Faculty Bio

Nancy M. Gamso

Professor of Music

Education

B.S.M.E., University of Alabama

M.M., Florida State University

D.M.A., University of North Texas

About

Nancy Gamso teaches applied woodwinds, history of jazz, woodwind methods, music appreciation, and coaches the woodwind chamber ensembles in the Music Department at Ohio Wesleyan University. Gamso is principal clarinetist of the McConnell Arts Center Chamber Orchestra and founding member of Rococoa Wind Quintet and Tour d’Anches Reed Trio. Gamso has served on faculty with Chamber Music Connection (Columbus’ premiere chamber music program for students from elementary through adults) and Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. She performs regularly as an orchestra musician (all woodwinds) with the Broadway series in Columbus and is a d’Addario Artist. Nancy has performed at the Sarasota Music Festival, the Lancaster Festival, and is an associate musician with the Columbus Symphony, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra; the Newark-Granville, Central Ohio and Ohio Valley Symphonies; and the Southern Ohio Light Opera. Gamso’s current research project is in the area of American music traditions of blues, Cajun, and early jazz. Born in Natchitoches, Louisiana, and having been raised in the South, Gamso is often found in Louisiana conducting research and learning about the rich culture of the Mississippi Delta.

Gamso’s website features recordings of flute and clarinet trios and quartets with literature and composer information, practice suggestions, and teaching videos. In collaboration with Dr. Tracy Cowden (Assistant Professor of Piano, Virginia Tech.), Gamso released a compact disc recording, With Blackwood and Silver, in which modern literature for winds (clarinet and flute) and piano explores novel sources of inspiration (jazz, social dance, folk music). She holds a D.M.A. in Woodwinds Performance from the University of North Texas, an M.M. in Multiple Winds Performance from Florida State University, and a B.S.M.E. from the University of Alabama.

Nancy Gamso holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in woodwinds performance. Proficient on all
woodwinds, Gamso has performed with the Broadway Series in Columbus, Cleveland and Akron for the New York tours of many shows, including “The Wizard of Oz,” “Victor-Victoria,” “Titanic,” and “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” She also has performed at the Sarasota Music Festival and the Lancaster Festival and is an associated musician with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and the Ohio Valley Symphony.

Publications/Presentations

• With Blackwood and Silver, CD
• Fist Full of Flutes, Trios, Vols. 1 & 2 (mp3 downloads, Amazon)
• Fist Full of Flutes, Quartets, Vols. 1 & 2 (mp3 downloads, Amazon)
• Caboodles of Clarinets, Trios, Vols. 1–3 (mp3 downloads, Amazon)
• Caboodles of Clarinets, Quartets, Vols. 1–3 (mp3 downloads, Amazon)
• “An Aural Learning Project: Assimilating Jazz Education Methods for Traditional Applied Pedagogy,” Music Educator’s Journal, publication pending
• 2011–2012 Music Educator’s Conferences Clinic: Small Group, Big Impact – Effective Tools for Including Chamber Music in the Instrumental Curriculum

OWU Faculty Speakers Bureau Topics

American Folk Music Traditions
College Auditions
Music Performance and Preparation
Music Teaching

Winner of the 2002 Sherwood Dodge Shankland Award for Encouragement of Teachers