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Michael Kroth earns top faculty recognition from MSU
Esteemed MSU bassoonist and administrative leader named Beal Award winner.
Michael Kroth is a superb musician, an inspiring teacher and leader, and one of the most sought after bassoonists performing today. As a performer, he leads by example. As a teacher, he encourages students to develop their own distinct musical voice. As an administrator, he inspires students and colleagues alike with his insightful leadership. Now, after years of excellence as part of the Michigan State University Community, he has been honored with the William J. Beal Outstanding Faculty Award.
Kroth is an active performer who is equally skilled in large orchestral settings and intimate chamber music ensembles. His technical prowess and expressive range make him a sought-after musician in both these venues. A frequent guest artist with the Cleveland and Detroit Symphony Orchestras, he is the principal bassoonist with the Lansing Symphony Orchestra and has performed with the Milwaukee, Grand Rapids, Midland, Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, and Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestras.
Kroth has extended his reputation abroad through frequent participation in competitive festival performances and solo appearances with international orchestras. He also plays bassoon in both the Peninsula Music Festival and the Colorado College Summer Music Festival, two internationally acclaimed ensembles whose members are drawn from major orchestras in the United States and abroad.
As a teacher, he has taught undergraduate and graduate students who have gone on to prestigious jobs as performers and teachers. He tailors his teaching to each student and is especially skilled at helping students develop their own artistic sensibilities, using private lessons, bassoon studio classes, and master classes to help them see how their individual musical ideas can be nurtured, grown, and passed on to subsequent generations. His students recognize his commitment to their success and praise his ability to get the best from each of them.
His highly successful record in placing students in the most competitive music programs in the country includes the Yale School of Music, Cleveland Institute of Music, Curtis Institute of Music, Eastman School of Music, Mannes School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, and Juilliard.
At MSU, he is a dedicated and respected administrator, serving the College of Music as associate dean for Undergraduate Studies. Highly respected throughout the College, Kroth has also received acknowledgement by the university as an Outstanding Supervisor.
For his dedication to the advancement of musical artistry and pedagogy, his work to advance a bassoon studio of both undergraduate and graduate students, and his commitment to the smooth functioning of undergraduate education in the College of Music, Michael Kroth is most deserving of the Michigan State University William J. Beal Outstanding Faculty Award.
