Barry Stern

Profile

Discipline: Music Education

Barry Stern serves as the director of ISO Programs (formerly Interschool Orchestras of NY) at Third Street Music School Settlement and is in his fifth season as conductor of the ISO at Third Symphony Orchestra, after having served as conductor of the ISO Concert Orchestra for one season and the ISO Turtle Bay Orchestra for three seasons. During his time with ISO, Stern has collaborated with artists such as the Mingus Dynasty, Earl McIntyre, Raul Juarena, and Arturo O’Farrill. He is also an alumnus of the ISO Symphony, having been in the orchestra from 1985 to 1987 under the tutelage of Music Director Emeritus Jonathan Strasser. He served as principal conductor of the All City High School Orchestra from 2014 to 2022, is the founding conductor of New York City’s Summer Arts Institute String Studio, and has been the orchestra director at Brooklyn’s Fort Hamilton High School since 2010, leading the string program, and conducting the school’s symphony orchestra in out-of-state competitions and through many concerts over the course of the school year. As a violist, Stern has collaborated and performed with artists such as Quincy Jones, Wu Tang Clan, Mark Wood, Tevin Campbell, and Sarah Brightman. In addition to serving as an adjunct professor of music education at Brooklyn College, he is a co-author of the New York City Department of Education’s Commencement Music Examination, was a lead facilitator for professional development for New York City music teachers, and served on the committee that edited the Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Arts.