Bradley Cordonnier is an in-demand freelance drummer, percussionist, and educator. He has performed with the United States Air Force Band of Flight, the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, the Flying Circus Big Band, the Oakwood Brass, El Ritmo del Manana, and Dave Greer’s Classic Jazz Stompers. He has performed at many of the Midwest’s premiere jazz and blues clubs, including Caffe Vivace in Cincinnati, OH; Nighttown in Cleveland, OH; Rudy’s Jazz Room in Nashville, TN; and the National Blues Museum in St. Louis, MO. He is also an in-demand pit orchestra musician, working with many local schools and theatre companies. Bradley maintains an active private studio at McCutcheon Music, serves as percussion director for the University of Dayton New Horizons Program, and is a 2021 graduate of the University of Dayton with a B.A. in Jazz Studies, where he studied with Jim Leslie.

As a performer, Bradley is held in high regard for his ability to seamlessly glide between genres and styles of music. As a jazz musician, Bradley has performed with groups specializing in Dixieland, traditional jazz, swing music, traditional and contemporary big bands, small group jazz, and Latin jazz. As a pit orchestra musician, Bradley has played diverse shows ranging from Into the Woods and the Secret Garden to Jesus Christ Superstar and Ride the Cyclone. Bradley is also a frequent call to work as a drum set player with orchestras, most recently performing with the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra as they played the entirety of the Carpenter’s seminal Christmas album.

Bradley values music education and feels a calling to give back in the way that educators gave to him. Recently appointed percussion director for the University of Dayton New Horizons music program, Bradley provides coaching, assigns parts, and manages equipment for the percussionists who perform with any of the two concert bands, two jazz bands, beginner band, and numerous small groups. The New Horizons program is for adults who have retired and either want to return to playing an instrument they played long ago, or to pick up a new instrument. Bradley has also presented clinics and provided coaching for the Centerville HS Jazz Ensembles, Kettering Fairmont HS Jazz Ensemble 1, Beavercreek HS Show Choir Rhythm Section, and the Hardin-Houston HS Concert Band. As a private lesson instructor, Bradley maintains an active teaching studio through McCutcheon Music and at Jacob Coy MS in the Beavercreek school system. Bradley has also taught with the Jazz Labs Dayton summer camp, which he previously attended as a student.

Bradley also has extensive experience recording remote drums for various projects spanning genres from acoustic jazz to progressive rock.  

In addition to performing and teaching, Bradley frequently engraves music for the Pride of Dayton Drumline at the University of Dayton. He has served as audio engineer for numerous concerts for the Composers of Ohio Collaborative Organization for Acoustic Music, run sound for numerous concerts at the University of Dayton, and has a strong background in video production.