BHS's Bob Bernhardt leads Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra

by ERAN MUKAMEL Feature Editor The Brighton Central Schools' mission statement says that the school district is "committed to equipping students with the knowledge, values and skills to become lifelong learners." In the case of Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) Conductor Robert Bernhardt, the districts mission was a success. Bernhardt, commonly called "Bob," is a graduate of the Brighton High School Class of 1969, and he looks back very fondly on his high school years. "I'm one of these people who feels that they owe a great deal to Brighton High," Bernhardt said nostaligically. "It prepared me [with an] open mind when I went to college." For Bernhardt, like for many teens, High School was a time of development and exploration. "I was still very much trying to find myself," he said. In fact, the activities Bernhardt most enjoyed were very different from the musical carreer he chose many years later. He played all-county soccer and baseball, as well as serving as president the student council, which was then the equivalent of today's executive council. "Music was more of a hobby for me back then," he said. Still, he said, "I enjoyed all things musical." Beside playing the piano, Bernhardt was a member of a rock and roll band named The Highlanders while in high school, as well as one called The Boys. "Then a girl joined, and we became The Boys Plus," he recalled. After college, Bernhardt's dream was to become a professional baseball player, and one year he even went to spring training with a baseball team. "Between college and grad school I spent a year in Brighton as a reporter for the Brighton-Pittsfor Post," he said. "I found out that I did like journalism, and that I wasn't going to make it in baseball," he added. Bernhardt did not stay a journalist very long, however. "Everything came together when I was twenty at Union College in Schenectady [and had] my first chance to conduct a symphony orchestra," he recalled. "I really got the 'bug.'" In 1974 when Bernhardt started reporting on the RPO for the Post, "I met Isiah Jakson, the [former] conductor of the RPO, who told me about [a music program at] the University of Southern California," he said, and since then conducting has been his career and his passion. According to Donald Coley, a retired music teacher who started teaching at BHS in 1959, Bernhardt's story is unusual. "All the kids [who have] gone on [to musical careers] have studied privately," he said. But as Bernhardt graduated from the University of Southern California and got his first job as an assistant professor of music at the University of Alabama, he never lost touch with Rochester. "[My] first professional gig was in 1978 with the RPO," he said. He conducted the orchestra in a special presentation for children, like the orchestra still performs today in its 'orKIDStra' series. "I have been coming back almost every year as a guest conductor since 1978," he said. "Last April [I was] selected as the Principal Conductor." Bernhardt's current title is Principal Conductor/Artistic Director, meaning that his job carries many different responsibilities. "Usually the head of a symphonic orchestra has two jobs. I conduct the majority of the concerts. 'Artistic Director' is the administrative part of my job," he said. This includes organizing concerts, scheduling guest artists and "setting a plan for the future," he explained. Dennis Miller, BHS's Director of Performing Arts, also stressed the various roles a conductor plays. "To be an orchestra conductor [you must be] a PR person, a fundraiser and a charismatic leader, [both for] the orchestra and the community," he said. "What I like the most is the actual time on the podium," Bernhardt said. "[It is a] great challenge, great oppourtunity, and great joy. "I also happen to be one of those people who enjoys talking to community groups," he added. Recently, Bernhardt spoke for an audience at the Jewish Community Center in an event entitled, "The Conductor... Who Needs Him?" It is through community programs like these that Bernhardt has become "an advocate for classical music," as the RPO Season Catalog dubs him. "The whole music industry has been on a rollercoaster," he said. Despite cuts in government support for the arts and shrinking funding, "the RPO has consistently given excellent performances for all of my life," Bernhardt said. Miller agreed, describing the RPO as "top notch. For a city this size, we are really fortunate." Still, Bernhardt said, "what hasn't changed [over the years] is that there are still so many kids who think they can only like one kind of music. "At the same time I started listening to Bach, I discovered the Beatles," he recalled. Bernhardt likes many kinds of music, including jazz, blues, "and especially classical," he said. "If there is anything I could change, I wish that kids would give other kinds of music a try," he said. Many students from Brighton, in fact, have discovered the "enrichment," as Bernhardt describes it, that classical music offers, and every year several Seniors plan for careers in music. "Each year there are three or four [students] who attempt to go on [to professional music]," said Miller. "Many go into music education," he added. The music industry has changed, however, and students entering music today are likely to have a very different experience from Bernhardt. "[We are] graduating finer musicians from conservatories [than before]," said Bernhardt. According to Coley, this means that "the competition is fierce." Still, Bernhardt said, teens should not be discouraged from following their dreams. "I would recommend [students to] go for it, but only if they really love it," he said. "I think that's the key to at least partial happiness in life."

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