Michael Ushino received his Masters in Music for Choral Conducting from the Bob Cole Conservatory at California State University, Long Beach in 2013. He also received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Economics from the University of California, Irvine in 2010. He performed as a singer and choralist in throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and the United States. He has also performed and conducted on stage with internationally acclaimed performers such as Kronos Quartet and the Rolling Stones. His conducting mentors have included Professor Emeritus Joseph Huszti, Dr. Jonathan Talberg, and Keith Hancock. 

Michael serves as the director of the Choral/Vocal Arts Department at San Juan Hills High School and heads the program's Vocal Music Conservatory. He has also taken the San Juan Hills High School Choirs on concert tours to San Francisco, New York, France, Luxembourg, and Germany with performances in notable venues including Carnegie Hall in New York City, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, and the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain. He also has conducted the San Juan Hills High School Chamber Singers at the California All-State Music Educators Conference (CASMEC) in February 2023 and at the American Choral Directors Association Western Region Conference in March 2024.

As the vocal director for the musical theatre productions at San Juan Hills, he has helped produce shows including: Urinetown (Winter 2014), Oklahoma (Spring 2015), 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Winter 2015), Cinderella (Spring 2016 & Winter 2023), Into the Woods (Winter 2016), Fiddler on the Roof (Spring 2017), the Drowsy Chaperone (Winter 2017), Les Misérables (Spring 2018), Little Women (Winter 2018), Kiss Me Kate (Spring 2019), Newsies (Winter 2019), Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (Winter 2021), Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame (Spring 2021), Legally Blonde (Winter 2021), Beauty and the Beast (Spring 2022), Chicago (Spring 2023), and Crazy for You (Spring 2024). 

Michael currently serves as a co-artistic director for the male voice choir known as the Men in Blaque based in Irvine, CA. He has sung with the Men in Blaque since 2007 and competed with the ensemble in numerous prize-winning tours including the 2010 World Choir Games in Shaoxing, China and the 2017 International Musical Eistedfodd in Langollen, Wales.  During his undergraduate experience, Michael helped found and performed with the male acappella group "Circle of Fifths" at UCI.

Michael currently serves on the 2022-2024 Executive Board of the Southern California Vocal Association as President-Elect and has previously served as the Vice President of High School Honor Choirs. Michael has presented for workshops and reading sessions for the Southern California Vocal Association, local universities, and for local school district music programs. He also adjudicates choral festivals and clinics with choirs in the local area. He also previously served as the Visual and Performing Arts Department Chair for San Juan Hills High School.

If there is ever a spare moment, you can find Michael and his wife Stephanie somewhere in Disneyland likely with a churro in hand.