Miranda Hughes (B.A. in Percussion Performance from Virginia Tech) is an active percussion soloist, chamber musician, and educator specializing in classical and contemporary genres. Based in Tallahassee, Florida, she has appeared with the award-winning Florida State Percussion Ensemble, Virginia Tech Percussion Ensemble, Opera Roanoke, Cayambis Sinfonietta, VT Wind Ensemble, VT Philharmonic Orchestra, VT New Music Ensemble, The Marching Virginians, and the Blacksburg Community Band. Miranda has performed with musicians such as Claire Chase, Michael Burritt, Christopher Jones, and Escape Ten. She has also been a part of world premieres with composers Hilary Tann, Brant Blackard, Marcus Norris, and many others.

In the last year, Miranda received First Prize in the Virginia Tech Soloist Competition, and was a semi-finalist in the Great Plains International Marimba Competition. She was also the winner of three categories in the 2023 Virginia/D.C. Percussive Arts Society Percussion Solo Competition – Keyboard, Timpani, and Multiple Percussion. She received Third Prize at the PASIC Concert Chamber Percussion Ensemble Competition with the Virginia Tech Percussion Ensemble in 2021 and was awarded Second Prize in The Green Vibes Project Solo Vibraphone Competition in 2020.

As an educator, Miranda has taught numerous middle school and high school percussionists as a private instructor. She currently teaches privately in Tallahassee, FL. Additionally, Miranda serves as a Graduate Assistant at Florida State University, where she teaches the Percussion Techniques course. Miranda is also an experienced marching percussion instructor, teaching drum lines and front ensembles since 2019 throughout southwest Virginia.

Apart from performing and teaching, Miranda has experience in arts administration and social media management. In this capacity, she interned with Chicago based, Grammy Award-winning, Third Coast Percussion in the spring of 2021. Additionally, she has held the titles of Virginia Tech percussion club president, percussion equipment coordinator, and social media coordinator. Miranda is also a member of the Percussive Arts Society and Diversity Alliance.

Miranda is currently pursuing her Master of Music degree in percussion performance from Florida State University, under the instruction of Dr. John Parks IV, and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in percussion performance from Virginia Tech with Dr. Annie Stevens. Miranda is also interested in non-western music, having studied West African hand drumming, singing, and dancing with Otu Kojo. Her teachers include John Parks, Annie Stevens, Rob Sanderl, Brant Blackard, and Adam Clark.