Robert "Bob" Bernhardt is an American conductor. He is currently in his 24th season as Principal Pops Conductor of the

Louisville Orchestra The Louisville Orchestra is the primary orchestra in Louisville, Kentucky. It was founded in 1937 by Robert Whitney (1904–1986) and Charles Farnsley, Mayor of Louisville. The Louisville Orchestra employs salaried musicians, and offers a wide ...

(and in his 40th consecutive season there), and in his 10th season as Music Director Emeritus and Principal Pops Conductor of the

Chattanooga Symphony and Opera 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. The CSO also of ...

(where he was Music Director for 19 seasons). In 2015, Bob Bernhardt was named Principal Pops Conductor of the

Grand Rapids Symphony The Grand Rapids Symphony is a professional orchestra located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1930, the Symphony is celebrating its 90th anniversary season in 2019-20. In 2006, its recording ''Invention and Alchemy'' was nominated for ...

. He is also Artist-in-Residence at Lee University since 2012. For most of the 1980s, he was also associate conductor of the Louisville Orchestra. Born in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

, Robert Bernhardt holds a master's degree from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

Thornton School of Music The USC Thornton School of Music is a private music school in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1884 only four years after the University of Southern California, the Thornton School is the oldest continually operating arts institution in Los An ...

, where he studied with

Daniel Lewis Daniel, Dan or Danny Lewis may refer to: * Dan Lewis (rugby league), rugby league footballer who played in the 1900s and 1910s for Wales, Welsh League XIII, and Merthyr Tydfil * Dan Lewis (footballer) (1902–1965), Welsh football goalkeeper * Dan ...

. He is also a

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

, summa cum laude graduate of

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

, where he was an Academic All-American Baseball Player.

Career highlights

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. The 2015 season marks his 22nd as a frequent guest of the Boston Pops, which he first conducted at John Williams’ invitation in 1992. Along with Boston, he has been a frequent guest conductor of the

Edmonton Symphony Orchestra The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Edmonton, Alberta. As the professional orchestra of Alberta's creative capital city it presents over 85 concerts a year of symphonic music in all genres, from classical to co ...

(approaching his 14th 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, he was worked with scores of stars from Broadway, Rock & Roll, and the American Songbook, from Brian Stokes Mitchell and Kelli O’Hara, to the Beach Boys and Wynonna, to Jason Alexander and

Ann Hampton Callaway Ann Hampton Callaway (born May 30, 1958) is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and actress. She wrote and sang the theme song for the TV series ''The Nanny''. Career A native of Chicago, her father, John Callaway, was a journalist and her mot ...

. 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.

References

External links

Louisville Orchestra official website

Chattanooga Symphony & Opera official websiteGrand Rapids Symphony official website
American male conductors (music) Living people Musicians from Rochester, New York Year of birth missing (living people) Union College (New York) alumni USC Thornton School of Music alumni Classical musicians from New York (state) 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American male musicians {{US-conductor-stub