Michael Varner is professor of percussion at the University of Texas at Arlington, a position he has held for 24 years.  As Coordinator of Percussion activities he is involved in every aspect of percussion including Percussion Ensemble, Marching Percussion, Marimba Ensemble, and a full schedule of private students.

Dr. Varner is currently presenting a series of recitals featuring both time-honored and newly composed works for percussion in preparation for the national release of a solo CD.  His recitals often include compositions that integrate computer and MIDI effects into live performance.  He has performed chamber music and studio work in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area including appearances with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.

Dr. Varner wins Honors College Teaching award

Dr. Varner has been a member of the UTArlington Honors college faculty since 1996.  He is the only music faculty member to be an honors college professor and his World music course is offered as a section for honors students.  Although it is a yearly event for the UTArlington colleges to choose a honor a faculty member for teaching excllence 2004 was the first year the Honors college named a recipient.  A committee of honors students and faculty chose Dr. Varner as the first honors college recipient of this prestigious teaching award.  Dr. Varner’s work with culture and music is well known throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth area.  Dr. Varner regularly lectures on the music of India, Africa, Japan, Indonesia, the Caribbean and the Americas.  His style of teaching takes world music from lecture into an experiential experience in which students meet representatives from various cultures as well as participate in performing, singing, and dancing the musics of those cultures.  While visiting Japan he also presented clinics/performances on American traditional drumming.

In 2000 Dr. Varner hosted the Percussive Arts Society's International Convention.  As host he was responsible for organizing the performance sites, the artists, the company support, and a massive publicity campaign.  A record-setting 7,593 attendees filled the Hyatt Regency, Union Station and the Dallas Convention Center making it the largest percussion convention in history!  The exhibit area featured 116 exhibitors using 22,968 net square feet of exhibit space: the largest net square feet ever utilized at a PASIC.

Widely in demand as an educator and clinician, he has been invited to give presentations throughout the United States, Japan and Europe focusing on developing  precision technique and musical expression. Most recently he presented clinics for the Connecticut Music Educators State Convention, and the European Music Educators Convention held in Frankfurt, Germany and was invited to present Beyond time and technique: Discovering the "musical" snare drum at the Kansas, Indiana, and West Virginia Music Educators State Conventions. In previous years he has been featured at the Music Educators National Conventions and state music education conventions for Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Kansas, Indiana, and West Virginia
He has performed at state conventions for the Texas, Connecticut, Utah, Ohio, Michigan, and Minnesota Percussive Arts Societies.   Recently the Yamaha music corporation commissioned him to write an article on perfecting the marimba "roll" for their Percussion Education Series. He was Vice President of the Texas Percussive Arts Society from 1985 to 1991.  In 2001 Dr. Varner was invited to perform a lecture-recital entitled Blending cultures and styles: A unique approach to percussion literaturefor the Texas Music Educators Association State Convention.  This was the first marimba recital presented at TMEA in many years and reflected Dr. Varner's interest in percussion performance and world music diversity.

He continues to be active nationally in the field of marching percussion adjudicating and presenting clinics.   Under his guidance the UT Arlington drum line has been nationally recognized and has performed at numerous marching exhibitions including the 1982, 1988, 1993 and 2000 Percussive Arts Societies International competitions. He has worked with nationally recognized drum and bugle corps, including the DCI champion Chicago Cavaliers and the Toledo Glassmen.

Dr. Varner continues his interest in composition by accepting frequent commission from university and high schools across the United States. He publishes many of his own compositions and has also released works through Southern Music, Studio Four, and Permus Publications.   

He received his Doctorate in Percussion Performance from the University of North Texas with his dissertation on "The Marimba Concerti of David Maslanka."  He holds a Master of Music degree in Percussion Performance from the University of Michigan and a bachelor of music degree from Bowling Green State University, Ohio.  Prior to his appointment at UTArlington he taught percussion, ethnomusicology, jazz, and marching band for five years at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo. He is currently an endorsee for Yamaha Drums, Sabian Cymbals and Evans Heads