Long before he ever lifted a conductor’s baton, long before he stood before a choir or cued an orchestra, Ross S. Bish was a young student sitting in a Ridgway music room, discovering that music could open doors he didn’t yet know existed. It was there, under the gentle encouragement of Joy Lewis, his elementary music teacher, that a simple melody became something more than notes. It became possibility.
As he grew, that possibility was shaped and sharpened by the steady guidance of his middle and high school music teachers, Jim Detwiler and Joe Sensor. They challenged him, believed in him, and helped him find confidence not only in his voice, but in his identity as a musician. Their mentorship carried him through his earliest performances, through the nerves and missteps, through the moments when a young student begins to imagine that music could become a life’s calling.
That calling deepened when Bish continued his studies at the collegiate level. There, mentored by Dr. Hank Alviani, Dr. Rachel Cornacchio, and Dr. Joy Meade, he learned the discipline and artistry of conducting—how to read not just a score, but the hearts and minds of the performers behind it. Each of them contributed something unique: precision, passion, musical expression, and the courage to interpret music boldly.
Those influences — small-town encouragement, academic rigor, and a lifetime of musical support — come full circle this December.
Bish, now a music educator shaped profoundly by the communities and mentors who raised him, will take the podium at the Barrow-Civic Theatre in Franklin to conduct Handel’s Messiah, Part I, one of the most iconic and beloved works in the choral repertoire. The program will also feature cherished holiday selections including Joy to the World, Away in a Manger, and The Sussex Carol. Performances will be held on Saturday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 21 at 2 p.m., with tickets ranging from $16 to $18.
The ensemble he will lead consists of more than 50 volunteer singers, joined by a full volunteer orchestra — every musician offering their time and talent simply for the love of performing great music. Watching them unite in purpose has been deeply moving for Bish.
“There’s something profoundly beautiful about seeing people come together purely for the joy of making music,” he said. “It reminds me of where I started, surrounded by teachers and community members who saw potential in me before I saw it in myself.”
This concert also carries significant academic importance. It will serve as his Graduate Recital, completing the final requirement for his Master of Music (MM) and Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies (CAGS) in Choral Conducting. Because his degree is performance-based, this recital replaces a traditional thesis—becoming the living culmination of years spent studying conducting, rehearsing ensembles, analyzing scores, and shaping artistic interpretation.
Yet even with its academic importance, this moment is far more than a degree requirement. It is a tribute — to his teachers, his mentors, his students, and the small communities that formed the bedrock of his musical identity.
“Ridgway gave me my start,” Bish reflected. “Johnsonburg gave me the privilege of becoming a music educator. Kane gave me a home. Every step along the way, I’ve been surrounded by people who believed in me and pushed me to grow. Conducting Messiah feels like honoring all of them.”
Today, Bish strives to pass on the same encouragement he once received.
His students in the Johnsonburg Area School District see a teacher who remembers what it feels like to be unsure, to be inspired, to be transformed by music — and who works every day to give them the same opportunities that shaped his own life.
As the chorus and orchestra join together under his baton, Bish won’t just be conducting Handel’s music—he’ll be carrying with him every teacher, every mentor, every rehearsal, and every community that shaped his path. In that moment, he will stand not only as a conductor, but as the boy from Ridgway, the teacher from Johnsonburg, the neighbor from Kane—grateful, humbled, and fully aware that this milestone was built from countless acts of encouragement, kindness, and belief.