FORECAST: Ocoee band director a finalist for 2025 Grammy

The phrase, “It can always be better,” is written in black and gold letters above the two doors in the band room of Ocoee High School. 

These are the words that have guided Bernard “Bernie” Hendricks Jr., who has served as Ocoee High’s first and only band director since the school opened in 2005.

And they’re the same words that have earned the local band director national attention.

Hendricks is one of just 10 finalists for the 2025 Grammy Music Educator Award. Presented annually by the Recording Academy and the Grammy Museum, the award honors “educators who have made a significant and lasting contribution to music education and demonstrate a deep commitment to maintaining music education in schools.”

The winner will be recognized during Grammy Week 2025, ahead of the 67th annual Grammy Awards, which take place Feb. 2. The winner will receive a $10,000 honorarium, along with a matching grant for their school’s music program. As a finalist, Hendricks already secured a $1,000 honorarium and matching grants. 

But the magnitude of the award isn’t what has made it the most significant; it’s the fact the person who nominated Hendricks for the award was a student who attended Ocoee High — one who had never even had a class with him. 

“None of us really teaches to receive awards,” Hendricks said. “We teach because we love what we do and we love the ability to work with young people. I learn just as much from the students as they learn from me, if not more. I knew about the award and had even applied for it once before, but I never heard anything back, so I never really thought about it again. 

“This student who nominated me attends the same church as me and came up and introduced himself,” Hendricks said. “I didn’t even recognize him, because he had never been in any of my classes. He told me he watched me do my thing from a distance and he was always impressed with me and the fact that I have been teaching music for so long. For someone who didn’t even know me that well and to not even have had my class to recognize what I’m doing, that means everything. He recognized that what we are doing is so much more than just band. He told me I changed lives, and that’s just indescribable.”

LABOR OF LOVE
With a father serving in the U.S. Army, Hendricks grew up as a military brat. Both of his parents were musicians, and he has fond memories of listening to jazz on the record player with them. His father even played the tuba in a band while wearing a lederhosen when the family was living in Germany. 

Although he was born in Georgia, Hendricks spent the majority of his younger years in Tallahassee. He attended Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in music education in 1997 while working as an assistant manager at Domino’s Pizza. 

Hendricks said having wonderful teachers is what nurtured his love for music. The percussionist director for 60 years at FAMU, Shaylor L. James, lived around the corner from him in Tallahassee, and he took private lessons from him in his garage. He also learned from William P. Foster and Julian White, band directors at FAMU.

“Even starting in middle school, I had some of the best relational teaching experiences I believe are out there,” he said. “It was one great musical experience after another.”

When Hendricks graduated, Domino’s offered him a managerial position, which he said he considered because of the excellent pay, but he turned it down to pursue several other offers in education. His first teaching job started in 1997 at Robinswood Middle School, where he served as the band director for eight years. 

“I’ll be honest, it was quite the challenge working there,” he said. “Middle school is a tough age, and I was fresh out of college, but those were the years where I really learned how to teach and work with young people.”

Hendricks helped grow the music program at Robinswood Middle from 120 students to 400. He still maintains strong relationships with many of the staff members and students from the school. 

In 2005, Hendricks was recruited to help open Ocoee High School by Michael Armbruster — previous West Orange High School principal and current Orange County Public Schools deputy superintendent. He was recommended to Armbruster by Jeffery Redding — previous choral director at WOHS — who attended college with Hendricks.

“Armbruster really took a chance on me, because I had never taught the high school level,” he said. “He trusted me to recruit others that I knew had the same passion for students to help run the music program, and they had never taught at the high school level either.”

Taking a chance paid off, current Ocoee High principal Frederick Ray said. He refers to Hendricks as “truly the heart and soul of Ocoee High School.” 

In 2000, Hendricks was voted Teacher of the Year at Robinswood Middle, and in 2007 and 2017 he received the same award at Ocoee High. Also in 2017, he was a finalist for the Orange County Teacher of the Year. In 2007, he was on the School Band & Orchestra Magazine list of 50 Most Influential Directors, and, along with his wife, he was Volunteer of the Year in 2017 at Orlando World Outreach Church.

Hendricks is an active member of the Florida Bandmasters Association, serving as district officer from 2007-2015 and president from 2022-2024. He also served for the Florida Music Education Association as an executive board member and multicultural network committee chair from 2010 to 2018.

Under his leadership, the Ocoee High Wind Ensemble has received consistent superior ratings at district music performance assessments and superior and excellent ratings at state music performance assessments. The Ocoee Jazz Big Band also has received consistent superior ratings at district and state music performance assessments. The jazz band has performed with Scotty Barnhart and Wycliffe Gordon over the years, as well as premiered music for composer Michele Fernandez. The Ocoee Marching Band also has received consistent superior ratings at district music performance assessments. The marching band has participated in the Liberty Bowl Music Festival, National Memorial Day Parade in Washington D.C., Chicago Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

In addition, Hendricks is an active member of HAPCO Music Foundation, a nonprofit in the town of Oakland that assists young people in furthering their education through music and the arts. 

“He embodies the spirit and passion that define our community,” Ray said. “As a beloved icon and original member of our school, he has laid the groundwork for a culture of positivity and inspiration. His legacy as a band director shines through in the uplifting morning motivation provided by his talented students, reminding us all of the power of music and mentorship.”

‘I’M JUST HAVING FUN’
Everyone who attends Ocoee High knows Hendricks. This is largely in part to the emphasis Hendricks continues to place on developing relationships as not only a teacher, but also as a member of the Ocoee community, where he has raised his three children — Destini, 24; Bernie, 21; and Anthony, 13 — with his wife, Shasaree Hendricks, who also works at Ocoee High.

Having built the music program from the ground up at Ocoee High, Hendricks refers to it as his baby, and he has never considered leaving to work somewhere else. He said there’s something special about the family-oriented vibe and culture in the Ocoee community.

“That’s one of the many wonderful things about teaching,” Hendricks said. “You get to build the most wonderful friendships and relationships with people. I stay in touch with the majority of students I have taught, as well as the teachers and administrators I’ve had the opportunity to work with over the years. Music brings together a true community, much like a family, which I feel is what we have here in this city.”

Hendricks also has used his love for food to help nurture his relationships. He is known in Ocoee for his barbecue catering, which he has promised to the band students who raise the most money in this year’s annual fundraiser. 

“I have this thing where I just like to serve people,” he said. “Whether I’m doing that through music or through food, there’s really something special about that mission. I like making people happy. God gave me a gift to be able to provide that for people, so I never take that for granted. It’s my job to use those gifts.”

The relationships Hendricks has nurtured have grown so strong that he has been asked to serve as an officiant for about 10 of his former students’ weddings. He even helped to marry Jacob Pickett — former band director at Ocoee Middle and current band director at Olympia High School — and his wife.

“That just lets you know that you were able to affect people in a positive manner to where they are trusting you with one of the biggest things they’ve done in their lives,” he said. “That, by far, to me is the biggest thing that I can say I’ve been able to do. I’ve been able to cultivate that atmosphere in our band program so that it spreads outside the walls of the classroom. Yes, the trips and the activities we do as a band are fun, but more than that, we’re creating a safe space for students who enjoy the arts. I’ve seen firsthand the impact music education can have on students’ lives. I’ve heard from so many students that the only reason they show up to school is because of the arts.”

Michael Eng

‘IT CAN ALWAYS BE BETTER’
Hendricks holds himself to the highest standard for his students, his family and the overall Ocoee community. Sometimes, maintaining those standards can be exhausting. He said the students have helped teach him to celebrate the small wins along the way and to be more present in the special moments. 

“I truly love the grind,” he said. “Even when the music sounds horrible, I love it, because it means we can do the work to make it sound better. I do sometimes feel like what I’m doing isn’t enough or that I need to be doing a little bit more. There’s just never enough time in the day to get everything done that I want to do. Time is so limited, but one of the things the kids have taught me is that I can’t do everything all the time. It’s impossible, and I have to be content with that. They’ve taught me to slow down and to just really enjoy the moments.”

When he does finally retire from music education, Hendricks said he wants students to remember him as always being positive and seeing the good in even the worst of situations.

“We have it a whole lot better than we think we do sometimes,” he said. “Kids go through a lot, and so do we as adults, but I do think if you can look at every situation and try to find a positive, even when it’s hard, that’s the best way to live. Life isn’t easy, and sometimes things take more time or work than others, but it’s all about the attitude you approach it with.”

However, Hendricks does not see retirement coming up in his cards just yet. He said he still has a lot of work to do and more purposes to fulfill. 

Hendricks also is on the ballot this year to be president of the Florida Music Education Association. The election will take place this month. 

“It’s funny, because the only other person on the ballot is someone I’m actually friends with, and his visions for the future of music education align pretty closely with my own,” he said. “No matter who wins, we plan on working together to make changes happen. With everything going on in the world, there has never been a better time for us all to come together, despite our differences, to offer support for our students. I’m optimistic about the future.”

Hendricks currently is using his music relationships to connect with other educators in search of finding appropriate band literature for his students written by minority and female composers.

“Many, although not all, of the great classical music composers are white males,” he said. “My students have told me they want to learn from and see others that look like them in the music world, so that’s what I’ve recently been working to do.”

When Hendricks does eventually retire, he plans to open his own barbecue food truck, as well as continue to travel and have new experiences with his wife. The couple completes a trip every year for their anniversary and most recently traveled to South Africa.

“As individuals, when we are grounded in something — for me it’s my faith and my belief that God has me here for a very specific reason  — we will continue to affect humanity in a positive way,” Hendricks said. “I think if everyone has some type of foundation, they can positively affect whatever change that foundation is telling them to affect. That’s what has guided me throughout these decades. The music, the trips and the traveling is great, but the relationships are why I do what I do, and I know my music education friends would agree. We are changing the world, one student at a time, and it’s all thanks to music.”