Mike Vaccaro is a freelance musician in greater Los Angeles, California. He is active in the fields of motion pictures, television, jingles, live theater, and classical, jazz, and pop concerts. Performing on a multitude of woodwind instruments including the clarinet, flute, saxophone, and oboe families his background and current performance activities are varied.
After studies at Cerritos College and Cal State University Long Beach (where he premiered the Scaramouche for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra by Darius Milhaud) in classical music he served his professional apprenticeship on tours with Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, Paul Horn, and the American Folk Ballet.
A four year stint in Las Vegas had him performing for production shows and celebrities and various hotels. At the same time he was performing with the Las Vegas Chamber Players and the Las Vegas Symphony Orchestra.
His career included the Pantages Theater, South Bay Civic Light Opera, with The Pageant Of The Masters Orchestra, Long Beach Grand Opera, and in a variety of recording studios, venues, and at concerts throughout the area. Some recording engagements included The Academy Awards, and the motion pictures, Up, Star Trek, Speed Racer, Ratatouille, Hairspray, Land of the Lost, and Mission Impossible, The Incredibles, etc. In addition he is the music contractor at The Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts going on his 29th year contracting local musicians for celebrities. He has been semi-retired since 2008 and making a CD or two every year in both the jazz and classical idioms. Also in retirement he continues to make mouthpieces for clarinet and saxophone and plays and records with his saxophone quartet. His jazz and classical recordings can be purchased at www.mikevaccaro2.bandcamp.com Most recently he is presenting and producing the music of John Scott. You can sign on to a bi-monthly blog at mikevaccaro.com and yes Mike does teach just a few students on clarinet, saxophone, and flute (a limit of 5 per week). He performs on the Eastman 850 Alto Sax, the 52nd Street Soprano Sax, and the Haynes flute.