appeared as a soloist with orchestras including the Cape Town Philharmonic, the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada, the Melbourne Musicians Chamber Players, the New Symphony Orchestra of Bulgaria, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and the Colorado Symphony. Chamber music appearances include Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Camerata Pacifica, Mainly Mozart Festival, Campos do Jordāo Winter Festival (Brazil), Medellin Festicamara (Colombia), Nevada Chamber Music Festival, Moab Music Festival, Takacs Quartet Series, and many others. As a recital artist, he has performed at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, The Broad (Los Angeles), Royal Northern Conservatory of Music, and several international and horn symposia, among others.

Michael Thornton’s primary teachers include Randy Gardner, Jerome Ashby, Julie Landsman, and J. Christopher Leuba. He attended Temple University, the Manhattan School of Music, and The Juilliard School.

''The Conn 8D encourages young artists to explore important concepts of color, sound, blend, and versatility. It is a link to the school of sound developed in America, and when combined with other important approaches passed down by great players and teachers it opens incredible possibilities for the future of horn playing.''