All-State Band Conductor

2009 School Registration Form (pdf)

2009 All-State Festival

May 21, 22 & 23
University of Southern Maine, Gorham

Meet our 2009 Conductors:

Band Conductor
Orchestra Conductor
Chorus Conductor

Gary Partridge

Gary L. Partridge received his Bachelor of Music Education from The Hartt School, University of Hartford, and his Masters of Music in Instrumental Conducting from the University of Connecticut. He has studied conducting with Larry Rachleff, William Revelli, William Willett, and Alan Gillespie.

Mr. Partridge is currently an Educational Representative for Music and Arts Centers where he manages school accounts and serves as an advocate for Music Education in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts for the national company.

In his twenty-two years at Renbrook School in West Hartford, he was Director of Music and conducted the Concert Band and Jazz Ensemble. Both groups annually earned Superior Awards in festivals in the U.S. and Canada. Renbrook commissioned W. Francis McBeth’s “The Dream Catcher”, and performed the premier of that work in September 1996. The Concert Band appeared at the Connecticut Music Educators Association In-Service Conferences in 1997 and 2001.

He is in his fourteenth year as conductor of Capitol Symphonic Winds at the Hartt School. Capitol Symphonic Winds was a featured performing ensemble at the 2004 Connecticut Music Educators Conference.

As Director of Bands at Central Connecticut State University, Mr. Partridge directed the Wind Ensemble, Symphony Band, and the Blue Devil Marching Band from 1985 to 1996. The Blue Devil Marching Band was featured at half-time shows in Foxboro, Massachusetts for the New England Patriots. He was the conductor of the Concert Band at Laurel Music Camp for many years from 1990 to 2003. He is in his third season as conductor of the Hartford Pops Band, a professional concert band performing outdoor concerts in the summer months.

In November 2006, Mr. Partridge founded Fantastic Festivals LLC, which provides adjudication, ratings, and competition opportunities for school performing groups.

He has conducted numerous All State, Regional, and District Bands throughout the country and is active as an adjudicator and clinician. He continues to adjudicate for Classics Festivals, Heritage Festivals, Music in the Parks, and is a frequent adjudicator for the Rhode Island Music Educators Band Festival. He is a member of many professional organizations, having served the Connecticut Music Educators Association as adjudicator chair for the All State auditions, and as Festival Chair for the Northern Region Middle School Music Festival for twenty years. He is a member of the International Bandmasters Fraternity, Phi Beta Mu.

Past All State Programs