Ben Gunnarson is an active music educator and performer across the U.S. He graduated with degrees both in Music Education and Trumpet Performance from Indiana University in 2017, and maintains a trumpet teaching studio comprised of students from across the country. Studying at Indiana under professor Joey Tartell, Ben was a member of the symphony orchestra, wind ensemble, pit orchestra, jazz band, latin jazz band, brass band, brass choir, brass quintet, jazz combo, and several athletic bands including the IU Marching Hundred. Ben studied music abroad in Vienna, Austria under Vienna Philharmonic trumpet Rudolph Amon, and also studied jazz theory and improvisation at Indiana with Pat Harbison and John Raymond.

Ben completed his student teaching at Bloomington North High School under the guidance of Thomas Wilson and Janis Stockhouse. There, he instructed the marching band, concert bands, jazz bands, and the trumpet ensemble. In addition to student teaching, Ben taught the Young Winds program at Indiana University and the marching programs at James Logan High School in California and at Blue Valley West High School in Kansas. Ben was a marching member of the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps from 2013-2016 and was a four-year soloist on lead trumpet and flugelhorn. Following his time as a member, Ben began teaching at the Bluecoats and also worked with the four-time Drum Corps Europe champion The Company Performance Ensemble from Chesterfield, England. Ben has been a Musical Guide and Guest Talent Coordinator with Disney Performing Arts at the Disneyland Resort, and currently serves on the brass staff at the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps.

Outside of teaching, Ben continues to perform as an active freelancer. In 2019 Ben toured internationally with the Tony- and Emmy-award winning broadway production, Blast! The Music of Disney. In 2018 he was the lead trumpet for the Disneyland All-American College Band, and recorded their 2018 album Capital Records in Los Angeles. Other playing engagements include the Monday Night Band at SFJazz, West Side Story at Indiana University, the Fountain City Brass Band, the Southern Indiana Wind Ensemble, and the San Francisco Wind Ensemble.