Our Grand Mesa neighbor, Michael Domjan, is a man of many things: devoted husband, academic, avid reader, world traveler, and musician. This article is not only dedicated to learning a little bit more him, but intended to spark joy in building community with others around us. We’re also highlighting one of his great passion projects. Read on.

 

“I was born in Budapest, Hungary. One of my fondest childhood take-a-ways included time spent with my grandfather. He was an avid amateur musician and introduced me and my siblings to the violin. Violins are more common than guitars in Budapest, so we all learned to play. I became a refugee after Russians invaded Hungary in 1956.”

 

After leaving Hungary, Michael lived in Switzerland for a year before coming to the USA. Initially, his family lived in New York City and then moved to New Jersey, but he was still close enough to the city so that he and his brother could enroll in the preparatory division of Juilliard. Becoming a professional musician wasn’t the career goal: he became an experimental psychologist and did not play for 30 years while running a research lab at UT. Today, he plays the viola with the Balcones Community Orchestra and the Central Texas Medical Orchestra while still a professor of Psychology at UT. 

 

“I have been a prominent member of the faculty at UT for five decades during which I have received numerous forms of recognition. My books are used in college campuses in many countries around the world and have been translated into Spanish, Turkish, and Persian. I also have a series of mini-lectures on YouTube about my specialty area, conditioning and learning, and about music & psychology. These videos have been viewed by tens of thousands of people from around the world (30 countries at last count)” he shares.

 

He enjoys playing with the different orchestras. It helps keep up his skills so that he can continually illustrate concepts in his Music & Psychology class at UT. Playing is also passion that has led to a wonderful opportunity right here in Leander.

 

Every year for Johann Sebastian Bach’s birthday, a spontaneous, global community of musicians unites to sow the seeds for future generations of classical music lovers and share their joy and inspiration for their artform. And Michael was a part of it! He recently performed in this one-of-a-kind performance at the Leander Public Library last March.

 

Michael’s performance consisted of him playing the music of Bach, as a part of the world-wide series of performances known as “Bach in the Subways.” These performances are held each year and this was the first “Bach in the Subways” performance in Leander. “It put Leander on the map of official performances that now includes cities all over the USA, Europe, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, and Mexico” announced Michael! Visit https://bachinthesubways.org to learn even more about this world-wide musical celebration.  

 

Michael and his wife, Deborah Stote, moved to Grand Mesa in 2019, after living in Austin for a long time. Together, they are devoted to two dogs and two cats and love taking walks through the neighborhood. They love where they live and no longer having to battle the crowding in Austin.