J. Michael Holmes is a talented solo and chamber musician whose active playing career has seen him performing at numerous venues in the United States and also Europe and Taiwan. In the fall of 2009 Holmes was named as Visiting Guest Lecturer in Saxophone at the University of Illinois and he is in the final stages of completing the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Saxophone Performance and Literature (ABD). Michael completed his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Bowling Green State University where he was a student of Distinguished Research/Artist Professor John Sampen and his Master’s degree in Saxophone Performance and Literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he was the graduate saxophone teaching assistant for Professor Debra Richtmeyer. He has had additional studies with Jean-Marie Londeix, Claude Delangle, Griffin Campbell, Daniel Kientzy, and Eugene Rousseau.

Michael is a member of the North American Saxophone Alliance and has performed in many of the national and regional conferences. He is an active soloist of contemporary music and has commissioned and premiered numerous works for the saxophone including a composition from Bowling Green State University’s Distinguished Artist Professor, Marilyn Shrude. His performances have received great accolades, and he has recorded for the SEAMUS Record Label and with the Philharmonia à Vent ensemble  on the Klavier Record label (along with saxophonists Paul Bro, Scotty Stepp, and Leo Saguiguit). An interview about Michael’s emerging career as a saxophonist was published in the January/February 2008 Saxophone Journal. He has performed with numerous ensembles such as the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia da Camera, the Toledo Repertoire Theatre, and the Champaign-Urbana Symphony. Michael was the woodwind finalist for the 2006 Krannert Debut Artist Competition and the winner of the 2006 University of Illinois Concerto Competition.

Michael has been a guest clinician at Northwestern University, the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, the University of Florida, the University of Iowa, Drake University, Simpson College, Bowling Green State University, the University of North Florida just to name a few - this fall Holmes plans to give guest performances and masterclasses at Lawrence Conservatory and The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Michael Holmes is the current director of the Bowling Green State University saxophone camp and co-headmaster for the Illinois Summer Youth Music saxophone camp held at the University of Illinois. Michael is pleased to be a Selmer Artist/Clinician and performs on Selmer Paris saxophones exclusively, as well as a Vandoren Artist and plays Vandoren reeds, ligatures, and mouthpieces exclusively.

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Commissioned(*), Group Commission(#) and Premiered(^) works for saxophone:
- Untitled for tenor saxophone and tape by Ed Martin (tentatively 2009)*
- fo•ci for 13 saxophones by Erik Lund (2009)#
- Awakening for 13 saxophones by Ed Martin (2009)#
- World Without Words for 13 saxophones by Steve Taylor (2009)#
- The Line We Can't Cross for alto saxophone and tape by Kyung Mee Choi (2008)*^
- Reflection for solo alto saxophone by Hee Yun Kim (2008)*
- Flurry for soprano saxophone and tape by Ed Martin (2006)^
- For Luciano for solo alto saxophone by Marilyn Shrude (2004)*^
- Postcard from Riva del Garda for solo alto saxophone by John Stafford III (2004)*^
- Shotscattered Snap for solo alto saxophone by Sean Hagerty (2004)*^
- Postcard from the Dolomites for solo alto saxophone by Matthew Brazofsky (2004)*^
- Aria for alto saxophone and piano by Luke Rosen (2002)*^