SEMO BAND DIRECTOR TO HAVE HAND IN OLYMPIC CEREMONY

Barry Bernhardt, band director at Southeast Missouri State University, will direct the opening ceremonies at one of four Olympic soccer venues in July.

He will direct the opening ceremonies for Olympic soccer July 20 at the Orange Bowl in Miami. Bernhardt will be responsible for choreography of the show. France will take on Australia during the opening match in Miami. The other venues for Olympic soccer are Orlando, Fla.; Birmingham, Ala.; and Washington, D.C.; with winners advancing to final competition at the University of Georgia in Athens, Bernhardt said.

Nine first-round matches, including three women's and six men's soccer matches, and two men's quarterfinals games will be played at the Orange Bowl Stadium in Miami.

Bowl Games of America selected Bernhardt, a Macon, Mo., native, to direct the ceremonies. This will be his second production with the Olympics. He was the assistant director of the opening ceremonies for the U.S. Olympic Festival held in Oklahoma City in July 1988.

He has been involved in several similar large-scale productions since then. Bernhardt directed the Kickoff Classic halftime show last August for the second consecutive year. In that production, he directed a massed band of more than 600 musicians. The Kickoff Classic marks the start of the nationally-televised college football season.

Since 1992, he has directed halftime shows at the Gator, Liberty and Sugar bowls.

At Southeast, Bernhardt directs the Golden Eagles Marching Band, the Southeast Show Band, the University Concert Band and the University Jazz Band.