Michael Hernandez

Michael Hernandez is currently on the faculty of San Jose State University, where he serves as the Woodwind Area Coordinator, Coordinator of the Chamber Music Studies Program, Lecturer of Saxophone and conductor of the SJSU Saxophone Chamber Orchestra. Hernandez has been a member of NASA since 2000.

Michael has been described as one of the finest soprano saxophone artists of the present generation. He has been heard in concert halls throughout Germany, Switzerland, Poland, France, Holland, Austria, Italy, the UK, Canada, and the United States. He has also been broadcasted several times nationwide on NPR’s Performance Today. Recently Hernandez has appeared with the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, Echo Chamber Orchestra, Espressivo Chamber Orchestra, Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, The Phoenix Symphony Guild, The San Jose Wind Symphony, New Century Chamber Orchestra, The Santa Cruz Symphony, The National Music Festival Orchestra, The Hot Springs Music Festival Orchestra, North Valley Symphony, Musica Nova Orchestra, The San Jose State University Wind Ensemble, The San Jose University Orchestra, The Monterey Symphony, and the West Valley Symphony.

Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Hernandez has enjoyed collaborating with many well known Bay Area organizations such as Empyrean Ensemble, Keyed Kontraptions, Earplay, Opera Parallele, Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, Composers Inc.,Mercury Soul, McEvoy Foundation for the Arts,& Hot Air Music Festival. Currently he is the Principal Saxophonist of the Santa Cruz Symphony.

As founding soprano saxophonist of the critically acclaimed MANA Quartet, Michael has been invited to hold residencies at dozens of music festivals and universities including Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, Hot Springs Music Festival, National Music Festival, Music in the Mountains, The Taneycomo Festival Orchestra, The Festival of New American Music, Ethos New Music Festival, and the Oklahoma State Contemporary Music Festival.

Hernandez is an endorsing artist for Key Leaves, Lefreque, and D’Addario Woodwinds and is the founder and co-owner of MANA Mouthpieces.