Robert "Bob" Bernhardt is an American symphony conductor. He is currently in his 27th season as Principal Pops Conductor of the Louisville Orchestra (and in his 43rd consecutive season there), and in his 13th season as Music Director Emeritus of the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera (where he was Music Director for 19 seasons). In 2015, he was named Principal Pops Conductor of the Grand Rapids Symphony. [1]
Born in Rochester, New York, Robert Bernhardt holds a master's degree from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, where he studied with Daniel Lewis. He is also a Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude graduate of Union College in Schenectady, New York, where he was an Academic All-American Baseball Player and captain of the soccer team.
Formerly, he was Principal Conductor/Artistic Director of the Rochester Philharmonic, Music Director and Conductor of the Tucson Symphony, Principal Guest Conductor of Kentucky Opera, Music Director and Conductor of the Amarillo Symphony, and Artistic Director of the Lake Placid Sinfonietta. For most of the 1980s, he was also Associate Conductor of the Louisville Orchestra.
He first conducted the Boston Pops in 1992, at the invitation of John Williams, and he has been a frequent guest ever since. Along with Boston, he has been a frequent guest conductor of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (now in his 18th season as conductor of their Symphony Under the Sky Festival), the Baltimore Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, the Cincinnati Pops, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Seattle Symphony, the Pacific Symphony, the Florida Orchestra, the Las Vegas Philharmonic, and the Santa Barbara Symphony. He has been a guest with the St. Louis Symphony, Virginia Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, and many others.
In the world of pops, Bernhardt has worked with stars of Broadway including Brian Stokes Mitchell, Ron Raines, Debbie Gravitte, Megan Hilty, and Kelli O’Hara; with pop/rock/R&B, Indie and country acts including the Beach Boys, the B-52s, Violent Femmes, Ne-Yo, Ricky Skaggs and Wynonna; and with brilliant, varied entertainers such as Ben Folds, Randy Newman, Renee Fleming, Jason Alexander and Patti LuPone.
He conducted productions with Kentucky Opera for 18 consecutive seasons, and for 19 seasons with his own company in Chattanooga, as well as many guest conducting engagements with the Nashville Opera.
Edo de Waart is a Dutch retired conductor. He is Music Director Laureate of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. De Waart is the former music director of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (2016-2019), chief conductor of the Royal Flemish Philharmonic (2011-2016) and Artistic Partner with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra (2010-2014).
David Lockington, is the Music Director Laureate of the Grand Rapids Symphony located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S. Lockington became the 13th music director of the Grand Rapids Symphony in January 1999 and stepped down from the post in May 2015 at the end of his 16th season with the orchestra. Prior to his tenure in Grand Rapids, Lockington served as the music director for the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra (1996–2000) and the Long Island Philharmonic (1995–2000). In May 2007, Lockington was named music director of the Modesto Symphony Orchestra in Modesto, California. Since March 2013, Lockington has been the music director of the Pasadena Symphony in Pasadena, California.
The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is an American orchestra based in the city of Rochester, New York. Its primary concert venue is the Eastman Theatre at the Eastman School of Music.
Semyon Mayevich Bychkov is a Soviet-born American conductor. He currently holds the position of chief conductor and artistic director of the Czech Philharmonic.
Myung-whun Chung is a South Korean conductor and pianist.
Jerzy Semkow was a Polish conductor.
Gianandrea Noseda is an Italian conductor. He is currently the music director of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C.; general music director (Generalmusikdirektor) of Zurich Opera; principal guest conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra; and the music director of the Tsinandali Festival in Tsinandali, Georgia.
Lawrence Leighton Smith, was an American conductor and pianist.
Daniel Hege is an American orchestral conductor. He is currently the music director of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra and the Binghamton Philharmonic, and is the principal guest conductor of the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra. Hege previously served as the music director of the former Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. He also makes numerous guest appearances with orchestras and music festivals across the country.
George Daugherty is an American conductor, director, producer, and writer.
Gregory Vajda is a Hungarian clarinetist, composer and conductor.
The Grand Rapids Symphony is a professional orchestra located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1930, the Symphony celebrated its 90th anniversary season in 2019-20. In 2006, its recording Invention and Alchemy was nominated for Best Classical Crossover Album at the Grammy Awards. The Grand Rapids Symphony presents more than 400 performances throughout Michigan each year, reaching over 200,000 people, and is heard in West Michigan on broadcasts by WBLU-FM (88.9) and WBLV-FM (90.3). The organization also implements 18 educational and access programs that benefit over 80,000 Michigan residents.
Isaiah Allen Jackson is an American conductor who served a seven-year term as conductor of the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, of which he has been named Conductor Emeritus. He was the first African-American to be appointed to a music directorship in the Boston area. Dr. Jackson currently teaches at the Berklee College of Music, the Harvard Extension School, and the Longy School of Music.
Geoffrey Moull is a Canadian professional conductor. He was principal conductor of the Bielefeld Philharmonic Orchestra and music director of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra.
The Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, also known as CSO, is a combined symphony orchestra and opera company in Chattanooga, Tennessee. At the time of the merger in 1985, it was the only such combined organization in the United States.
Noam Zur is an Israeli conductor. the New Chief conductor in Argentinian State orchestra of Salta
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Ward Stare is an American conductor. Stare was the Music Director of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra from 2014 until 2021 and was also the Resident Conductor of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra from 2008 to 2012. Stare is currently active as a guest conductor both domestically within the United States as well as internationally. In addition Stare currently holds a position as a Distinguished Artist at the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia.
Keith Alan Lockhart is an American conductor. He is the Conductor of the Boston Pops orchestra, the Chief Guest Conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra, and the Artistic Director of the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina.
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