Music Director, Conductor, Educator
Biography
Barney Blough brings a wealth of experience from a wide-ranging background. Mr. Blough is currently Music Director of Evergreen City Ballet, Conductor of the Sinfonia Orchestra with the Bellevue Youth Symphony, and a teacher in the Bellevue School District, directing the award winning Newport High School Orchestra, As Music Director of Evergreen City Ballet he has conducted well over 50 performances of standard ballet repertoire such as Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Giselle. He is in his 15th year as a conductor with the Bellevue Youth Symphony, where he has conducted over 50 concerts of diverse repertoire with Premiere and Sinfonia. As an educator Mr. Blough has been teaching for over 20 years in Seattle, Tacoma, and Bellevue. His orchestras have won numerous awards at the Northwest Orchestra Festival, WWU-ASTA Orchestra Festival, World Strides, and Ictus Music Competition.
Mr. Blough studied conducting with Larry Gookin and Nikolas Caoile at Central Washington University; Vilem Sokol. Director Emeritus of the Seattle Youth Symphony; and Stewart Kershaw, Principal Conductor of the Pacific Northwest Ballet; and Gunther Schuller, Pulitzer Prize winning composer, President of New England Conservatory, and Artistic Director of the Tanglewood Music Center. While studying with Mr. Schuller at the Festival at Sandpoint, he was invited to perform as an Active Conductor with the Spokane Symphony. Other guest conducting appearances include Harmonia, Emerald City Philharmonic, and the Garfield High School Orchestra. Mr. Blough was formerly Music Director of the Seattle Chamber Orchestra, Assistant Conductor of the Rainier Symphony, and Assistant Conductor of the Lake Union Civic Orchestra.
Mr. Blough has also been active in musical theater, conducting multiple performances of Hello, Dolly!, Chess, and Guys and Dolls with Eastside Musical Theater. At the high school level he has also conducted Seussical at Newport High School, Kiss Me Kate at Garfield High School, and Meet Me in St Louis at Roosevelt High School.
As an active freelance horn player, Mr. Blough currently performs with Harmonia, where he has been a regular member of the orchestra for more than twenty years. Throughout his career he has performed with many of Washington’s finest orchestras, including the Bellevue Philharmonic, Bellevue Opera, Tacoma Symphony, Federal Way Symphony, Northwest Mahler Festival Orchestra, Philharmonia Northwest, Everett Symphony, Northwest Symphony, Yakima Symphony, Wenatchee Symphony, Richland Symphony, and the Lake Chelan Bach Festival. As a soloist, Mr. Blough has performed Schumann’s Concertstücke with the Wenatchee Symphony, and the world premier of Eric Ewazen’s Cascadian Concerto with the Lake Union Civic Orchestra. His horn teachers include Richard Jensen at Central Washington University, Christopher Leuba, former Solo Hornist of the Chicago Symphony, and Marty Hackelman with the Empire Brass Quintet at the renowned Tanglewood Music Center.
Mr. Blough received a Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance from Central Washington University, a Teaching Certificate from Seattle Pacific University, a Professional Certificate from Pacific Lutheran University, and a Masters in Music from Central Washington University.
Mr. Blough studied conducting with Larry Gookin and Nikolas Caoile at Central Washington University; Vilem Sokol. Director Emeritus of the Seattle Youth Symphony; and Stewart Kershaw, Principal Conductor of the Pacific Northwest Ballet; and Gunther Schuller, Pulitzer Prize winning composer, President of New England Conservatory, and Artistic Director of the Tanglewood Music Center. While studying with Mr. Schuller at the Festival at Sandpoint, he was invited to perform as an Active Conductor with the Spokane Symphony. Other guest conducting appearances include Harmonia, Emerald City Philharmonic, and the Garfield High School Orchestra. Mr. Blough was formerly Music Director of the Seattle Chamber Orchestra, Assistant Conductor of the Rainier Symphony, and Assistant Conductor of the Lake Union Civic Orchestra.
Mr. Blough has also been active in musical theater, conducting multiple performances of Hello, Dolly!, Chess, and Guys and Dolls with Eastside Musical Theater. At the high school level he has also conducted Seussical at Newport High School, Kiss Me Kate at Garfield High School, and Meet Me in St Louis at Roosevelt High School.
As an active freelance horn player, Mr. Blough currently performs with Harmonia, where he has been a regular member of the orchestra for more than twenty years. Throughout his career he has performed with many of Washington’s finest orchestras, including the Bellevue Philharmonic, Bellevue Opera, Tacoma Symphony, Federal Way Symphony, Northwest Mahler Festival Orchestra, Philharmonia Northwest, Everett Symphony, Northwest Symphony, Yakima Symphony, Wenatchee Symphony, Richland Symphony, and the Lake Chelan Bach Festival. As a soloist, Mr. Blough has performed Schumann’s Concertstücke with the Wenatchee Symphony, and the world premier of Eric Ewazen’s Cascadian Concerto with the Lake Union Civic Orchestra. His horn teachers include Richard Jensen at Central Washington University, Christopher Leuba, former Solo Hornist of the Chicago Symphony, and Marty Hackelman with the Empire Brass Quintet at the renowned Tanglewood Music Center.
Mr. Blough received a Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance from Central Washington University, a Teaching Certificate from Seattle Pacific University, a Professional Certificate from Pacific Lutheran University, and a Masters in Music from Central Washington University.
" Tell me and I forget.
Teach me and I learn.
Involve me and I remember. "
-Benjamin Franklin
Teach me and I learn.
Involve me and I remember. "
-Benjamin Franklin
BYSO Sinfonia Performs at Benaroya Hall
Awards
2020 World Strides – Gold Medal, Best String Orchestra
2017 Ictus International Music Competition – 1st Place, Odle Symphony
2017 NAfME Northwest Convention – Featured Ensemble, Odle Symphony
2017 Northwest Orchestra Festival – 1st Place, Odle Middle School
2013 Odle Middle School – “Golden Apple” Teacher of the Year
2008 Northwest Orchestra Festival – 1st Place, Bellevue High School
1986 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition – Ellensburg Winds
2017 Ictus International Music Competition – 1st Place, Odle Symphony
2017 NAfME Northwest Convention – Featured Ensemble, Odle Symphony
2017 Northwest Orchestra Festival – 1st Place, Odle Middle School
2013 Odle Middle School – “Golden Apple” Teacher of the Year
2008 Northwest Orchestra Festival – 1st Place, Bellevue High School
1986 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition – Ellensburg Winds