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Mike Barnett balances an active career as a composer/songwriter, performer, recording artist, record producer, author and educator. He currently teaches Songwriting and Music in the Rock Era in the College of Music. His wildly eclectic creative output and non-traditional background distinguish him among his peers.

A passion for rock music led Barnett to discover his penchant for the drums. He began self-instruction at an early age and was well established in the world of heavy metal and art rock while still in his teens. He has worked as a songwriter and drummer in several bands over the years, including , , and Throttle, and has performed on many studio recordings as a “hired gun.” He has also produced records for various rock and pop artists. Other work includes an instrumental heavy metal/progressive/classical fusion project called , which brings together electric violins and electric celli with conventional electric bass guitar and drum set. The first Terminal Degree recording, “The Middle of Nowhen,” met with high critical acclaim and commercial success. The second studio effort, “Breed,” which features Barnett’s CU Boulder colleague—the late Chas Wetherbee—on electric violin, was released in 2016. Barnett’s most recent effort is an eclectic and growing collection of singles released under the artist name that can be heard on Spotify, Apple Music and all other major streaming platforms.     

Barnett holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in composition from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and a DMA in composition from the University of Colorado Boulder. His concert music has been performed around the world by prominent musicians and , and has earned him numerous awards.

Barnett’s output as a composer includes orchestral works, violin and piano concerti, wind ensembles, a chamber opera and many chamber works, solo works and songs. In addition to his recent work with Chas Wetherbee, Barnett has enjoyed collaborations with CU Boulder colleagues Erika Eckert, David Korevaar, David Requiro and Michael Thornton. Videos of live performances of some of Barnett’s music, recorded from the college’s Faculty Tuesdays recital series, are linked below.

In 2017, Barnett published the textbook (Cognella Academic Publishing).

Composition   Music theory