In 1982, Bode studied in Wales as a Conducting Fellow at the University-College of Music in Cardiff. He made his Carnegie Hall conducting debut in 1990, conducting the Walla Walla Symphony Chorale in the New York premiere of John David Earnest's The Waking. In addition to his distinguished teaching career, Dr. Bode has enjoyed a successful international conducting career as guest conductor of the Kammerorchester Leipzig, Germany; Filharmonia Sudecka, Walbryzch, Poland; Vratca Philharmonic, Vratca, Bulgaria; and the Yunnan Provincial Chorus, Kunming, China; among many others.

Dr. Bode is noted for his dedication to the commissioning and performance of music by American composers. At Whitman he initiated the Whitman Commissioning Project, which commissioned new works by David Conte, Richard Hundley, John David Earnest, Giselle Wyers, Gwyneth Walker, and others. Dr. Bode is also the Artistic Director of Choral Arts, a semi-professional chamber chorus in Seattle, WA. In spring 2010, the organization received the Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence, presented by Chorus America. Choral Arts' CD, Mornings Like This, was released by Gothic Records in 2010.