At the age of 22, Mike Zonshine joined the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra as the Principal Trumpet - a job he held for almost a decade when the orchestra ceased operations.
Mike has studied at Boston University, the Eastman School of Music, and the University of Southern California. Also, Mike was twice a part of the Tanglewood Music Center's famed fellowship program, once winning the Voisin Trumpet Award.
Mike has extensive teaching experience. He co-founded the University of Hawaii Trumpet Ensemble, which soon became an ensemble that involved the entire trumpet community of the island of Oahu. Mike also taught for five summers at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, where he was the brass coach for the Young Artist's Orchestra. Also, as a Yamaha Performing Artist and Clinician, Mike has given many recitals and masterclasses at some of the top music institutions in the U.S., as well as countless masterclasses for high school and middle school band programs.
Mike currently resides in Southern California and continues to teach and perform actively in a freelance capacity. In addition, he remains active in Hawaii as Principal Trumpet of the new Hawaii Symphony Orchestra and in the Hawaii Opera Theatre.
