Gary Graden was born in the USA and studied at Clark University, the Hartt School of Music, the Aspen Summer Music Festival, and at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm, under the legendary Eric Ericson. Gary Graden is a former member and tenor soloist with the Eric Ericson Chamber Choir, as well as the vocal ensemble Lamentabile Consort.

Gary Graden is presently choral director at St. Jacob’s Church in Stockholm. He has also been on the faculty of Stockholm’s Musikgymnasium where founded and conducted the Stockholm’s Musikgymnasium’s Chamber Choir. With this choir and the St Jacobs Chamber Choir he has won grand prizes and first prizes in several of Europe’s most prestigious competitions, including the European Grand Prize. He has also participated in a wide array of national and international festivals including the Tolosa Festival in Spain, the IFCM World Symposia in Minneapolis and Kyoto, and Sagra Musicale Umbra in Italy. He has conducted repertoire from a wide array of national styles and periods, including larger works for choir and orchestra. He has commissioned and premiered a great number of works by such composers as Sven-David Sandström, Thomas Jennefelt, Steve Dobrogosz, Urmas Sisask, Javier Busto, Vytautas Miskinis, Corrado Margutti and Damian Mocnik. He has conducted several orchestras including the Stockholm Royal Opera Orchestra, the Stockholm Barock Orchestra, the Uppsala Chamber Orchestra, the Estonian Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Philidor, France, and I Solisti di Perugia, Italy.

Gary Graden is in demand as conductor, teacher and adjudicator throughout the world. He has conducted the SWR Vocal Ensemble, Stuttgart, the WDR Radio Choir, Köln, Jauna Muzika, Vilnius, the Ochsenhausen Academy Vocal Ensemble, and the IFCM World Youth Choir, among others. His work as conductor and singer is documented on many CD (BIS, Proprius, Caprice, Phono Svecia, Gehrmans, nosag, Camerata Tokyo, a.o.) and radio recordings. He has taught conducting and held master classes in London, Oslo, Vilnius, Ljubljana, Arezzo, Fano, Marktoberdorf, Ochsenhausen, and Singapore among others. He is the recipient of the Johannes Norrby medal for his contribution to Swedish choral music, and was elected Sweden´s 2005 Choral Conductor of the year.