Cristobal Gajardo, a native from Santiago, Chile began his studies of Piano and Percussion at the age of ten at the Conservatorio Leonardo da Vinci in Antofagasta. At seventeen he began studying with Mr. Patricio Hernandez at the University of Chile in Santiago. From 2002 to 2005 he was awarded the Youth National Symphony Orchestra Scholarship, which consisted on a permanent position as a timpanist and percussionist in the orchestra. He was awarded the Amigos del Teatro Municipal in 2002 and 2004. Mr. Gajardo has played with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Chile and the Orquesta Sinfonica de Antofagasta. From 2005 to 2007 he studied with Mr. Timothy K. Adams Jr., Principal Timpani of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He attended the Brevard Music Center in 2006. In June of 2007 he was awarded a scholarship to attend the Cloyd Duff Master Class. In November of 2007 he recieved the 2nd Prize in an International Snare Drum Competition in Paris. Currently Mr. Gajardo is studying with Mr. Robert Van Sice at The Peabody Conservatory.