Homegrown in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Mr. Gardiner is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree and a Master of Music degree in cello performance, with additional study at the Hochschule fur Musik in Freiburg, Germany, and the Peabody Conservatory.

During his student years, Mr.Gardiner was a prizewinner of the Midland-Odessa National Young Artist Competition held in Midland, Texas. While studying in Europe, he was invited to perform for Hungarian pianist Gyorgy Sebok in his International Masterclasses held in Ernen, Switzerland. He has also performed in Masterclasses for Mstislav Rostropovich, Steven Isserlis, Ronald Leonard, Paul Katz, Hans Jorgen-Jensen, and Rheinhard Goebel.

An avid chamber musician, Mr. Gardiner has studied with members of the Cleveland, Emerson, Juilliard, Guarneri, American, and Mendelssohn string quartets at various festivals such as the Aspen Music Festival, the Taos School of Music, the Winter Institute of String Quartets, and the Waterloo Festival of the Arts at Princeton University.

As a professional orchestral musician, Mr.Gardiner has worked with internationally renowned conductors such as Leonard Slatkin, Charles Dutoit, Sir Neville Marriner, James DePriest, Yuri Temirkanov, Michael Tilson Thomas, Gunther Herbig, Robert Shaw, and Yan Pascal Tortelier, among others. As both an orchestral and chamber musician, Mr.Gardiner has recorded for the Vox Classics, BIS, and Albany record labels.

Mr.Gardiner is a former member of the United States Air Force Band in Washington D.C., the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and performed as a regular substitute cellist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Rochester Philharmonic during his student years at Eastman. A former member of the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, Mr.Gardiner frequently served as their Acting Principal Cellist.

An active freelance musician, Mr. Gardiner has worked with artists such as Marvin Hamlisch, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, Kool and the Gang, Mannheim Steamroller, The Gatlin Brothers, Wynonna Judd, Chuck Mangione, Roy Clark, Roger Williams, and Ron Carter, among others.

In addition to his work with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, Mr. Gardiner is currently the Assistant Professor of Cello at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida. Former teaching-positions include the music faculties of Houghton College, the David Hochstein Memorial Music School, and the Masterworks Festival, as well as an adjunct faculty position at the Eastman School of Music during his Graduate studies.

Mr. Gardiner performs on a modern cello that was hand crafted in 1997 by nationally renowned luthier, James McKean of New York City.