Mikayla McCommas

Mikayla McCommas is the Adjunct Instructor of Horn at University of Tennessee in Martin. She is working towards completing her Doctorate in Horn Performance at Indiana University with Jeff Nelsen. McCommas received her Masters in Horn Performance at IU studying modern horn with Dale Clevenger and natural horn with Richard Seraphinoff. A native of North Texas, she completed her Bachelors in Music Education at Stephen F. Austin State University with Dr. Charles Gavin. 

Since moving to Bloomington in 2017, McCommas has been freelancing with several regional orchestras and chamber groups around the Midwest, and frequently performs with the Evansville Philharmonic and the “Hot Horns” brass quintet. Established in 2018, she founded Indiana University's horn choir, the Big Red Horn Club, as a unifying organization for the nearly fifty horn students at the Jacobs School of Music to engage and perform for the Bloomington community. She explores special interests in researching deliberate practice methods for the horn, giving an online lecture at the International Horn Symposium in 2020 titled “Quality Over Quantity: Efficient Practice Habits to Prepare for Effective Performance”. In 2022, McCommas served as the Associate Instructor of Horn at Indiana University—teaching lessons, leading morning routines, coordinating ensemble auditions, and executing administrative duties for the horn department. Her transformative experience at Kendall Betts Horn Camp in 2023, led to her serving on staff the following year.

Her teaching is inspired by the mentorship of her previous private horn instructors: Karen Houghton, Charles Gavin, Alex Shuhan, Richard Seraphinoff, Dale Clevenger, and Jeff Nelsen. McCommas has been teaching private lessons for over a decade, to students ranging from 10 - 40 years of age. Outside of the horn, she works as an administrative assistant for the brass department at IU and as a barista and baker at a local coffee shop.