Bartner was born and raised in Maplewood, New Jersey. He claims his interest in music began when his older brother started taking trumpet lessons, a path Bartner followed, and crystallized when he saw the United States Marine Band, which had come to perform at his junior high school. At Columbia High School, Bartner earned all-state honors in both trumpet and basketball, and went on to attend the University of Michigan, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Mu. After a failed try-out for the basketball team, he joined the University of Michigan Marching Band, where he played trumpet from 1958 to 1962. Following graduation in 1962, Bartner went on to earn a Master of Music degree in 1963 and a Doctor of Education in 1971, both also at Michigan. Bartner has credited longtime Michigan band director William D. Revelli as the most important musical influence in his life.
