Farmington High School

Bradley Mariska was appointed Associate Director of Bands at Farmington High School in 2016. He conducts Symphonic Band, Varsity Band, Jazz II, co-directs Jazz III, and is the Assistant Director of the Farmington Tiger Marching Band. An avid devotee of musical theatre, he also created the innovative Hamilton: History and Music class at FHS. 

Mariska has served as the Membership Chair of the Minnesota Band Directors Association and as the President, Past President, and Band Vice-President, of the Minnesota Music Educators Association. He is the co-founder and co-host of the podcast “Band is Everything” and on the summer faculty of the Shell Lake (WI) Arts Center as the AP Music Theory Camp Instructor. 

He and his ensembles have received numerous awards. Under his direction, the Austin (MN) High School Wind Ensemble appeared at the MMEA Midwinter Clinic in 2013 and, while at Pine City (MN), was three times named to the list of “Best Communities for Music Education in America.” In 2012, School Band and Orchestra Magazine named Mariska one of the nation’s “50 Directors Who Make a Difference.” Mariska has served as an All-State Band Section Coach, enjoys adjudicating solo/ensemble contest, is a frequent honor band conductor, and has served as Director on the boards of several community arts organizations.

A native of Waterville, MN, Mariska earned a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Buena Vista University (Storm Lake, IA) and an M.A. in Musicology/Music History from the University of Maryland. While at Maryland, Mariska was the Manager of the American Bandmasters Association Archives and Research Center. His work at the Research Center spawned an interest in the history of early American bands and his scholarly paper “Opera Music as Repertoire for Band,” was accepted by the Society for American Music for presentation at their National Convention. His Master’s Thesis, “Who Expects a Miracle To Happen Every Day?: Rediscovering Me and Juliet and Pipe Dream, the Forgotten Musicals of Rodgers and Hammerstein,” is referenced in several scholarly texts, including “The Musical: A Research and Information Guide” (Routledge, 2011).