As a musicologist, Baritone Michael Hix has been praised by critics for his "expressive voice" and "commanding stage presence." Originally from Ozark, Alabama, Hix holds a Bachelor of Music degree in music theory from Furman University, dual masters degrees in voice and historical musicology from Florida State University and Doctorate of Music in Voice Performance from Florida State University.  Recently Dr. Hix participated in the National Association of Teachers of Singing Intern Program where he worked under the tutelage of Dr. Stephen King.

Hix made his South American debut singing at the XII Concurso y Festival Internacional di Canto Lirico in Peru. Recent European performances include the bass solos in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass and Heligmesse at the International Haydn Festival in Vienna, Austria.

In June 2006 Hix was featured as a soloist on the “Bernstein on Broadway” concert with the Boston Pops.  Conducted by Keith Lockhart, the concert included selections from West Side Story, Candide, Wonderful Town and On the Town.

In July and August of 2006, Hix was a vocal fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, the Boston Symphony’s Institute for Advanced Musical Study.  While at Tanglewood he was featured in concerts at Seiji Ozawa Hall, where he performed works by Mozart, Dessau, and Copland, and Babbitt.  In addition to his performances while at Tanglewood, Hix had the opportunity to coach with Dawn Upshaw, Lucy Shelton, and Ken Griffiths, and sing in masterclasses with James Levine, Kurt Ollman, and Phyliss Curtin.

Recent operatic roles include Angelotti in Tosca, Falke in Die Fledermaus, Lord Mountararat in Iolanthe, Germont in La Traviata, Don Alfonso in Cosí fan tutte, Nick Shadow in The Rake’s Progress, Melchior in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Noye in Noye’s Fludde, Monterone in Rigoletto, and Bertouf in the world premiere of A Friend of Napoleon by Pulitzer Prize winning composer Robert Ward. Hix has sung with Ohio Light Opera, Opera Birmingham, Ashlawn-Highland Opera, Opera del Sol, Florida State Opera, and Furman University Opera. 
  
Past concert and oratorio solo engagements have included Mendelssohn’s Elijah,  J.S. Bach’s Johannes-Passion, B Minor Mass,  Christmas Oratorio,  and Lutherische Messen, Handel’s Messiah, John Eccles’ Hymn to Harmony, Mozart’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Vaughan William’s Hodie, and Mahler’ Kindertotenlieder. Hix has been featured in concerts with the Boston Pops, Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, Tallahassee Symphony, Tupelo Symphony, Cobb Symphony, Montgomery Symphony, Southeastern Symphony Orchestra, Tallahassee Bach Parley, Highland Park Chorale, Okaloosa Chamber Singers and Florida State New Music Ensemble. 

 As a musicologist, Hix is the winner of numerous awards including the Simonton
 Literary Prize and a student presentation award from the American Musicological Society. His research has been published in the Journal of Singing, the Choral Journal, the American Theater Organ Society Journal, and Great Lives of African Americans and Musicians and Composers of the 20th Century both published by Salem Press.  His research interests include: Opera, Baroque vocal music, silent film music, the theater organ, politics and music, and 20th century song repertoire. 

Hix is an Assistant Professor of Voice and the Coordinator of Choral/Vocal studies at Troy University in Alabama, where he teaches voice, aural skills, and music history.  He is married to soprano/ethnomusicologist Meg Jackson.  They have three, furry, four-legged children (cats) named Oktai, Xango, and Solomon.

 

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