Julia Gaines was born in 1969 in Bellevue, Washington, and by second grade had moved to Moscow, Idaho.
[3] She graduated from Moscow High School in 1987 and went on to attend the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wisconsin.
[3] Gaines was a member of the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps, which won a national title in 1989.
She was professor of percussion for eighteen years, then director of the School of Music in 2014, succeeding Robert Shay.
[2] After nine years as director, in 2023, she took research leave to write a new marimba book and create instructional videos.