School of Music

Bio

Bassoonist Michael Harley teaches courses in music history and theory, coaches chamber music, and is Artistic Director of the award-winning Southern Exposure New Music Series. Past full-time teaching positions include posts at Ohio University, Wright State University, and Goshen College (IN). His performances have been called “spectacular” (Washington Post) and “exquisite” (Columbus Dispatch). 

A proponent of contemporary music, Mike is a founding member of the acclaimed chamber orchestra Alarm Will Sound, called “one of the most vital and original ensembles on the American musical scene” (New York Times). He has worked with and premiered pieces by many of today’s most distinguished composers, including John Adams, Derek Bermel, Michael Gordon, Aaron Jay Kernis, David Lang, Steve Reich, Roger Reynolds, Wolfgang Rihm, Augusta Read Thomas, and Ken Ueno. A versatile musician, Mike has been featured as a soloist with AWS both as a bassoonist and singer.

Mike has played in diverse venues on four continents, ranging from nightclubs and bars (including Le Poisson Rouge and the Roxy in NYC) to Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Barbican (London), Amsterdam's Musiekgebouw aan 't IJ, and the Hermitage Theatre (St. Petersburg); and with groups including the indy rock group Dirty Projectors and the orchestras of Charleston, Columbus, Fort Wayne, South Bend, and Long Bay (Myrtle Beach), where he is principal bassoon. Current chamber projects include the pioneering bassoon collective Dark in the Song, the chamber ensemble LotUS, and Trio Chiaroscuro (flute, bassoon, and piano).  He is a member of the Rushes Ensemble, which recently premiered and toured Michael Gordon's groundbreaking concert-length work for seven bassoons, Rushes.  Festivals and conference performances include Lucca Opera Theater (Italy), Piccolo Spoleto, Music on the Hill Rhode Island, Mizzou New Music, Kent Blossom, and numerous International Double Reed Society conferences. 

Mike has degrees from the Eastman School of Music (D.M.A.), where he was awarded the Performer’s Certificate, the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (M.M.), and Goshen College (B.A., English and music). His teachers in include John Hunt, William Winstead, and Gwendolyn Rose. He lives in Columbia, with his wife, U.S.C. flute professor Jennifer Parker-Harley, and daughters Ella and Lucia.