Kiefer Bernard, composer

Meet Kiefer

Kiefer appears on Show 479.

Kiefer Bernard (composer), 18, hails from Montclair, New Jersey and is a Composition major at Mannes Prep Pre-College Music program at The New School in New York City. At Mannes, he studies composition with Meng Wang and film scoring with Jonel Petroj. In addition, he studies composition privately with Max Grafe, and previously with Gity Razaz. He attended the Boston Conservatory’s High School Composition Intensive under the tutelage of Grammy-finalist Michael Gilbertson as well as studying electroacoustical composition with Justin Casinghino at Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute.

Kiefer has won top prizes for classical composition in the 2022 National Association for Music Educators student competition (for his piece, “Battle Cry”), the 2024 National Federation of Music Clubs Junior Composer (NJ) (“Alone But Not Lonely”), and the 2023 New Jersey PTA Reflections competitions (“Lost In A Forest”). His teachers have described his natural style as being similar to Stravinsky, Messiaen, and Pärt. Kiefer’s compositions have been performed at various locations throughout the country, including Washington DC, Michigan, New Jersey, and New York. His string quartet, “Searching for Antiquities” was commissioned by The Dolphins Quartet and premiered at Juilliard in 2025.

Kiefer often finds inspiration for his pieces from nature and works of art. His electroacoustic piece, “Clock Dream Becomes Reality,” was inspired by his collection of more than 50 clocks. Outside of composing music, he studies piano with Stephanie Leotsakos and plays clarinet in the Essex County NJ Wind Ensemble. In addition, he enjoys solving riddles, musical parodies, cat videos, and silly puns.