Dr. Kurt Gartner

Professor
Percussion, Percussion Ensemble, Latin Jazz Ensemble
Email: kgartner@k-state.edu
Office: 130 McCain Auditorium

Biography
Kurt Gartner teaches applied percussion and percussion methods. He also directs Percussion Ensembles, Keyboard Percussion Quartets, and the Latin Jazz Ensemble.

As a Tilford Fellow, he coordinated an interdisciplinary study of Cuban arts. In the past, he was a Big 12 Faculty Fellow, collaborating with the percussion studio and jazz program at the University of Missouri. There, he provided instruction and performances in Afro-Cuban music and applications of technology in music. He has served as Associate Director of the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, Special Assistant to the Provost, and as Coordinator of the university’s Peer Review of Teaching Program.

Prior to his appointment at K-State, Gartner served as Associate Professor of Bands at Purdue University. He completed his Doctor of Arts degree at the University of Northern Colorado. At UNC, he directed percussion and jazz ensembles, taught jazz history, and was the Assistant Director of the UNC/Greeley Jazz Festival. Also, he received the Graduate Dean’s Citation for Outstanding Dissertation for his research of the late percussion legend, Tito Puente. Gartner has performed professionally in realms of orchestral, chamber, jazz, world, and commercial music. He is the technology editor for the journal Percussive Notes.