Mike Forbes (b. 1973) is currently enjoying an international career as a performer-composer, renowned for his works for brass instruments, band, and orchestra. His compositions, published by several prominent publishers, frequently appear on the JW Pepper “Editor’s Choice” list. He has received notable commissions from university wind ensembles, orchestras, and some of today’s most prominent solo brass artists.

A dedicated advocate for music education, Dr. Forbes conducts composition clinics for middle and high school students across the United States. During his residencies, he often collaborates with students to create and develop musical motives, later integrating these ideas into larger works for band and string orchestra. He also occasionally conducts honor bands, often featuring his own music.

Forbes was recently commissioned by the Wisconsin Schools of Music Association to compose a new work for the High School State Honors Orchestra. The premiere of this work, Rolling Boil, was broadcast on PBS. His compositions have repeatedly won the Dallas Wind Symphony Fanfare Composition Competition and have earned numerous awards and accolades from the U.S. Army Band, the Humboldt Brass Festival, and the International Tuba-Euphonium Association.  His Alpine Concerto, composed for the International Tuba Competition in Geneva, Switzerland, has become a mainstay in solo tuba and chamber music competitions globally, alongside several of his other works.

Staff Sergeant Forbes began his career as a tubist with the U.S. Army Band, “Pershing’s Own,” and subsequently served on the music faculties of various universities from the East Coast to the Midwest for 20 years. He also performed as the tubist with the “Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band” on Garrison Keillor’s popular radio show, A Prairie Home Companion. As a solo tuba performer, Forbes has given concerts around the world, most recently in Europe, Mexico, Taiwan, and Norway. 

Forbes’s artistry is captured on two solo albums released through Summit Records: Forbes Plays Koetsier (2006) and Forbes Plays Forbes (2013), as well as on a dozen other chamber and collaborative recordings.