Jay-Martin Pinner

Jay-Martin Pinner, 71 years old, of Greenville, South Carolina, passed away on Tuesday, July 22nd, 2025, after an extended illness. Jay was born in Maryland in 1953 and adopted in infancy by Lewis Arthur and Mildred Emma Pinner. He attended schools in Fairfax County, Virginia, where he also began classical training on the violin. After graduating high school, he studied music at Bob Jones University, with an undergraduate degree in church music, and a graduate degree in violin performance.

Jay married fellow violinist, Dianne Gustafson, and they embarked on a life-long partnership in music education. Jay enjoyed telling the following anecdote: In 1976, when he was a graduate assistant in the BJU music division, he was given $200 and a pack of call slips and asked to start orchestras for the junior high and high school. Under Jay’s leadership, both orchestras grew large in number and developed a reputation for excellence within the South Carolina Music Education Association festivals. He was also active in the South Carolina chapter of the American String Teachers Association. His orchestra students and private students remember him fondly as an inspiring director/teacher who cared about them, respected them, pushed them for excellence, and made learning music enjoyable.

Jay and Dianne performed and recorded together, including appearances in a string quartet with their two sons, Brian and Nathan. Together, Jay and Dianne founded a summer orchestra camp in 1980 that is still hosted at Bob Jones University to this day. Composing and promoting sacred music was important to Jay, leading him to start a small publishing company in 1989. Jay served as head of the BJU string department and as coordinator of the pre-college string/orchestra program for 25 years, also directing the collegiate orchestra, teaching lecture classes, coaching ensembles, and teaching private students. For the last 17 years of his life, he taught full-time out of his private studio, including lessons in violin, viola, cello, and bass.

Jay is survived by his faithful wife of 49 years, Dianne, as well as his son, Brian, and his five grandchildren. Jay made a profession of faith in Christ when he was nine years old and humbly pursued baptism much later in life. On his deathbed, he was still grateful for God's grace in his life and was exhorting others to live with eternity in view. He and Dianne are members of Grace Baptist Fellowship (37 Pinckney St. in Greenville), where Jay's memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 9 at 11am. The receiving line will begin at 9:30am.