Ridgewood High School Bands, Ridgewood, New Jersey

Gary Fink - Director of Jazz and Percussion, Marching Band Sideline Percussion

Gary Fink is the director of Jazz and Percussion at Ridgewood High School. He founded the RHS Percussion Ensemble in 1986, which has become recognized as a superior group by nationally known clinicians and educators. The ensemble has been regularly chosen to be a part of the Chamber Society of Lincoln Center's Young Musicians Program since 1998, the first and only percussion ensemble to receive that honor in the program's history. In 2001, the ensemble was selected to perform Minoru Miki's Marimba Spiritual on the nationally broadcast radio program "From The Top."

Mr. Fink has also directed the Percussion Ensemble at New Jersey City University from 2003-2005, the USSBA All Star Percussion Ensemble, NJ Region I High School Jazz Ensemble, has toured China as director of HYPE, and since 1992 has toured Europe as a xylophone soloist and director of the American Music Abroad Red Tour Percussion Ensemble. Mr. Fink was the Principal Percussionist for the Ridgewood Concert Band from 1984-2001. He was a founding member of the Ethos Percussion Group and has performed in the pit orchestra of over 100 musicals. He has performed as a member of the Hunter Symphony, the New Jersey Percussion Ensemble and for the Pope at Giants Stadium. He is the 2nd Vice President of the NJ Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society. He studied music at Eastman School of Music and William Paterson College.

In 1998 and 2007, Mr. Fink was awarded a Teacher Recognition Certificate from the National Foundation for the Advancement in the Arts. He has been directly involved with the revamping of percussion auditions for both NJ All-State Band and All-State Jazz Ensembles and is the Percussion Coordinator for both Music Educators of Bergen County (Bergen County Band), and the North Jersey School Music Association (Region I Band and Orchestra). Mr. Fink is a Yamaha Clinician for symphonic percussion and he also gives clinics and workshops on drumset. He has worked with students in the Region I Jazz Ensemble, Bergen County Band and the Region I Symphonic Band. He is also the director of the Encore Music Studio, the Ridgewood Community School's after school private music lesson program.

He is married to Deborah Gregory-Fink, the instrumental music teacher at Hawes School, and is ordered around by his two children, Griffin and Desiree.