Ronald Gardiner

Bio

Homegrown in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Mr. Gardiner is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, where he earned a B.M and M.M degree in cello performance and literature, with additional study at the Hochschule fur Musik in Freiburg, Germany, and the Peabody Conservatory.

During his student years, Mr. Gardiner was a prizewinner of the Midland-Odessa National Young Artist Competition held in Midland, Texas. While studying in Europe, he was invited to perform for Hungarian pianist Gyorgy Sebok in his International Masterclasses held in Ernen, Switzerland. He has also performed in Masterclasses for Mstislav Rostropovich, Steven Isserlis, Ronald Leonard, Paul Katz, Hans Jorgen-Jensen, and Reinhard Goebel.

Mr. Gardiner has been performing with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra since 2007 and was appointed Principal Cellist in January 2008. Mr. Gardiner is a former member of the United States Air Force Band member in Washington D.C., the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and performed as a regular substitute with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.

As a professional orchestral musician, Mr. Gardiner has worked with internationally renowned conductors such as Leonard Slatkin, Charles Dutoit, Sir Neville Marriner, James DePriest, Yuri Temirkanov, Michael Tilson Thomas, Robert Shaw, John Williams, and Yan Pascal Tortelier, among others. Mr. Gardiner has recorded as an orchestral and chamber musician for the Vox Classics, BIS, and Albany record labels. Additionally, he is an active recording musician for various Disney productions.

An avid chamber musician, Mr. Gardiner has studied with members of the Cleveland, Emerson, Juilliard, Guarneri, American, and Mendelssohn string quartets at various festivals such as the Aspen Music Festival, the Taos School of Music, the Winter Institute for String Quartets, and the Waterloo Festival of the Arts at Princeton University.

An active freelance musician, Mr. Gardiner has worked with artists such as Renee Fleming, Andrea Bocelli, Placido Domingo, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, Kool and the Gang, Mannheim Steamroller, The Gatlin Brothers, Wynonna Judd, Marvin Hamlisch, Joshua Bell, and Itzhak Perlman, Bebe Winans, Denyce Graves, Yo-Yo Ma, among others.

Former teaching positions include the music faculties of Houghton College and an adjunct faculty position at the Eastman School of Music and the University of Rochester during his graduate studies.

In addition to performing with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, Mr. Gardiner performs with The Florida Orchestra, Opera Orlando, and the Orlando Ballet. He performed as a member of the opening cast at Hollywood Studios for The Music of Pixar Live! A Symphony of Characters and each December, he performs as part of the Candlelight Orchestra at Epcot.

During the summers, Mr. Gardiner teaches and performs at the MasterWorks Festival as part of the Orchestral Studies Program.