Michael Mixtacki is a performer and educator, currently teaching percussion and world music at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL. He teaches applied percussion lessons and classes, co-directs the NIU Percussion Ensemble, and is the director of the NIU Latin Jazz and Afro-Cuban Folkloric Ensembles. 

As a performer, Michael is the drummer, percussionist, lead singer, and arranger for Ritmos Unidos, based in Bloomington, IN, and helped co-produce their recent CD release, ¡Funklorico! Michael has recorded with Grammy nominee Wayne Wallace, and has also been featured as a singer and percussionist with Brazilian bands Grupo Balança in Madison, WI and Ginga in Boulder, CO.  He has performed as a timpanist with the Madison Symphony Orchestra and has played in a number of clinics and performances at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention and the Jazz Education Network Convention. 

Michael is a regular faculty member at the UW-Summer Music Clinic in Madison, WI, and the Birch Creek Percussion and Steel band session in Egg Harbor, WI. He is a highly sought after guest artist at many colleges and high schools throughout the Midwest as both a percussionist and a singer. Michael is an endorser of Latin Percussion (LP) instruments and Innovative Percussion sticks and mallets.