Mike Ellis is currently the Director of Bands at Canyon Junior High and Canyon Intermediate Schools. Mike is in his 11th year of public school teaching, having held positions at Valleyview Junior High and Tascosa High School. His bands have been selected as winners of the ATSSB Outstanding Performance Series in 2007 and selected as Honor Band Finalist in 2006.

He has been a member of the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra for 22 years, currently holding the position of principal horn. Mike is also the principal horn in the Amarillo Opera orchestra and has appeared as Principal Horn with the Randel Chamber Orchestra, the Roswell Symphony, the Southwest Symphony and the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra.

He holds a Bachelor’s in Horn Performance and Master of Arts in Conducting from West Texas A&M University, where he studied with Ron Lemon and Dr. Gary Garner respectively. He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in Horn Performance at Texas Tech University, where he studies with Christopher M. Smith.

Mike is a 3-time winner of the West Texas A&M University Concerto Competition. He has appeared as Guest Artist with the Amarillo Symphony horn section at the Texas Tech Panhandle Horn Workshop, and performed at the Mid-South Horn Workshop at the University of Texas. Mike was featured as a soloist with the Amarillo Symphony in February of 2007.