Dr. Dawn Hardy

Bio

Dawn Hardy is currently in her tenth year as the band director at Bartow Middle School. She is also an adjunct instructor at Southeastern University and The University of Tampa, teaches private lessons, and has performed with various artists, including Renée Fleming, Copland, Sandy Patty, Il Volo, Dennis DeYoung, and Roberta Flack. She has been a member of the Lakeland Symphony Orchestra since 2003, where she is currently 2nd Oboe/English horn, the Florida Wind Band since 2012, where she is currently Principal Oboe; the Gainesville Orchestra since 2022, where she is 2nd Oboe/English horn, and most recently as a Disney World Candlelight musician.

Dawn received her Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from Florida Southern College in 2009, where she studied with Jo Jossim, and her Master’s in Music Performance from Florida State University in 2010, where she studied with Eric Ohlsson. She came upon an amazing opportunity to pursue her Doctorate in Education back where she started at Florida Southern College and graduated in December 2023.

Dawn Hardy has been happily married for 13 years. Her husband Michael, whom she met at Florida Southern College in a Wind Ensemble rehearsal, is also a double reed musician (bassoon). Their oldest daughter, Lillian, is currently 10 years old, and their youngest daughter, Jacqueline, is 4 years old. In her spare time, Dawn likes to take baking classes and experiment with new recipes, which her family happily taste tests.