Ms. Jillian Gardner

Instructor - Organ, Music

Contact

301 Sparkman Drive
Roberts Hall
Huntsville, AL 35899
Campus Map

jillian.gardner@uah.edu

Biography

Jillian Gardner is an award-winning organist with an international touring schedule that spans the United Kingdom, Canada, and the U.S. She is the Director of Music at First United Methodist Church in Huntsville, AL, where she serves as primary organist and oversees ensembles for adults and children. She has most recently joined the faculty at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) as Instructor of Organ and has also finished a 7-year term as the Councillor for Young Organists on the American Guild of Organists National Board. In the last year of this position, she ushered a program that brought over 1,200 new young organists into the Guild.

Gardner, a native of Rome, NY, is a two-time first-prize winner of the chapter-level Regional Competition for Young Organists competition. In 2017, she took second prize in the Québec organ competition in Québec, Canada. She has also been a finalist in the Arthur Poister Competition in Syracuse. In recognition of her achievements, The Diapason magazine selected Gardner as one of the nation's 2015 inaugural “Top 20 under 30” organists. She has also been featured several times on the national radio show Pipedreams.

Gardner has worn her signature pink organ shoes in concert in venues across the United States from New York City to San Francisco, as well as several venues in Canada and the United Kingdom. She has been honored to be a featured artist for Organ Historical Society Conventions, American Guild of Organists Conventions, and the Piccolo Spoleto Festival. Upcoming engagements include Grace Cathedral (San Francisco) and Arizona State University.


Education

  • Advanced Performers Certificate, Organ Performance, Baylor University
  • M.M. Organ Performance, Baylor University
  • B.M. Organ Performance, Oberlin Conservatory