Barry Bernhardt, director of University Bands, is a man with a passion for teaching and making great music.

As conductor of the Golden Eagles Marching Band, the Southeast Show Band, and the Southeast Symphonic Wind Ensemble, he has many opportunities to shape the minds and influence the talents of young, budding musicians at Southeast. Bernhardt also exerts his influence in the classroom arena, having taught Marching Band Techniques, Jazz Appreciation, Conducting and Instrumental Teaching Techniques.

A graduate of Truman State University, Bernhardt’s main area of academic interest is music education. He chose to study music education in college because of an exceptional teacher he had at Macon High School. One of the finest music educators in the state, this teacher instilled in him a desire to perform and a desire to teach others to love music. Teaching, for Bernhardt, seemed to be the ideal career “because of the impact you can have in molding future music educators and musicians.”

He describes his own teaching style as “relaxed, but hopefully, challenging as well.” In the classroom, he aspires to “take students as far as [he] can to ultimately reach their highest potential as musicians and music educators.” He has been carrying out these goals for Southeast students since 1990.

Bernhardt is also a person with varied interests. He enjoys the outdoors and likes to golf, hunt and fish. He also is involved in the Boy Scouts of America and works with area service organizations. He has traveled with the Golden Eagles to Europe as part of the famous Edinburgh Military Tattoo and lists Edinburgh, Scotland and Dublin, Ireland as his favorite travel destinations. After having traveled there several times, he and his wife and have made some wonderful friendships. He is also an avid reader with an interest in jazz. He is currently reading You Can’t Steal a Gift, a book by Gene Lees, which chronicles the lives of Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Milt Hilton and Nat “King” Cole.

In addition to setting high standards for his students and for the ensembles he conducts, Bernhardt also sets lofty goals for himself as a professional musician and educator. When asked what he would most want students to know about himself, he replied, “I would hope that they would know that I am a caring educator. I hope to be the kind of mentor to them that my college band director was and continues to be to me.”

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