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Biography

​Dr. Michael Christensen is the Director of Instrumental Music at Cowley County Community College in Arkansas City Kansas. He previously held teaching positions at Coffeyville Community College as Director of Instrumental Music, University of Texas in Brownsville as Lecturer of Saxophone and Director of Jazz Bands, Lubbock Independent School District as a private lessons teacher and Assistant Director of Bands at O.L. Slaton Middle School. 

As an educator, Dr. Christensen has had the opportunity to develop courses within the collegiate curriculum including music theory, music technology, and music appreciation. From 2016 to 2019, he oversaw and developed the CCC band program from scratch,  increasing enrollment in the program and branding the arena band as the CCC "Sound Machine." Recently, he serves as Director of Instrumental Music at Cowley College, a position he has held since 2019. In that time, he carried on the new image of the Tiger Beat basketball band and in addition to his teaching duties serves as arranger for all of the Tiger Beat pep band stand tunes. In the spring of 2021, his premiere performance as concert band arranger/composer was given by the Cowley College concert band.

Branching out in recent years, Dr. Christensen has found his way from the performance hall stage as a performer, to not only arranger and composer of music, but also as maestro of numerous musical theater productions. His credits as maestro include: Oliver! the Musical, Beauty and the Beast, Seussical the Musical, 9 to 5, and Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. 

As an active performer and educator, you can find Dr. Christensen at numerous events and conferences throughout the United States including the Kansas Music Educators Association conference, North American Saxophone Alliance conventions, Jazz Education Network, and several others. While at home, Dr. Christensen enjoys working on exciting new pep band and concert band arrangements, and is a fan of trivia games.