Biography
Michael Hayden
As Professor and Teacher, Mr. Hayden, has taught at three universities, teaching courses in Music Education and Choral Ensembles. His work as a Professor in Music Education has launched many careers for young choral directors and music teachers. He also taught vocal pedagogy at UCLA for all music majors concentrating on choral and vocal techniques for the public school music and choral classroom. In his last teaching assignment, Mr. Hayden taught at Mira Costa High School where he developed a national and international reputation for his outstanding instruction and teaching style and helped the Music Department earn the 2014 GRAMMY Gold Signature School Award. In 2014, Mr. Hayden was named California Teacher of the Year.
Michael Hayden has worked from coast-to-coast in the United States and around the world as Conductor, Professor, and Coach. His work has inspired choirs, singers and teachers to be the best they can be, musically, professionally and personally.
As Conductor, his choirs have been featured in Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and performed in regional and national conferences of the American Choral Directors Association, ACDA. Notably, his Mira Costa Vocal Ensemble performed in the two-week International Festival of the Aegean on the island of Syros, Greece where they sang in the opera chorus in the festival’s production of Carmen. They additionally performed a 30-minute sacred music solo concert in the festival’s Sunset Series in the historic Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. Mr. Hayden’s choirs have traveled twice to Europe, first touring to Paris and London in 2015, singing in Notre Dame Cathedral, Chartres Cathedral, Canterbury Cathedral, Oxford Christ Church Cathedral and Saint George’s Chapel Windsor Castle. During Holy Week of 2017, Mr. Hayden’s groundbreaking Rhein River Cruise with AmaWaterways took 60 singers and 100 friends and family on the 5-Star AmaSonata river ship up the Rhein River from Amsterdam to Basel where the Mira Costa Festival Choir sang in Oude Lutherse Kerk, Cologne Cathedral, the Abbey of Hildegard von Bingen, and Strasbourg Cathedral.
As Coach, Mr. Hayden is known for his ability to coach in various choral styles and repertoire. Mr. Hayden served as a Coach for Sweet Adelines International, coaching choruses throughout the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Concentrating on the Sound category, his coaching launched choruses into the prestigious International Competition. In 2006, he was named Region 4 Coach of the Year. Mr. Hayden is no stranger to the world of Show Choir. He has served as a Judge for contests throughout the Midwest and has coached many award winning Show Choirs including California’s Los Alamitos High School Show Choirs who have been named Grand Champions over 175 times, including 10-time National Grand Championship titles. And lastly, Mr. Hayden is deeply passionate about coaching teachers and conductors. He has traveled twice to China to teach Chinese music teachers conducting and music classroom curriculum and choral techniques and worked with Chinese students in choral workshops. Additionally, he has presented at conferences for the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses (GALA), the Sweet Adelines International and for school district’s teacher professional development workshops focusing on choral techniques, and learning theories which develop singer independence which ultimately create exceptional performance and greater artistry.
