Mark Gowman has been the 7-12 instrumental music director in the East Rochester School District since 2001. Mr. Gowman is a 1995 graduate of the University of Michigan, where he received his degree in music education and trumpet performance, played snare in the Michigan Drumline (of the MMB) under Clif Smith, and was a student of the famed trumpeter Armando Ghitalla. He received his Master's Degree from the Eastman School of Music in 2007.
While still in high school in the state of Michigan, Mr. Gowman served as principal (1st chair) trumpet in the All State Band his junior year and All State Symphony his senior year, while simultaneously winning the Michigan Music Association's snare drum championship.
In his time in East Rochester, Mr. Gowman has created both the Percussion Ensemble and Róisín Dubh, our unique and nationally-recognized Irish music program; and he has developed our 6-12 jazz program into one of the strongest in the region. He is honored to have received the East Rochester PTA Distinguished Service Award.
Mr. Gowman regularly presents professional workshops on music education, Irish music, and marching percussion. These include numerous sessions at the Eastman School of Music, Boston University, and other schools; five workshops and one featured performance at the NYS state music education conferences; and the 2006 Music Educators National Conference in Salt Lake City.
In addition to his work at East Rochester, Mr. Gowman serves as president of the New York State Percussion Circuit and is the marching band and percussion director for Victor High School's competitive marching program, in which his own children perform. Since taking on this role in 2014, Victor Percussion has won 4 New York State Championships (2015, 2016, 2017, and 2021), two WGI regional championships (2016, 2017), and has twice been a finalist (2017, 2021) at world championships. In 2017, Victor Percussion won the WGI Bronze Medal in competition against hundreds of ensembles from the United States and 12 other countries.
Mr. Gowman is a signed endorser for Salyers Percussion and is a member of their education team, and has served as a member of the WGI National Percussion Advisory Board.
When not teaching or making music, he loves spending time in the outdoors, traveling with his family, and hiking, kayaking, and riding his mountain bike. He crashes much more than he should.
