And ended up spending almost all of his professional life at the helm of retirement communities and nursing homes.

The life of Bernie Bowman ’72 is a testimony to the way a solid liberal arts education can be a springboard to almost anything.

At EMU recently as a Suter Science Seminar speaker, Bowman titled his talk “Forty Years Post-EMU: Reflections on an Unexpected Career.”

That career basically turned out to be “leadership.” Bowman took his leadership journey within the world of senior living. His last 14 years of full-time leadership were as President/CEO of ., overseeing six retirement communities affiliated with the United Methodist Church in east Tennessee and southwest Virginia.

At age 66, eight years after stepping down as CEO, Bowman continues to work part-time at Asbury, focused on strategic planning and projects rather than operational matters. He and his wife Carol, class of ’72, live in Maryville, Tenn.

Bowman spoke of the epiphany of learning that “an individual working alone is severely limited in terms of potential outcomes,” while one who gathers and coordinates the efforts of many toward a common goal will see that “greater things are possible.”

A key Bowman lesson regarding growth as a leader: “Beg, borrow and steal from leadership journeys of others, those still practicing and those from eons past.” One of his all-time favorite books is Robert Greenleaf’s Servant Leadership (republished as a 25th anniversary edition in 2002).

In all cases and all times, “leadership is not about getting ahead and gaining and keeping power.” Rather, it is about “empowering others to be all they can be.”

“If others, in general, are not made more whole over time because of your leadership, then something is amiss.” Bowman said a sign of poor leadership is a feedback style that interferes with a team’s performance, rather than enabling it to be more skillful.

Ten other leadership tips from Bowman:

1. Take seriously the adage “know thyself” and explore “various personality discovery exercises.” Bowman found personality assessments especially worth revisiting when his leadership team changed.
2. Know that you are being closely watched by others in your organization, especially subordinates, and that you set the tone and establish the culture by which others live and work.
3. Solicit feedback, even while realizing that “it is almost impossible for the CEO to get full and unfettered feedback from employees.” Don’t rely entirely on structured survey instruments; sometimes simply walking around and talking to people will draw out better feedback.
4. Be conversant regarding the work of employees. “If those you are leading and managing can feel that you understand their work, your authority will be better received.” Bowman periodically would change places with an employee, or arrange for mutual job shadowing, just to stay abreast of the work of others.
5. Study and understand “change theory,” so that you grasp the importance of “bringing others along with the proposed change in advance of the change itself.” There is always a price to be paid for change, but the price is lower if you do it this way.
6. Become sensitive to – inform yourself about – cultural differences when you shift work environments. Even a shift from one region of the United States to another can require a different approach to leadership, as Bowman discovered when he shifted from Iowa to an Appalachian region (east Tennessee).
7. Work at creating your own leadership style, and know how to adjust it to suit each distinctive group of workers and different work environments. Bowman recommended Management of Organizational Behavior by Paul Hersey, Kenneth H. Blanchard and Dewey E. Johnson (10th edition, 2012) for gaining an understanding of an adaptive leadership style. “It is often more effective for the executive to change his or her style to meet the needs of others than to ask and expect employees to adapt to the executive’s style.” This requires having “knowledge of, and experience with, a variety of leadership styles so you can flex with the situation.”
8. Think of strategic planning as akin to a river. “It is always moving and constantly changing.”
9. Don’t hesitate to seek out executive coaching for assistance “in learning the requisite attitude, behavior and skills needed to perform” as well as possible. “We assume other staff need continuing support and training in their roles; why not CEOs?”
10. Expect to sometimes fall short or even fail over the course of a long career: “The fact is, sometimes one can exercise the best of leadership skills and still not be successful.” In such situations, it is time to “let go” and follow an alternate path.

In summary, Bowman advised his listeners to start with “a solid base in theory and concepts,” then live, experience and adapt these in one’s workplace. In so doing, the exercise of leadership will become “an act of natural self-expression.”

This summer’s festival will include the music of 19^th-century composer Giuseppe Verdi of Italy and 20^th-century composer Benjamin Britten of England. Selections from their operas will heighten the drama of the festival, said , an EMU music professor who is the festival’s artistic director and conductor.

The festival, founded by Nafziger, will feature a diverse cast of artists this year. They include a cluster of New York musicians, a Cuban violinist, child-prodigy flutist, and many others.

Grant supports acclaimed artists

A $12,000 grant from the Rhodes and Leona Carpenter Foundation of Richmond, Va., is helping bring a number of acclaimed artists to this year’s festival.

The festival opens on Sunday, June 9, at 3 p.m., with a concert at EMU’s Lehman Auditorium that includes Bach’s well-known Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, performed by the festival orchestra. Also on the program is Japanese pianist Naoko Takao, performing Britten’s Young Apollo. Tickets are available at 540-432-4582 or emu.edu/boxoffice.  

During the following week, June 10-15, the festival offers noon chamber music concerts at in downtown Harrisonburg. No tickets are required, but donations are requested at the door. The complete schedule for the noon concerts is available at .

The child prodigy flutist, Emma Resmini of Fairfax Station, Va., will perform at the Wednesday-noon concert. Last summer she studied in Switzerland with legendary flutist Sir James Galloway. She is the youngest person ever accepted in the National Symphony Orchestra’s youth fellowship program and has soloed with other major symphonies.

Concerts easily accessible to all

On Monday, June 10, at 5:30 p.m. is the annual faculty recital of the , an event sponsored by the Bach Festival. The recital features instruments and performance styles that were typical of Bach’s era. The event, held at Asbury United Methodist Church, requires no ticket, but donations are requested.

The Baroque Academy, held June 9-15, offers solo master classes and ensemble coaching by internationally acclaimed artists Arthur Haas, harpsichord; Martha McGaughey, viola da gamba; and Linda Quan, Baroque violin. More information is available at .

Festival Concert 2 on Friday, June 14, at 7:30 p.m., will feature the festival orchestra performing Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 and Britten’s “Four Sea Interludes” from the opera Peter Grimes. The orchestra will be joined by the festival’s internationally known soloists who will sing eight popular arias from Verdi’s operas.

The following night, Saturday, June 15, at 7:30 p.m., the orchestra will be joined by the featured vocal soloists and the festival chorus of 88 singers from near and far. They will perform Verdi’s Requiem.

On Sunday, June 16, at 10 a.m., Nafziger will lead the annual Leipzig service that is inspired by the Lutheran services for which Bach composed and directed music when he was a church organist. Nafziger will be joined by the festival orchestra, organist Marvin Mills, the featured vocal soloists, and North Carolina pastor Isaac Villegas, who will deliver the homily. The service will include Bach’s Cantata 88. No tickets are required for the service, but donations are requested.

New: Father’s Day brunch

New this year, after the Leipzig service, is a Father’s Day buffet brunch in EMU’s Northlawn dining hall. Reservations must be made by June 1 at .

An event connected to the Bach Festival is the Road Scholar Program (formerly Elderhostel) that offers classes throughout the United States. From June 12 to 16 the participants will enjoy the history and culture of the Shenandoah Valley while attending the Bach Festival’s rehearsals, concerts, and classes with the musicians, conductor, and musical scholars. More information is available from .

, an EMU music professor who is also executive director of the Bach Festival, said the annual event brings a sense of imagination to the Valley. “It is an opportunity to feed the souls of residents,” she said.

Advance tickets for the festival are available at the EMU box office – 540-432-4582 or . They will also be available at the door at slightly higher prices.

The complete program for the week is available at .

Asbury United Methodist Church is featuring a new exhibit, “Elements,” in its Sacred Arts Series. The exhibit runs through Nov. 14 and features expressionist acrylic paintings by Kari Martin and Rachael Harnish (shown).

Just as Christians strive to grow in their understanding of God, Kathy Pigg believes everyone needs to grow in their understanding of art.

Pigg, the artist in residence at Asbury United Methodist Church, hopes a new exhibit in the Sacred Arts Series will do both.

Through Nov. 14, the acrylic expressionist paintings of Kari Martin and Rachael Harnish, both 2010 graduates of ˛ÝÝ®ÉçÇř, will be exhibited in the Asbury Hospitality Center. The show’s theme, “Elements,” explores the use of lines, colors, shape, space and texture.

“I think we’re pushing the envelope, perhaps, a little bit with expressionist paintings,” Pigg said. “I mean most people identify more closely with the expressions of things they can identify, you know, a tree, a house.

“But when you’re talking about emotions many people understand that expressionist painting is an expression of emotion, as well as fact.”

Martin explores emotions through expressionism

Traditionally a realist, Martin used her “Series of Entanglement” to branch out and explore her own emotions through expressionism.

“I had a year where a lot of significant things happened,” Martin said. “I relied heavily on going back to those times and moments and reflecting and translating that into color and line and movement.”

Martin’s three pieces – “November 2009, Part 1,” “November 2009, Part 2” and “December 2009” – express her emotions during those months. She first presented the series in May for her senior thesis project.

The series uses deep, swirling reds, blues, purples and yellows.

“I didn’t share the experiences when I gave my gallery talk last May,” Martin said. ” … But I hope [people] can take away the energy and some of the emotion in the piece. Hopefully they can relate to their own life and conjure up feelings.”

Harnish’s work includes ‘Shenandoah Queen’

Harnish’s work uses black lines in motion. The lines accompany strong red, orange and yellow forms in one painting. Harnish has five pieces in the gallery. She said the black parts represent her compulsion to doodle.

“I was inspired by [EMU professor] Cindy Gusler to try that in paint and then used the idea of combining that with the free-form, slapped-on paint,” Harnish said.

Harnish added the fifth painting, “Shenandoah Queen,” to her collection just last week, after being inspired by her grandmother’s death.

“I was able to get those emotions and express them in a beautiful way,” Harnish said.

Martin works for Explore More, formerly the Harrisonburg Children’s Museum, and has career aspirations in arts administration and public arts outreach.

Harnish said art is more of a hobby that she hopes will become more sustainable.

Exhibit info

The art is on display Sundays from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and by appointment with Kathy Pigg.

For more information, call 828-4469.

Learn more

EMU’s Visual & Communication Arts program

The , held each year at ˛ÝÝ®ÉçÇř, is a massive undertaking, requiring considerable planning, intense rehearsals of many singers and musicians and major financial support.

And, audience expectation levels keep going up – understandably so, given the quality of the programs.

So, why has invested his time and energy as artistic director and conductor of the weeklong event for 13 years?

"The people I work with sustain this effort," Dr. Nafziger, long-time professor of music at EMU, said. "There’s always enough music to select from, but it’s this incredible group that comes together every year that makes all the difference.

"The orchestra members come prepared, they know what to expect," Nafziger said. "Rehearsal begins for the opening concert, and we pick up where we left off from last year. Participants gain strength from the musical experience. Everyone benefits and is nourished," he added.

This year’s festival, held June 12-19 on the EMU campus, combined the glorious masterworks of prolific German composer Johann Sebastian Bach with the works of other "Bs" – Brahms, Bartok, Berstein, Britten, Boccherini, Bruch and Berlioz.

The opening concert featured Bach’s "Concerto for Flute, Violin and Harpsichord in A Minor" with Pedro Aponte, flute; Joan Griffing, violin; and Bradley Lehman, harpsichord. Other "Bs" on the program were Leonard Bernstein’s "Missa Brevis," Bela Bartok’s "Romanian Folk Dances" and Benjamin Britten’s "Simple Symphony."

Viola players Christy Heatwole (l.), Lancaster, Pa., and Karen Johnson, Cincinnati, Ohio, compare notes during a festival orchestra rehearsal.
Photo by Jim Bishop

The "sense of community and family-like atmosphere" that pervades the Bach Festival was underscored by several participants.

Susan Black, a violinist in the festival orchestra, has returned to play each year since 1997. She said she comes back to experience the "excellent musicianship" and the "cameraderie in playing Bach’s music together," adding that she found playing Beethoven’s ‘Ninth Symphony’ "a challenge."

A teacher at Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Black is in her 14th year of playing second violin in the Charlottesville and University Symphony Orchestra and has participated in the Eastern Music Festival at Greensboro, N.C., for 25 years.

Sandra Gerster, principal oboist in the festival orchestra, has taken part in every Bach Festival at EMU but the first one. "The music, friends, food and cameraderie among my colleages all bring me back every year," she said. "There’s a positive aura here."

Ms. Gerster, a regular performer with the North Carolina, Richmond and Annapolis Symphony orchestras, noted that she found the ‘Four Serious Songs’ by Brahms challenging to play and was "moved to tears" by soloist Daniel Lichti’s interpretation of them.

For mezzo-soprano Heidi Kurtz of Philadelphia, Pa., performing as a soloist in the Bach Festival is like coming home. A 1989 music graduate of EMU, she sang roles in "Les Nuits d’Ete, Op. 7" by Hector Berlioz in the opening festival concert, Beethoven’s "Symphony No. 9 in D Minor" and Bach’s "Cantata No. 45" in the closing Leipzig service.

"It’s great to do this," Ms. Kurtz said of the Bach Festival. "Ken [Nafziger] is a major reason for my returning several times. He encouraged me to work toward a professional career in music when I studied under him."

Kurtz is soprano soloist at All Saint’s Episcopal Church and a member of the Philadelphia Singers.

Kurtz found it challenging to sing three different types of music from Bach to Berlioz. "Receiving energy from the audience helps my performance. It’s so important," she said.

Sandwiched between the main festival concerts were daily noon chamber music programs that filled the Asbury United Methodist Church sanctuary in downtown Harrisonburg. The programs ranged from a young artists concert to lighter works by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II to Bach harpsichord numbers performed by Bradley Lehman.

In 2004, Lehman discovered Bach’s method of tuning harpsichords and organs, encoded graphically on the title page of the "Well-Tempered Clavier." His article about this finding was published in the February and May 2005 issues of "Early Music," published by Oxford University Press.

The festival concluded with the annual Leipzig Service June 19 in Lehman Auditorium. The program recreates an 18th century worship service at St. Thomas Lutheran Church in Leipzig, Germany, where Bach was cantor and composed a cantata for each week’s service.

"Many people cite the Leipzig service as the highlight of the week, a significant worship experience that speaks loudly to participants," said one observer.

“The Bach Festival reflects the cooperation of around 200 people directly involved as musicians, host families, ushers for concerts, board members, Asbury church staff and others,” said Beth K. Aracema, assistant professor of music at EMU and festival coordinator. “It is a comprehensive team effort, with far-reaching rewards. Add the participation of the audiences, whose numbers exceeded expectations this year, and the results are a music festival recognized for its excellence that enriches this community in so many ways,” she added.

The Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival is sponsored in part by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the Arts Council of the Valley.

Next year’s festival, to be held June 11-18 at EMU, will employ the theme, "Mostly Bach." Jeremy Wall, pianist and arranger, will return as guest artist.

No, it’s not "Be Bop a Lula," But Be assured, there’s Boundless Beautiful music in store as the Begins its 13th season this summer at ˛ÝÝ®ÉçÇř, June 12-19.

Under the artistic direction of , professor of , this year’s program will combine the dazzling masterworks of prolific German composer Johann Sebastian Bach with the music of other "Bs" – Brahms, Bartok, Berstein, Britten, Boccherini, Bruch and Berlioz.

"Many people assume classical music is made up of three famous ‘Bs’ – Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, Dr. Nafziger noted. "So why not find an interesting collection of music by composers whose last names begin with the letter B?

"The choice of Beethoven’s ‘Symphony No. 9’ was in response to numerous and repeated requests for this well-loved work to be performed at a festival sometime," he said.

Nafziger pointed out that this is the 200th centennial of the death of Italian composer Luigi Boccherini. "With little likelihood of featuring his festival any time soon, I chose to find a way to include him this year," he said. "Let’s see: what do Beethoven and Boccherini have in common? Not much, actually!

"The only point of unity was the initial B, which, fortuitously is also the first initial of him for whom this festival is named. Aha! How about Bach and other Bs? I would like to claim this as a stroke of genius, but it really was an accident!"

The opening concert, at 3 p.m. Sunday, June 12, in EMU’s Lehman Auditorium, will feature Bach’s "Concerto for Flute, Violin and Harpsichord in A Minor" with Pedro Aponte, flute; Joan Griffing, violin; and Bradley Lehman, harpsichord. Other "Bs" on the program are Leonard Bernstein’s "Missa Brevis," Bela Bartok’s "Romanian Folk Dances" and Benjamin Britten’s "Simple Symphony."

Major festival concerts will be held 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 17 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 18. The delectable menu will include the appetizing Bach’s "Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F Major"; "Double Concerto for Clarinet and Viola and Orchestra" by Max Bruch; leading to the main course, Beethoven’s "Symphony No. 9 in D Minor" with the festival chorus and orchestra and soloists.

Sandwiched between the main festival concerts will be daily chamber music programs noon-1 p.m. at Asbury United Methodist Church with a variety of programs offered throughout the week. A Saturday (June 18) "Concert for Families" will feature a mother-daughter choir directed by Julia White.

The festival will conclude with the annual Leipzig Service 10 a.m. June 19 in Lehman Auditorium, often cited as the highlight of the week for many attendees. The program recreates an 18th century worship service at St. Thomas Lutheran Church in Leipzig, Germany, where Bach was cantor and composed a cantata for each week’s service.

The Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival is sponsored in part by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the Arts Council of the Valley.

Advance tickets to the three concerts are available from the EMU box office, 540-432-4582. More information on the Bach Festival is available at .