Kaylee Bernard
Currently a PhD student in music theory at the Eastman School of Music, Kaylee Bernard serves as a teaching assistant in the undergraduate core curriculum in addition to her role as a music theory and aural skills instructor at ECMS. Kaylee has earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Central Michigan University and two Master of Music degrees, saxophone performance and music theory, from Michigan State University. She has served as a teaching assistant at MSU during her master’s degrees and has been a tutor for music theory and aural skills for close to 10 years. Having taught in many settings—middle and high school band, private instruction, community musicianship class, graduate theory review, undergraduate core musicianship courses—Kaylee has had the opportunity to approach music, theory, and aural skills from many different perspectives and values all she has learned from her students.
Though now primarily an educator and researcher, Kaylee has an extensive background in performance. Her chamber music experience brought her to the stage of prestigious competitions such as the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, the Music Teacher’s National Association Chamber Music Competition, the Coltman Chamber Music Competition, and the North American Saxophone Alliance Quartet Competition. Throughout her childhood and into her graduate studies, Kaylee has actively engaged in community outreach efforts, connecting with others through a mutual love of music. To her, music offers a means of artistic expression that has manifold forms—it can bring comfort, spark excitement, inspire wonder, offer resistance, open space for difficult conversations—and Kaylee promotes these ideals in the repertoire she performs. Many of her collaborations have emphasized social elements, often leading to rich discussion, and she aims to continue pursuing these dialogues through her research, teaching, and performance.