John Berners

From his first orchestral work, The Last Days of Calvin and Hobbes, to the recent chamber piece, Piccolos and Plungers, John Berners' music shows a fondness for the irreverent and a fascination with American music from bebop to marching bands. His works have been performed by the Detroit Symphony, the Virginia Symphony, the Boston Symphony brass section, Tanglewood Festival Brass, Brave New Works, Ensemble SurPlus, and many university ensembles. Recordings include the Millar Brass Ensemble, Boston's Old South Brass, pianist Alan Huckleberry, Brave New Works, and the Iowa Center for New Music.

Berners' chamber piece, Praeludium, was recently featured at the 2006 "June in Buffalo" festival. His Concerto for trumpet and orchestra, A Walk in Heavenly Grass, won the Concerto Competition of the Symposium Franco-European de la Trompette and will be premiered in France.

After earning a B.M. in trombone and a B.A. in mathematics at Northwestern University, Berners' formal composition studies began privately with C. Curtis-Smith in Kalamazoo and continued at the University of Michigan under Evan Chambers, William Albright, Bright Sheng, Michael Daugherty, and William Bolcom. There he earned an M.M. in composition and Ph.D. in composition and music theory.

An enthusiastic teacher, Dr. Berners is Assistant Professor at the University of Indianapolis. In addition to working with composition students, his teaching interests include tonal theory, music since 1900, orchestration, and world music. He has previously served on the faculties of the University of Iowa, American University, the Colburn School for the Arts in Los Angeles, California State University at Fullerton, Kalamazoo College, and Interlochen Arts Camp.