TU music alumnus to appear on ‘Jeopardy!’

Watch Henry Michaels ’14 on the quiz show Feb. 2

By Rebecca Kirkman on February 1, 2021

Game show floor of Jeopardy! with host Ken Jennings and Henry Michaels — Henry Michaels ’14, right, with “Jeopardy!” guest host Ken Jennings. (Photo courtesy “Jeopardy!”)

Towson University alumnus Henry Michaels ’14 will trade his trombone for a buzzer as a contestant on “Jeopardy!”

Michaels, who graduated from TU with a Master of Music in trombone performance, will appear alongside the quiz show’s first in a series of guest hosts, record-breaking “Jeopardy!” champion Ken Jennings.

“I’ve always played along at home when watching ‘Jeopardy!,’ but the idea of actually being on the show didn’t really occur to me until fairly recently,” says Michaels, who lives in Santa Barbara and works as director of audience experience and engagement at Music Academy of the West. “Being able to play a real-life game of ‘Jeopardy!’ was so much fun.”

The North Carolina native says his experience at TU inspired him to continue in academia. He is currently completing a doctoral degree in musicology at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), and has taught lectures on the history and culture of music at UCSB and Westmont College.

“The professors with whom I worked at TU helped guide me on the path of pursuing a musicology degree, which led me directly to where I am now,” he says.

Catch Michaels on “Jeopardy!” Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. EST on WBFF Fox Baltimore.