Richard Bernas (born April 21, 1950 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, New York, United States) is a British-based conductor. He studied music at York University (UK) and conducting with

Witold Rowicki Witold Rowicki (born ''Witold Kałka'', 26 February 1914 in Taganrog, Russian Empire – 1 October 1989 in Warsaw) was a Polish conductor. He held principal conducting positions with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and the Bamberg Symphony O ...

in Warsaw (1976). After a period working as a pianist and percussionist – when he collaborated with such composers as

Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...

Earle Brown Earle Brown (December 26, 1926 – July 2, 2002) was an American composer who established his own formal and notational systems. Brown was the creator of "open form," a style of musical construction that has influenced many composers since� ...

and

Morton Feldman Morton Feldman (January 12, 1926 – September 3, 1987) was an American composer. A major figure in 20th-century classical music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminate music, a development associated with the experimental New York School ...

and played in the live electronic improvising group ''Gentle Fire'' (1968 - 1975) - he founded the new music ensemble Music Projects/London (1978

The ensemble toured in Europe, recorded for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

and other radio stations, appeared at major UK Festivals and recorded for NMC, Virgin, Factory and Decca. His recording of

John Casken John Arthur Casken (born 15 July 1949) is an English composer. Casken was born in Barnsley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. While at Barnsley Grammar School in the 1960s his music teacher played a recording of Berg's Violin Concerto, which h ...

's opera ''Golem'' with Music Projects/London won the Gramophone Award for Contemporary Music (1991). With the ensemble and other orchestras Bernas has worked with many leading composers. World premieres he has conducted have included

Gavin Bryars Richard Gavin Bryars (; born 16 January 1943) is an English composer and double bassist. He has worked in jazz, free improvisation, minimalism, historicism, avant-garde, and experimental music. Early life and career Born on 16 January 1943 in ...

' opera "Medea" (1984 Lyon and Paris Operas), of which he is also the dedicatee,

Nicholas Maw John Nicholas Maw (5 November 1935 – 19 May 2009) was a British composer. Among his works are the operas '' The Rising of the Moon'' (1970) and ''Sophie's Choice'' (2002). Biography Born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, Maw was the son of Clarence ...

's ''Odyssey'' (1989 Royal Festival Hall), James Dillon’s ''Oceanos'' (1996 BBC Proms)

's ''Golem'' (1989 Almeida Opera) as well as newly commissioned ballets for

The Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

, where he has been a guest conductor since 1988. Other theatre work includes

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

's ''Idomeneo'' for the Theatre du Capitole, Toulouse (2000), the

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

Operas for Opera Zuid Holland (2003),

Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

's ''Death in Venice'' (Scottish Opera 1988) and ''The Prince of the Pagodas'' at Covent Garden and at the MET. He conducted the BBC television production of

Mark Anthony Turnage Mark-Anthony Turnage CBE (born 10 June 1960) is a British composer of classical music. Biography Turnage was born in Corringham, Essex. He began composing at age nine and at fourteen began studying at the junior section of the Royal College of M ...

's ''Greek'', which won the Royal Philharmonic Society Award in 1992. Between 2001 and 2016 Richard Bernas was also a Music Consultant at

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is ...

, London. The work he developed there is gallery and site specific rather than based on conventional concert hall situations. It has included performing Feldman's ''Rothko Chapel'' and Tallis' ''Lamentations'' in Tate's Rothko Room, commissioning

Rebecca Saunders Rebecca Saunders (born 19 December 1967) is a London-born composer who lives and works freelance in Berlin. In a 2017 ''Classic Voice'' poll of the greatest works of art music since 2000, Saunders' compositions received the third highest total ...

' ''Chroma'' (2003) for the large Turbine Hall, performing music during such exhibitions as Arte povera, Brâncuși, Open Systems and

Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...

, mounting a large scale John Cage ''Musicircus'' to celebrate the re-hang of the Abstract collection (2006) and collaborations with

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

. Bernas made his

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

debut in March 2009.This is from the website of Richard Gilder and Co, his international management agent, accessed 21 November 2014. The link to the website i
here

References

Footnotes

* 1. Interview Composition Today November 2006 * 2. Information Please list of 1991 Gramophone Awards * 3. Peters Edition biography of James Dillon * 4. May 4, 2005 New York Times, Anthony Tommasini review of Covent Garden * 5. Web archive Theatre du Capitole Toulouse * 6. July 21, 1997 New York Times review of Royal Ballet at the Metropolitan Opera * 7. July 11, 2006 The Independent review The Sound of Colour Almeida Festival * 8. Web archive Tate Modern {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernas, Richard Living people 1950 births American male conductors (music) 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American male musicians