Mark Bernat has led an active career as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player.

Trained at the Juilliard School, Mr. Bernat held positions as Section Bassist with the Israel

Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta and as Principal Bassist of the Jerusalem Symphony under

Lukas Foss. He has served as a faculty member at the Oberlin Conservatory and the University

of Texas-Austin, and his former students hold positions in major orchestras and universities. His

accomplishments as a soloist include first prize in the Juilliard Double Bass Competition and the

Bloch Competition and recitals all over the world including at Carnegie Recital Hall and

London’s Purcell Room. His transcriptions of major works for the double bass, published by

International Music Company, have greatly expanded the solo repertoire for double bass. Mr.

Bernat was the first double bassist to perform all six of the Bach Suites in a landmark recording

and has recently re-released a new recording of the Suites to much acclaim.

Mr. Bernat has also been passionate about bringing classical music to new audiences. In 2009,

he joined University of Iowa Healthcare to bring music into the hospital for patients and their

families. There, he also formed an orchestra, concert band, and jazz band all consisting of

faculty and staff. While in Iowa, he also directed the Red Barn Chamber Music Series for which

he received funding from the Iowa Council of the Arts. In 2021, he was recruited back to the

University of Texas-Austin to establish a music program at Dell Seton Medical Center.