BIOGRAPHY

Bandon Gordon is an American clarinetist originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, now located in New Jersey/New York. As a young professional, Brandon has been able to perform with a number of professional groups, such as the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, Rapides Symphony, and the Louisiana Philharmonic. Brandon is also an avid chamber musician; he is one of the founding members of Trio Cocobolo and D.W.E.Y. Duo, both New Jersey-based
chamber groups. Brandon also performed at the 2023 ICA (International Clarinet Association) ClarinetFest with the Louisiana State University clarinet chamber groups.

Finding great success as a solo musician Brandon is also a winner of the Southeastern Louisiana University Kappa Kappa Psi Concerto competition and a two-time winner of the Southeastern Louisiana University Orchestra Concerto competition. His most recent solo performance was a passion project entitled “From the Bayou to the Big City.” This program was a celebration of African American/Black composers. “Being a young Black man from the southern part of the United States, there were not too many classical musicians who looked like me. I want to be someone who young Black and underrepresented musicians could look up to and know that this is a career worth pursuing even if there are not many of us in the history books.”

Brandon holds a BM in Classical Performance from Southeastern Louisiana University (2022), an MM in Clarinet Performance from Louisiana State University (2024), and is currently working on a DMA at Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts.

His primary teachers include Dr. Kate Young, Dr. Sam Schreiber, Victor Drescher, Dr. Cecilia Kang, Mark Dover, and Dr. Maureen Hurd. Brandon is also an active member of the International Clarinet Association (ICA), an alumnus of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Music Fraternity, and a Copeland Clarinets Artist.