Michael Martin is a section double bassist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, having joined the orchestra in 2025. Previously, he was Principal Bass of Chicago Sinfonietta. He has appeared with orchestras across the country, including the Chicago Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Sphinx Virtuosi, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, and San Diego Symphony, among many others. Formerly, he was a fellow with the New World Symphony for three seasons, a CCM/CSO Diversity Fellow, and holds degrees from Northwestern University and Oberlin Conservatory of Music. He lives in Northside, Cincinnati with his wife Rose, their newborn son, a beloved tuxedo cat named “Tofu”, and an ever-expanding collection of houseplants.

Michael began his study of the double bass with Suzuki pedagogue Domenick Fiore, and quickly discovered a deep love of the instrument in all its capacities. He has since studied with a number of mentors and professors, including Joseph Conyers, Tracy Rowell, Andrew Raciti, Owen Lee, and Alexander Hanna. Throughout his undergraduate and graduate degrees, Michael developed a passion for string pedagogy, and is currently on faculty at Bass Works Maryland (of which he is an alum) during the summer and maintains a growing private studio at home. As part of his graduate degree, he studied string pedagogy with cellists Hans Jørgen Jensen and Cornelia Watkins-Dyer, whose seminal insights on the art and science of string playing continue to inform his approach to the double bass. He is also the creator of Black Reflections, a three-part panel discussion series on racial justice in music, featuring Black luminaries of classical music and jazz such as Chi-chi Nwanoku, Christian McBride, and Dr. Tammy Kernodle. Michael plays a modern instrument made for him in 2019 by Christopher Savino, and a bow by celebrated French bowmaker Jean Grunberger.