A professional musician and educator since 2005, Dr. Michael Douty fosters an enthusiastic rehearsal environment for ensembles under his direction. After earning a Bachelor’s degree in Instrumental Music Education from Milligan College, Douty taught elementary music and grades 6-12 band in Greene County, Tennessee. He then earned a Master of Music at the University of Tennessee, studying conducting with Dr. Gary Sousa, and a PhD at Florida State University, conducting wind ensembles with Prof. Richard Clary, orchestra with Dr. Alexander Jiménez, and choir with Dr. André Thomas.

Douty has directed numerous church and community ensembles, has performed professionally on multiple woodwinds for theater and orchestra, and currently teaches band and orchestra at Fairview Middle School in Tallahassee. An advocate for new music, Douty has conducted chamber music by Ondřej Štochl for the biennial FSU Festival of New Music and has commissioned and directed new works by Michael Markowski and Jorge Variego. In his 2019 dissertation, Douty highlighted significant contributions of female composers to the repertoire for chamber winds. He resides in Tallahassee with his wife and two children.