Dr. Mario Gaetano (b. 1955) is an American percussionist, composer, and arranger whose music for percussion is performed regularly at high schools and universities across the United States and abroad. He joined the Western Carolina University faculty in 1979, teaching applied percussion, percussion ensemble, and methods, and retired in 2017 after 38 years on staff. He holds degrees from the Crane School of Music (SUNY Potsdam), East Carolina University, and a doctorate from the University of Memphis. A long-serving member of the Asheville Symphony, he has also performed with the North Carolina and Memphis symphonies. With around 60 published works to his credit, his honours include multiple ASCAP awards, two N.C. Federation of Music Clubs Composers Awards, WCU’s James Dooley Excellence in Music Teaching Award (2005), and the University Scholar Award (2008). He has also written widely on percussion pedagogy.
