Brian Gardiner

Dr. Brian Gardiner is a versatile percussionist in Portland, Oregon. He holds section percussion positions with the Portland Opera and Oregon Coast Music Festival Orchestra, is principal percussionist with the Portland Choir and Orchestra, and performs regularly with the Oregon Symphony. He has appeared on stage with such notable acts as The Who, Andrea Bocelli, Nas, David J (Bauhaus, Love and Rockets), Doug Martsch (Built to Spill), Alex Maas (The Black Angels), Johnny Mathis, The Indigo Girls, and Béla Flek.

Brian is a highly sought-after drum set session player, and can be heard performing regularly on commercials, television shows, and films such as The Novice, The Bad Batch, Charming the Hearts of Men, Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon, as well as 2014’s A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, which also features Brian’s own composition, “Thirsty’s Return.”

Brian’s freelance classical work includes performances with the Oregon Symphony, the Third Angle New Music Ensemble, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Portland Columbia Symphony, Astoria Music Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, and the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus. He played on three of the Oregon Symphony’s Grammy nominated recordings, 2011’s Music for a Time of War, 2015’s Spirit of the American Range, and 2020’s Aspects of America. Brian has performed under the batons of Gerard Schwarz, Carlos Kalmar, Roberto Abbado, David Robertson, Michael Stern, David Effron, Murry Sidlin, Uri Mayer, and Miguel Harth-Bedoya.

As a supporter of new music, Brian co-founded the Portland Percussion Group (PPG)  in 2011, which has since become a mainstay in the contemporary music space in Portland. To date, the group has worked with composers to create over 60 new works for percussion quartet and continues to look for ways to develop new sounds, explore new spaces, and engage new audiences. The Portland Percussion Group also extends into educational outreach through involvement with young percussionists in our region and the creation of new educational opportunities for developing percussionists. The PPG frequently presents clinics and workshops at universities throughout the Northwest and United States on the topic of chamber percussion repertoire and performance as well as maintaining an ongoing involvement with the Portland Summer Percussion Academy.

As an educator, Brian serves as an Adjunct Professor of Music at Portland Community College, Reed College, and the University of Portland. Brian also works with private students of all ages at Revival Drum Shop in Portland. He has taught percussion camps and master classes, and is an invited clinician at public schools and universities across the United States.

In 2011, Brian earned his Doctor of Music degree in Percussion Performance at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music under the guidance of Professors John Tafoya, Kevin Bobo, and Steve Houghton. He also studied with retired Indiana University professors Anthony Cirone and Gerald Carlyss. Brian holds a Master of Music degree With Honors from the University of Oregon, having studied with the late Charles Dowd.