The 'American Prize' judges praised him as “a first-rate conductor…phenomenal performance…masterly in shaping, phrasing, technique and expressively.” Lucid Culture said of a Lincoln Center performance of Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring”. “Conducting from memory, David Bernard led a transcendent performance. Segues were seamless, contrasts were vivid and Stravinsky’s whirling exchanges of voices were expertly choreographed.” Bernard’s complete recorded Beethoven symphony cycle was praised by Fanfare magazine for its “intensity, spontaneity, propulsive rhythm, textural clarity, dynamic control, and well-judged phrasing”. His premiere recording of a new edition of Stravinsky’s '"The Rite of Spring" was praised by Gramophone as “committed and forceful…(with) thrilling moments”.
Bernard has appeared as a guest conductor with orchestras which have included 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. He has presented world premières of scores by Bruce Adolphe, Chris Caswell, John Mackey, Ted Rosenthal, Jake Runestad 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.
He has worked with Clinton F. Nieweg, a retired librarian of the Philadelphia Orchestra, on editing new editions of Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” and “The Firebird Suite—1919 Version”, which was published by Edwin F. Kalmus in 2016. He has published his own editions of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, K. 622, and Schumann’s Symphony No. 2, Op. 61.
