Conductors

His conducting has seen him on many different podiums ranging from those in front of professional orchestras all over the world to string ensembles made up of 12 year old musicians. In each and every performance, residency or workshop, he strives to achieve his goal of creating a sense of community in the music making and engaging the souls of the performers in the final performance. People find the answers that they seek in life in the music that they experience, be it playing or listening. He believes that as an artist, it is his responsibility to help people on their individual journeys to find their answers.

After graduating from Texas Christian University in 1999 with a Masters in Double Bass performance and extensive graduate theory study, he was appointed as Director of Orchestra Activities and Instructor of Strings at Northern State University, Aberdeen, SD. In 2005 he and his family returned to South Africa where he was +involved in many different areas of classical music in South Africa , holding a number of posts including; Artistic Director and CEO of the Free State Symphony Orchestra, conductor of the Free State Youth Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Symphony Choir of Cape Town, Music Director and Conductor of the University of Cape Town String Ensemble and Symphonic Band and Resident Conductor of the University of Cape Town Symphony Orchestra.

He has also performed in; La Turbie, France, Ravenna, Italy, the Millennium Centre, Cardiff, Wales, The Royal Festival Hall, Southbank, London, UK, The Hippodrome, Birmingham, UK, and has been invited as a Guest Speaker and Conductor to Grinnell College, IA, Concordia College, Moorhead, Mn and Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX where he also served as a Sabbatical Replacement for Dr. German Gutierrez.

In 2021, he accepted the position of Music Chair at the Alabama School of Fine Arts and now resides in Birmingham, Alabama.

Gagliardo held the position of Music Director of the Jacksonville State University/Community Orchestra from 1999 until 2008, and again from 2011 until 2014. From 1993 until 1995, Mr. Gagliardo served as the Principal Conductor of the Youth Symphony Orchestra of East Central Indiana, the Assistant Conductor of the Ball State Symphony Orchestra, and the Principal Conductor of the BSU School of Music Composer’s Forums. He has also served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Wood River Municipal Band.

Since his debut with the Eastern Symphony Orchestra in 1993, Mike Gagliardo has led performances by professional orchestras and bands including the Quad City Symphony Orchestra and the Alton Municipal Band, and youth orchestras including the Olathe Youth Symphony Orchestra. He is also a regular guest conductor at all-state festivals throughout the country, including appearances in Alabama, Colorado, New Jersey, and Tennessee. Opera and musical theater performances include productions with the Jacksonville Opera Theatre and the Theatre of Gadsden.

Throughout his career, Mike Gagliardo has demonstrated a continuing commitment to arts education. He is a frequent guest speaker and presenter at conferences for music educators and professionals, including the national conferences of the League of American Orchestras, the American String Teachers’ Association, and the National Association for Music Education, and state conferences for music educators in Alabama and Colorado. He has also been a presenter at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s Summer Teachers’ Institute, and continues to present educational outreach programs for the Knox Concert Series, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Alabama, and the Public Library of Anniston-Calhoun County.

Mike Gagliardo has served as an adjunct faculty member in the Walters Department of Music at Jacksonville State University, and as the president of the Alabama Orchestra Association and the Alabama String Teachers’ Association. He has also been a member of the League of American Orchestras’ Youth Orchestra Division Board of Directors; the American String Teachers’ Association’s National Advocacy and National High School Honor Orchestra Committees and Youth Orchestra Task Force; and the Arts Education Council of Americans for the Arts.

Mike Gagliardo has received many honors and awards, including the Outstanding Young Alumnus Award from Eastern Illinois University, the Citizenship Award and the Outstanding Alumnus Award from the Ball State University School of Music, two Citations for Leadership and Merit from the American String Teachers’ Association, and Strings Teacher of the Year from the Alabama String Teachers’ Association. He has also received twelve ASCAP Awards with the Etowah Youth Orchestras, and was the recipient of the Richard Malone Humanitarian Award in 2009 for his work with the Humane Society of Etowah County.

Born in Alton, Illinois, Mike Gagliardo began his musical studies on the piano and the trumpet and studied conducting with Donald Tracy at Eastern Illinois University and Leonard Atherton at Ball State University. He currently resides in Gadsden, Alabama, and Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife Janet and their four-legged children, Mattie Mae, Murphy and Max. He is also the owner of Mattles & Company, LLC, which publishes his music, along with works by other composers. In addition to his work in music, he is the proud “Pap” of his first grandson, Ronan!