Dr. Stefanie Gardner, Clarinet, Chamber Music, and Music Theory faculty at Glendale Community College has been named in the Musical America Top 30 Professionals.
The Top 30 Professionals, sponsored by Musical America Worldwide, profiles people whose names are not necessarily seen in lights or headlines, but who toil behind the scenes to make their organizations, their causes, and their departments be the best they can be.
Susan Elliott, Editor at Musical America Worldwide stated, “These are the creative minds that ensure the health of the art form and its essential value in our lives, now and for generations to come. The Class of 2023 was chosen in response to questionnaires we sent out earlier this fall. Given the political, financial, and health crises of the last half-decade, we wanted to recognize the leaders who have dealt with the pandemic and its aftereffects through game-changing innovation or sweat equity, or both.”
Dr. Stefanie Harger Gardner teaches clarinet, chamber music, and music theory at Glendale Community College, previously she served on the faculty at Northern Arizona University. Gardner is listed in 100 Famous Female Clarinetists Throughout History and maintains an active performance career, performing with Arizona Opera, the Phoenix Symphony, Red Rocks Chamber Music Festival, Seventh Roadrunner, the internationally recognized Paradise Winds, and grant-winning Égide Duo, whose mission is to commission, record, and perform music inspiring social change.
She has also performed in concert with Jason Alexander, PitBull, Ceelo, Tony Orlando, Reba McEntire, Michael Bolton, David and Katherine McPhee Foster, Jordin Sparks, Weird Al Yankovic, Hanson, and The Who. Her chamber music albums are recorded on the Soundset label and can be heard on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube.
Gardner has performed for the International Clarinet Association (ICA), the International Double Reed Society, the North American Saxophone Alliance, International Tuba and Euphonium Conference, National Flute Association, North American College Wind and Percussion Instructors, and the International Viola Congress. Recently, Gardner was invited to perform at the 2023 European Clarinet Association Congress in Tilburg, Netherlands, and has guest artist residencies scheduled at the Huilo Huilo Music Festival in Chile, the University of Sheffield (UK), and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 2024.
During her term as chair of the ICA New Music Committee, Stefanie founded the biennial ICA Low Clarinet Festival and the annual ICA New Music Weekend. Presently Gardner serves as chair of the ICA Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access Committee and is passionate about building a clarinet community that welcomes everyone (see clarEquality.com for more information).
In addition to performing and teaching, Gardner has a strong interest in woodwind pedagogy. In 2012, Gardner won first prize at the International Clarinet Association Research Competition with her study, “An Investigation of Finger Motion and Hand Posture during Clarinet Performance,” where she collaborated with the Center for Cognitive Ubiquitous Computing at ASU to study hand posture and finger motion during clarinet performance using CyberGloves®.
Recently, she was awarded “Outstanding Contributions in Private Teaching” by Arizona State University, and hired by Norton Publishing Company to review theory and aural skills textbooks. Gardner received Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in Clarinet Performance from Arizona State University studying with Robert Spring. Gardner is a Henri Selmer Paris/Conn-Selmer Performing Artist playing Privilege clarinets, a Silverstein Pro Team Artist, and uses Selmer and Vandoren mouthpieces.
Musical America is regarded as the definitive source for international performing arts information around the world. Subscribers include 14,000 performing arts organizations and 6,000 artists in more than 95 countries. The publication’s readers are prestigious industry professionals from the world’s leading orchestras, opera companies, presenters, festivals, performing arts series and more.
The full publication can be viewed here: www.musicalamerica.com/specialreports2023_PROFESSIONALS_OF_THE_YEAR.pdf
Located in Glendale, AZ, Glendale Community College serves over 20,000 students annually. With two fully accredited campuses, GCC serves a diverse student body in northwest Maricopa County with 44 degrees and 65 certificate programs. GCC maintains accreditation through The Higher Learning Commission/North Central Association and the National Association of Schools of Music.
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Media Contact; John Heckenlaible, (623) 845-3809, John Heckenlaible@gccaz.edu