Mike Roylance

Mike W. Roylance is the principal tuba of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which he joined in 2003. Previously, Roylance performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and Seattle Symphony. Prior to joining the BSO, he was a member of Walt Disney World’s Future Corps in Orlando, Florida. Being well-versed in many styles of music, Roylance has also enjoyed a diverse and celebrated freelance career including performances and masterclasses throughout Europe, China, and Japan.

Roylance has been a featured soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops, and the U.S. Coast Guard Band and has ushered in many new works including Gunther Schuller's Tuba Concerto No. 2, for which he gave the critically acclaimed premiere. He also premiered Teutonic Tales, a new work for tuba written for him by Robert W. Smith, recording it for CD along with three tangos by Astor Piazzolla.

On faculties at Boston University and New England Conservatory of Music as well as Tanglewood Music Center, Roylance is an active teacher, coach, and chamber musician. He has presented masterclasses and recitals at numerous locations around the United States and is often called upon as an audition coach. Additionally, he founded and directs the tuba/euphonium workshop at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute.

Roylance is on the advisory board of Kids 4 Harmony, an El Sistema-inspired program based in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, which transforms the lives of children by providing them with the opportunity to learn and play orchestral music at no cost to them.

He received his Bachelor of Music from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, and his Master of Music at DePaul University in Chicago. An avid pilot with an instrument rating and an active cyclist, Roylance lives in Boston with his wife Amanda and their three daughters.