Dr. Ryan Gardner is the Assistant Professor of Trumpet at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma, where he teaches trumpet and directs their Trumpet Ensembles. He is the recipient of the Oklahoma State University’s Junior Faculty Award and was named the 2014 Distinguished Professor of Music Award by the First Lady of Oklahoma State.
Originally from Santa Monica, California, began studies with Paul Salvo and Boyde Hood. Dr. Gardner received his Bachelor of Music from the Eastman School of Music with highest distinction having studied with Jim Thompson. His Master of Music is from Rice University – Shepherd School of Music, where he was under the tutelage of Marie Speziale. His Doctor of Musical Arts is from the Manhattan School of Music. While in New York, he worked with former principal trumpeter of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Mark Gould, and the former second trumpet player of the New York Philharmonic, Vincent Penzarella. Dr. Gardner’s thesis is based on Penzarella’s pedagogical techniques and philosophies, which include innovative ideas on breathing, air usage, and brass playing, as well as performance psychology.
Dr. Gardner has been teaching students for more than a decade. Prior to his appointment at OSU, Dr. Gardner served as the Assistant Professor of High Brass and the Jazz Band Director at the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith. His students have been accepted on scholarship into distinguished graduate programs and elite summer festivals. At the 2012, 2013, and 2014 International Trumpet Guild Conferences, OSU’s Trumpet Ensemble received rave reviews and standing ovations for their performances. Dr. Gardner’s students have achieved success at the regional, national and international levels, most recently winning the 2014 National Trumpet Competition Trumpet Ensemble Division as well as International Trumpet Guild Scholarship awards.
As an orchestral performer, Dr. Gardner has played with the Los Angeles and Rochester Philharmonics; Honolulu, Charleston, and Tulsa Symphonies; Artosphere Festival Orchestra; Aldeburgh Festival Britten-Pears Orchestra in England; and Verbier Festival Orchestra in Switzerland. Dr. Gardner is an avid chamber musician, playing with the Three-Fifths trio; OSU Brass Trio; OSU, Eastman, Rochester Philharmonic, and Houston Symphony Brass Quintets; as well as concerts with the new music ensembles Alarm Will Sound and Crash Ensemble. Dr. Gardner has also been privileged to work with artists such as Ray Charles, Doc Severinson, Canadian Brass, Allen Vizzutti, Wayne Bergeron, and Michael Tillson-Thomas, among others.
Dr. Gardner is the Artistic Manager for Music for Autism and a Bach Performing Artist and Clinician. He has presented clinics at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, the National Association of Wind and Percussion Instructors Convention (NACWPI), the College Music Society National Conference, and at the International Trumpet Guild Conferences. He has recorded with Naxos, Mark Records, and BX Entertainment, and continues to perform, teach, and provide master classes and lectures internationally.
