2023 Schedule of Events

Vincent Gardner

Vincent Gardner was born in Chicago in 1972 and was raised in Hampton, Virginia. After singing, playing piano, violin, saxophone, and French horn at an early age, he decided on the trombone at age 12. He attended Florida A&M University and the University of North Florida. He soon caught the ear of Mercer Ellington, who hired Gardner for his first professional job. After graduating from college, he moved to Brooklyn, New York, completed a world tour with Lauryn Hill in 2000, then joined the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Gardner has served as instructor at The Juilliard School, as visiting instructor at Florida State University and Michigan State University, and as adjunct instructor at The New School. He has contributed many arrangements to the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and other ensembles. In 2009 he was commissioned by Jazz at Lincoln Center to write “The Jesse B. Semple Suite,” a 60-minute suite inspired by the short stories of Langston Hughes. Gardner is featured on a number of notable recordings and has recorded five CDs as a leader for Steeplechase Records. He has performed with The Duke Ellington Orchestra, Bobby McFerrin, Harry Connick, Jr., The Saturday Night Live Band, Chaka Khan, A Tribe Called Quest, and many others.

The Capitol Bones

Founded in 1991, the Capitol Bones are the Premier jazz trombone ensemble in the Washington DC area. From the nation's capital comes a new voice. The Capitol Bones, Washington, DC's premiere jazz trombone ensemble, offers something exciting and new for jazz lovers everywhere, with an added treat for those treasured listeners who appreciate and seek out great trombone playing. Group founder and leader Matt Niess brought together the best jazz trombonists in DC, an area known for the depth of its trombone bench, to participate in a group dedicated to promoting not only great ensemble playing but the expansion of the repetoire of this unique medium. Since its inception in 1991 The Capitol Bones have played throughout the country to include performances at The International Trombone Workshop in Las Vegas-Nevada & Rochester- NY, jazz clubs, Universities and an annual appearance at The Eastern Trombone Workshop in Washington, DC. In addition to the standard arrangements The Capitol Bones have added several new works to the jazz trombone ensemble repetoire by such notables as Conrad Herwig, Mike Tomaro, Mark Taylor, Jim Roberts and Matt Niess.

bass trombone

SSG Kyle Gordon

Harlan, IA

Group: The U.S. Army Concert Band

Joined the Band: 2019

Alum: Drake University / Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (in progress)

SSG Kyle Gordon is the bass trombonist in The U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” Concert Band. Prior to this position, he was the bass trombonist of the Houston Grand Opera, a position he held for 3 seasons. Kyle received his Master of Music in trombone performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music where he was awarded the Performer’s Certificate recognizing his outstanding work as a solo performer and was the winner of the brass concerto competition. His teachers included M. Dee Stewart, Dr. Graydon McGrannahan, and Jared Rodin. Prior to his studies at Indiana University, Kyle received a bachelor’s degree in K-12 Instrumental and Vocal Music Education from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. He has additional studies in early music and bass sackbut. Kyle has served as a freelance educator and has taught as adjunct faculty at both Drake University and Lonestar Community College. He can be heard on recordings with the U.S. Army Band, as well as Drake University’s Wind Symphony. He is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and was the recipient of the James M. Cox Memorial Scholarship for young music educators.

trombone

SSG Jonathan Kraft

Pearland, TX

Group: The U.S. Army Ceremonial Band

Joined the Band: 2021

Alum: Indiana University / Northwestern University

SSG Jonathan Kraft, originally from Pearland, TX, joined The U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” in March 2021. He completed his bachelor’s degree in Music Performance at Indiana University in May 2018. While at IU, Kraft was a participant at a handful of summer trombone seminars and workshops including the 2016 Southeast Trombone Symposium, where he was a finalist in the S.E. Shires Solo Competition. Kraft won the IU brass concerto competition and performed the Gordon Jacob Trombone Concerto with the IU Symphonic band in April 2018. After graduating from IU, Kraft went on to earn his master’s degree in Music Performance at Northwestern University in December 2020. Outside of his schooling, Kraft freelanced and subbed with multiple ensembles including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on concerts at the Ravinia Festival and at the Symphony Center. In the summers of 2017 and 2019, he was a participant at the National Orchestral Institute Festival at The Clarice in College Park, Maryland. His past teachers include Michael Mulcahy, Douglas Wright, Timothy Higgins, Christopher Davis, Randall Hawes, Peter Ellefson and Brian Logan. Along with the trombone, Kraft enjoys disc golf, exploring nature, Houston sports, and spending time with his family.

euphonium

MSG Daniel Ord

Warner Robins, GA

Group: The U.S. Army Ceremonial Band

Joined the Band: 2014

Alum: Columbus State University / University of North Texas

MSG Daniel Ord enlisted in the Army in 2007 and quickly was appointed to prestigious assignments within the band field. Within a year of joining, he was selected to be the euphonium instructor at the Armed Forces School of Music in Norfolk, VA, where he taught incoming Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines as they entered the service bands. He was then assigned to the United States Army Europe Band in Sembach, Germany where he served as the Team Leader and trombone player for the award-winning ensemble "Kaiser Brass." He became a member of the U.S. Army Ceremonial Band in 2014.Through his Army career, Ord has earned numerous awards including Distinguished Honor Graduate and the Distinguished Leadership Award at the Army Advanced Leader Course. He is also a two-time recipient of the Colonel Finley Hamilton award. Ord enjoys cycling, practicing, and spending time with his wife, son, and two pups.

trombone

SSG Michael Burner

Rogers, AR

Group: The U.S. Army Ceremonial Band

Joined the Band: 2020

Alum: University of Arkansas

SSG Michael Burner joined The U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own" in April 2020. A native of Rogers, AR, he studied at the University of Arkansas, and the Mannes School of Music. Before his position with "Pershing's Own," Burner was a freelance musician in New York City, where he performed with the Metropolitan Opera, New England Symphonic Ensemble, and the Chamber Orchestra of New York, along with performances of Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals. Additionally, Burner was a member of the Arkansas Philharmonic for four seasons, and has performed as a soloist with the University of Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and New Music Ensemble. His teachers and mentors have included Weston Sprott, Demian Austin, Nicholas Schwartz, Gerald Sloan, Cory Mixdorf, and David Finlayson.