Maestro Justin Bischof on a Harmonious Mission

From student to maestro

He was accepted into the prestigious Manhattan School of Music to become an organist, and worked at the historic Church of the Heavenly Rest on 5th Avenue, becoming Associate Director of Music. After completing his Master’s and Doctorate at MSM (he had thoughts of becoming a teacher), he was immediately appointed Professor of Keyboard Skills as well as Professor of Music Theory, while simultaneously building up a concert career as organist and choral conductor. In 2003, he decided he wanted to become an orchestral & opera conductor and sought out the opportunity to work with Kenneth Kiesler, renowned Professor and Director of Orchestra at the University of Michigan. This experience brought him around the world, including ten days where he worked with the National Arts Center Orchestra in their training program, as well as with orchestras in Germany, Bulgaria, Russia and France. At home, he served as Assistant Conductor on 8 opera productions in the south of Brooklyn learning the opera craft from the ground up. Conducting/Concerts have taken him all over the globe.

“They don’t need someone to count to four in Beethoven’s Fifth.” Being a conductor requires “a fully formed vision of the pieces” and the role of each individual within it, and it comes from a history of school, apprenticeships and experience. It is important to learn the individual skill sets of an orchestra - to be able to fluently read the full score, read music and understand each instrument, and the other analytical skills that can be taught, but practical experience is indispensable. For a conductor, this means practicing and making mistakes/learning in front of both musicians and (occasionally) a live audience, which can be a humbling experience. For Dr. Bischof, the best remedy to endure the scrutiny and pressure is to put aside one’s ego and focus on the music. “Musicians don’t care about your pedigree. We care about your musical vision and execution.”

In 2004, Maestro Bischof founded his own orchestra/opera company that continues to this day under the name Modus Operandi Orchestra (MOO). Based in New York City, MOO’s mission is to provide the opportunity for the finest freelance musicians in New York City to perform great symphonic and operatic repertoire as well as contemporary works and world premieres with their colleagues. MOO is the resident orchestra in New York City at St. Mary Catholic Church. 

Excerpts from the New York Classical Review on MOO’s performance at Merkin Hall in November 2022:

“The Strings of the Modus Operandi Orchestra made their Merkin Hall debut Wednesday evening with a program that was profound, absorbing, and an immensely satisfying musical experience… The intimacy of the venue intensified the blood-chilling impact of the music… which was made all the more heartrending due to Bischof’s lyrical approach to the score. Bischof led a deeply moving account of the work in which the melodies which course through it were carefully delineated and exquisitely shaped. Bischof permitted the music to bloom sweetly, before the work’s somber ending.”

Music for and with Others

In 2007, Justin began organizing benefit concerts in order to use his passion for music to give back to the community. Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale organized a summer camp for at-risk youth outside the Jewish community in order to take teenagers away from gangs during the summer months when there were few safe spaces. Inspired by this synagogue’s interfaith approach to giving back (where Justin was the Conductor & Pianist for 14 years), Maestro Bischof helped organize an annual benefit concert for 10 years, which raised over $1 million US enabling over 800 at-risk youth to attend a life altering summer camp. The camp helped these children overcome their fear of gangs from their neighborhood and to develop the skills and courage to endure the present and imagine a better future. Many of them later proudly became junior counselors - a testament to their camp experience - and attended college.

Dr. Bischof looks back to his formative years at Loyola as inspiration, particularly the impact of the Christian Service Program (CSP), that he likened to the action of the Jewish temple. For his CSP, he remembers serving at a senior residence where he befriended a woman who wanted to start a choir but sadly was unable to. He realized then how music can bring people together and create a strong sense of community.

At Loyola, while the mission of giving back was being instilled at a young age, Justin also discovered a faculty and staff who nurtured his passion for music - teachers like Mr. Terry Brennan, Dr. Enright and Dr. Khoury. During a class visit to the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), young Justin created a rapport with a sound engineer who worked with Glenn Gould (Justin’s musical idol at the time), one of the most famous pianists in Canada during the 20th century. It was at the insistence of Mr. Brennan, who recognized his passion and pinpointed it, that Justin accepted an invitation to return to the NFB to learn more, during class time no less (an administrative feat deftly handled by Mr. Brennan). He recognizes now the importance of small but important acts like this, in order to encourage youth to “think big” and take chances.

Mentoring youth with a passion for music is paramount to Justin. He seeks out young professionals who then become an integral part of his orchestra. For those looking to pursue careers in music, Justin points to focus, discipline and a joy for music as pivotal, but advises young people not to discount the power of self-promotion. It is important not to do the latter without a good base in the former, what he calls “ephemeral hype”. There needs to be drive and passion. While Loyola laid the groundwork for this, it is one’s agency to do more and better (what the Jesuits call the magis), that leads to success.

“Music is a gift to share with others. Music is a transforming force in the world. It can affect great change.”

Transforming Lives of Children Through Music

From 2007 to 2017, Justin co-founded The Annual Children’s Benefit Concert to help at-risk children in Mount Vernon, New York. The concerts raised over $1 000 000 US and sent over 800 children to Wagon Road Summer Camp, which is located on 52 acres of beautiful wooded grounds with programs that feature great activities with a focus on fun, safety and friendship. 

After graduating from Loyola in 1985, Justin studied at the Manhattan School of Music where he ultimately received his Doctorate. He has performed at many of the world’s greatest venues including Carnegie Hall, St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, Lincoln Center, Cologne Cathedral and Notre-Dame Paris. A resident of New York City, he is the Founder and Artistic Director of Modus Operandi Orchestra (MOO), which comprises 65 of New York’s finest orchestral musicians. He serves on numerous boards including as Chair of the Alumni Council of the Manhattan School of Music. Notable concerts include working several times with His Majesty’s Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Opera House, the Australian National Premiere of Ward’s The Crucible at WAAPA in Perth, several concerts with the National Orchestra of Haiti, 50th Anniversary Season Cologne Cathedral and Benefit for the Homeless with Billy Bragg at the Eli Broad Theatre Los Angeles.

Originally published in the Winter/Spring 2023 edition of the Loyola Today

Justin Bischof '85  After graduating from Loyola in 1985, Justin studied at the Manhattan School of Music where he ultimately received his Doctorate. He has performed at many of the world’s greatest venues including Carnegie Hall, St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, Lincoln Center, Cologne Cathedral and Notre-Dame Paris. A resident of New York City, he is the Founder and Artistic Director of Modus Operandi Orchestra (MOO), which comprises 65 of New York’s finest orchestral musicians. He serves on numerous boards including as Chair of the Alumni Council of the Manhattan School of Music. Notable concerts include working several times with His Majesty’s Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Opera House, the Australian National Premiere of Ward’s The Crucible at WAAPA in Perth, several concerts with the National Orchestra of Haiti, 50th Anniversary Season Cologne Cathedral and Benefit for the Homeless with Billy Bragg at the Eli Broad Theatre Los Angeles.