Gary Bernice ’07, ’10 MA is the director of the High School of Science and Technology (known as SciTech) music department in Springfield, Massachusetts where he oversees the school’s concert, jazz and symphonic bands as well as its stomp percussion ensemble.

Bernice’s core teaching philosophy comprises three ideals designed to transform his students:

• Let students take ownership of their program, with experienced students taking on leadership positions and mentoring younger students
• Let the music that students play have cultural relevance to them and not be restricted to a single style or arrangement
• Treat music as community, bringing band members together with a common goal

Bernice received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education from UMass Amherst. He started the SciTech music program in 2007 using donations to pay for instruments and teaching just 20 students. Building a quality band in a city with high child poverty rates was thought impossible.  However in less than a decade, Bernice built a community of musicians at a school that had no music program and a high drop-out rate, using a teaching philosophy designed to transform his students.  Through his leadership and determination, the 1700-student school now has more than 500 band members; many of who had never played a musical instrument before.

Members of the SciTech Band have performed with the United StatesNavy Band, the Massachusetts Lions All-State Band, the Massachusetts Western District Band, the Massachusetts Western District Orchestra, the UMass High School Honor Band and the world famous Young@Heart Chorus. SciTech Band members also have performed at the 2012 National Education Association Foundation Gala in Washington, DC, and at the 2015 Massachusetts Governor’s Inauguration Celebration. Bernice and the SciTech band are the subjects of a 2015 documentary by Florentine Films about how the director empowered students to turn themselves into “the Pride of Springfield.”

Among the accolades that Bernice has earned are the Pioneer Valley Distinguished Teaching Award, the Yale Distinguished Music Educator Award and the New England Public Radio Arts and Humanities Award. In 2013, he was the subject of a University of Massachusetts research study on transformative urban teaching and was a quarterfinalist for the first annual Grammy Music Educator Award.