Programs
Rhoda Bernard, Ed.D., Program Director
Chair of the Music Education Department, Boston Conservatory
Rhoda Bernard is the Chair of the Music Education Department at The Boston Conservatory, where she leads and is the main teacher and advisor for three Master’s degree programs: one that provides a Master’s degree and Initial licensure to teach Music K-12, one that provides a Master’s degree only, and one that is a five-year program for Boston Conservatory undergraduates who wish to earn the Master’s degree and licensure. At Boston Conservatory, Rhoda is the faculty representative to the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees, and she sits on the Academic Judicial Board and the Residence Halls Judicial Board. She recently served as the only faculty member to chair a committee for the Conservatory’s accreditation self study, leading the charge on Planning and Governance. She is a co-founder of two innovative annual s chool-wide projects: Academics 101 and the Common Reading and Viewing Experience. She has served on numerous search committees, and currently is a member of the search committee for Boston Conservatory’s new Dean.
Before coming to Boston Conservatory, Rhoda taught courses in the Music Theory and Music Education departments at New England Conservatory of Music. With three colleagues, she founded the Conservatory Lab Charter School in 1999, where she worked for the school’s first five years as the leader of the Music and Interdisciplinary Music programs. Rhoda has taught elementary general music in numerous school partnership programs in the public schools of Nahant and Boston. She has collaborated with music teachers from across the state in interdisciplinary projects. Bernard has led Music Theory programs at Powers Music School, Suzuki School of Newton, Chestnut Hill Suzuki Strings, and Longy School of Music’s Preparatory Division. She has developed music curriculum for the Boston Public Schools, she assisted in the creation of the Boston Public Schools Music Standards, and she has designed interdisciplinary curriculum for the Boston Symphony Orchestra and From the Top. Rhoda is a founding member of the Urban Music Educators Coalition, an organization dedicated to increasing access to music for students in the Boston Public Schools. She serves on several committees in Boston that support music in the schools, including the a dvisory committee for the new middle school for the arts, the advisory committee for MusicianCorps, and the advisory committee to the Education and Community Programs office at the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She is also on the Board of Young Audiences of Massachusetts, currently serving as its President until June 2009.
Rhoda received her A.B. in Government from Harvard University, her B.M. in Jazz Voice Performance from New England Conservatory of Music, her M.Ed. in Arts and Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education, and her Ed.D. from Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her graduate studies and dissertation research focused on music teacher education, and specifically on the professional identities of music teachers who are also active musicians. Her current research interests include teacher professional identity, teacher reflective practice, music education in urban settings, and qualitative research methods. Rhoda regularly presents her research at local, national, and international conferences, and she has published articles in peer-reviewed journals, as well as book reviews and book chapters. She is a member of the Editorial Board of Visions of Research in Music Education and has supervised Master’s theses and Doctoral dissertations at universities in the U.S. and abroad.
Rhoda is a singer who specializes in Jewish music in Yiddish and Hebrew. She continues to perform regularly. She has recorded two compact d isks with the klezmer band, Klezamir. In addition, Rhoda enjoys giving presentations about the history and evolution of klezmer music. Rhoda has been active in Massachusetts Music Educators Association for several years in different capacities. She is the Higher Education Representative to the Board of the newly formed Eastern District, the Higher Education Representative to the All-State Conference Committee, the Higher Education editor for Massachusetts Music News, and the Advisor to the State Collegiate MENC chapter.
