Michael Choi is a freelance musician in the local Orange County area. He has studied under many notable artists such as Ashlin Parker, Kye Palmer, Tim Hall, Bill Cunliffe, and Francisco Torres.  He has also shared the stage and performed with musicians such as Ellis and Delfeayo Marsalis, Eric Marienthal, and Bob McChesney. As a classical musician, he has been featured on the Hummel Trumpet Concerto and Gabriel’s Oboe at Irvine Valley College.

After graduating from Aliso Niguel High School, he attended The Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA as a film scoring/performance major. While at Berklee, he was invited to play with the Boston Pops Orchestra to perform the “Distant World: Music from Final Fantasy Concert.” He later auditioned and was chosen as a trumpet instrumentalist in the United States Marine Corps and was stationed in New Orleans, LA. He has performed in over 400 commitments as a bugler, featured soloist, section leader, and section member. During his time off his horn, he was the Defense Travel System Chief and oversaw coordinating any travel expenses for the Marine Corps band. This gave him the opportunity to organize and oversee all logistics and an annual budget of $500,000.  He was able to travel across the world and perform in venues such as the New Orleans superdome, Houston Rodeo, Academy of Country music awards, and many more. After his four years of service, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement medal for his hard work and dedication as a musician and Marine.

After his time in the Marine Corps, he stayed local as a musician in New Orleans where he performed in the downtown area at various jazz clubs. Michael has returned to Irvine to complete his degree in Jazz Studies at California State University, Fullerton and is the recipient of the Scholarship Performance Award.