Graydon Cramer

Graydon is currently the band director for Brandon West Middle Schools at Waverly Park School in Brandon where he directs Grade 7 and 8 concert band, jazz band, the divisional 8/9 wind ensemble, and is also a highly sought-after freelance drummer, clinician, adjudicator, and music educator. He is very passionate about the growth of music and music education in the region with a mission to connect, and collaborate with, members of the community.

Graydon studied jazz drum set and percussion with Greg Gatien and Ben Reimer at Brandon University and is a founding member of Trio Antipodes (Keith Price – guitar, Jeff Presslaff – piano), who released their debut album Upside Downwards in the spring of 2019. Graydon is a founding member of the Winnipeg Jazz Collective and has toured and played many concerts and festivals throughout Western Canada with the likes of Jeff Presslaff, Chameleon, Anagram, the Saskatoon and Winnipeg Jazz Orchestras, and the NuPhunk Orchestra. He is featured on recordings by artists such as Katherine Penfold and Sean Irvine.

Graydon has presented clinics and workshops with numerous schools and conferences all over Manitoba and has maintained a studio of drum set students for almost 20 years. He has performed in numerous festivals and concert series across the prairies such as the Clear Lake Chamber Festival, Moose Jaw Band Festival, the Winnipeg and Saskatchewan Jazz festivals, Nu Sounds Series, and the Brandon University Pro Series with the likes of Michael Cain, Greg Gatien, and Dean McNeil.

Graydon has served as an adjudicator at band and arts festivals and has conducted numerous school division honour bands throughout the province. He is also a long-standing jazz faculty member at the International Music Camp.

Graydon has been a board member of the Manitoba Band Association, a Brandon School Division representative for the Association of Music Administrators of Manitoba, and a treasurer for the Westman Band Directors Association. He also co-leads the Allbums Community Jazz Ensemble, is a member of the Brandon Community Band, and curates the music for the After Hours live concert and culinary series at Chez Angela Bakery in Brandon.

In 2018, Graydon made the list of CBC Manitoba’s Future 40.

Graydon received the Distinguished Young Alumni Award in 2020.