Jason Gardner conducts the Symphonic Winds at Illinois Wesleyan University. He is a candidate for the Doctor of Musical Arts in Wind Conducting degree with a cognate in horn performance at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign studying under Dr. Stephen Peterson. He currently serves as a graduate teaching assistant with the University of Illinois Bands. His duties include conducting the University Band, teaching the Marching Illini and athletic bands, teaching conducting classes, and guest conducting each of the concert bands including the Wind Symphony. He received his Master of Music in Wind Conducting degree from Ball State University in 2016 where he served as graduate teaching assistant with the Ball State University Bands and studied conducting with Dr. Thomas Caneva. In 2000 he earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Taylor University in Upland, IN.
From 2000-2014 Jason served as a high school band director in Indiana, the final eight as director of bands at Mt. Vernon High School in suburban Indianapolis. He conducted the concert bands and taught marching, jazz, and pep bands, music history and music theory. He also oversaw an active indoor drumline, winter color guard, and steel drum ensembles. His bands received the ISSMA “All-Music” Award multiple times, earned the “With Distinction” Award, and the concert band performed at the USS Arizona Memorial Service at Pearl Harbor on the 70th Anniversary.
From 2014-2017 Jason served as Conductor and Music Director of the Indiana Youth Wind Symphony. The IYWS is an honors band for high school students from Central Indiana and is the educational outreach program for the Indiana Wind Symphony. Jason performed with the Indiana Wind Symphony and Indianapolis Brass Choir for eleven seasons and was a guest conductor of the IWS.