David Bernard

David Bernard has gained recognition for his dramatic and incisive conducting in the United Stated and in over 20 countries on four continents. He serves as Music Director of the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony and the Massapequa Philharmonic. A multiple First Prize winner of the Orchestral Conducting Competition of The American Prize, Bernard was described in the judges’ remarks as, “a first-rate conductor…phenomenal performance…masterly in shaping, phrasing, technique and expressivity.”

Noted recent performances include Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring at Lincoln Center (“transcendant…vivid….expertly choreographed”, LucidCulture) and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at Carnegie Hall (“taught and dramatic”, superconductor). Bernard’s critically acclaimed catalog of recordings include a premiere recording of a new edition of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring (“committed and forceful…(with) thrilling moments”, Gramophone) and a complete cycle of Beethoven Symphonies praised for its “intensity, spontaneity, propulsive rhythm, textural clarity, dynamic control, and well-judged phrasing” by Fanfare Magazine.
Particularly active throughout the greater New York City area, David Bernard has appeared as a guest conductor with orchestras including the Brooklyn Symphony, the Greater Newburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Litha Symphony, Manhattan School of Music, the Massapequa Philharmonic, the New York Symphonic Arts Ensemble, the Putnam Symphony and the South Shore Symphony. Devoted to the music of our own time, he has presented world premières of scores by Bruce Adolphe, Chris Caswell, John Mackey, Ted Rosenthal and Jake Runestad, and distinguished concert collaborators have included Anna Lee, Jeffrey Biegel, Carter Brey, David Chan, Catherine Cho, Adrian Daurov, Pedro Díaz, Edith Dowd, Stanley Drucker, Bart Feller, Ryu Goto, Whoopi Goldberg, Sirena Huang, Judith Ingolfsson, Yevgeny Kutik, Anna Lee, Jessica Lee, Kristin Lee, Jon Manasse, Anthony McGill, Spencer Myer, Todd Phillips, Kristin Sampson and Cameron Schutza.

Bernard has worked on the Edwin F. Kalmus editorial team with Clinton F. Nieweg, retired librarian of the Philadelphia Orchestra, developing new editions of Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” and “The Firebird Suite—1919 Version,” which has been published in 2016. In addition, he has published his own editions of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, K. 622, and Schumann’s Symphony No. 2, Op. 61.

David Bernard is an acclaimed orchestra builder and is sought after for his artistic leadership and innovation in community engagement. Under his leadership as Music Director, both the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony and the Massapequa Philharmonic have thrived—with growing audiences, expanded ensembles and increased critical acclaim. Bernard’s approach to growing new audiences for classical music include engaging families in the community through schools, presenting multi-media concert presentations and developing a new concert format—“Classical Music from the InsideOut” where audiences sit inside the orchestra during concerts. David Bernard’s InsideOut concerts with the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony and the Massapequa Philharmonic have been acclaimed by WQXR, Newsday, ClassicalWorld and the Epoch Times, bringing an unsurpassed experience and level of engagement for the audiences of all ages.