​

Connor Bernhard has been enamored with music and its creation since birth. Born in 1992, he was exposed to jazz by his father from day one, but officially started studying guitar at age 7, trumpet at age 10. In his early years, he studied with the inimitable Fareed Haque and Art Davis and learned the tradition of Swing and Big Band music from Ronald Carter at Northern Illinois University.

 

In 2013, Bernhard made his move to Chicago to start a full-time professional career in music while also working full time as a merchant mariner on the Chicago River and Lake Michigan to support himself financially while he worked to make his name. In 2017, Bernhard was selected by the Luminarts Foundation as a finalist in its annual Chicago jazz competition and awarded a grant to fund his debut album, Altitude (2020) which is available for purchase at https://connorbernhard.bandcamp.com/releases and for streaming wherever you consume music!

 

Recently, Bernhard has been busy playing, composing, and arranging for a variety of ensembles including several of his own. He has performed with artists such as Ernie Watts, Randy Brecker, Victor Lewis, The New Lionel Hampton Band Featuring Jason Marsalis, The Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, Neal Francis, Eryn Allen Kane, Jorge Luis Pacheco, The Chicago Jazz Orchestra, New Nostalgia, and too many more to list. With these artists and others, he has played venues such as The Chicago Jazz Festival, The Detroit Jazz Festival, The Salt Shed, Summercamp Music Festival, The Green Mill, Andy’s Jazz Club, The Jazz Showcase, Lincoln Hall, Park West, Martyrs, and more. Besides performing live music, Bernhard is currently working on multiple recording releases that are in various stages of completion at the time of this publishing including his new band The Chicago Experiment, which he mainly plays guitar in.

​

Connor is an endorsing artist for Robinson's Remedies, more information can be found at https://www.robinsonsremedies.com