DR. JASON GARDNER
Associate Director of Bands
Director of the Marching Mountaineers
Assistant Professor of Music
Dr. Jason Gardner serves as the associate director of bands in the Hayes School of Music at Appalachian State University. He is the director of the 275 member Marching Mountaineers, conducts the Symphony Band, and teaches various music education courses. Dr. Gardner is an active member of CBDNA, NBA, NAfME, WASBE, and NCMEA. He serves North Carolina as the State Chair for CBDNA, and is the Chair of the North Carolina Intercollegiate Honor Band.
Dr. Gardner is in demand as a clinician, guest conductor, and adjudicator, having worked with bands in North Carolina, Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Notable invitations include the AppState Symphony Band at the 2024 NCMEA Conference, and conductor for the 2025 IMEA (IN) Honor Band. He has over 25 years of teaching experience, 14 of which were spent teaching high school and middle school bands in the public schools of Indiana where his programs were recognized consistently for excellence.
While earning his DMA, Dr. Gardner also served as adjunct faculty, conducting the Symphonic Winds at Illinois Wesleyan University. For three years, he was the Music Director and Conductor of the Indiana Youth Wind Symphony in Indianapolis, IN. His bands have joined several consortiums, championing new works by Paul Dooley, Cait Nishimura, Li Chan, Shuying Li, Joni Greene, and Gala Flagello.
Dr. Gardner holds a DMA with a concentration in Wind Band Conducting and a Cognate in Horn Performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a MM in Wind Band Conducting from Ball State University. His primary conducting teachers are Dr. Stephen Peterson and Dr. Thomas Caneva. He holds a BME degree from Taylor University.
Office Location:
Room 103-B Broyhill Music Center
Phone Number:
828-262-6474
Email:
Courses Taught:
Marching Mountaineers
Appalachian Symphony Band
Marching Band Techniques
Band Techniques
Band Literature
Lab Band Teaching Seminar
Student Teaching Supervisor