Andrew Bernardi has become established as one of the UK’s leading violinists, festival directors, string educationalists and music entrepreneurs. A champion of charitable causes and a dedicated ambassador of music’s power to change lives, he promotes the transformative nature of performance across the world working with consulates, businesses and charities. In 2019 he was listed as one of the “100 inspirational and remarkable people in Sussex” by ETC Magazine.
Andrew attended The Skinners’ School and graduated with a degree in music from Leeds University before studying violin performance with John Ludlow, Hugh Bean CBE, Francis Mason and with the support of the late Lord Yehudi Menuhin. He won the Lebel postgraduate scholarship to study at Trinity College of Music where he led all the orchestras.
He formed the Bernardi Music Group in 1991 whilst also performing with orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic and Guildford Philharmonic. His vision was to bring together a professional group of musicians committed to inspiring young and older members of a community to come together to share music and support charitable causes.
In 2000, Andrew and the Bernardi Music Group formed the Shipley Arts Festival which has developed into a significant event in the county’s cultural calendar, bringing world-class music to rural West Sussex and embedding its activities in the local community.
For twenty years, Andrew has served as a Tutor at Trinity Laban with many of his former pupils now in leading positions within the music profession. He is also a trustee for Sussex Arts Academy. He has performed with artists as diverse as John Rutter CBE, Rik Wakeman, the late Natalie Cole, and Gordon Giltrap and has played on TV and film soundtracks including cameo appearances in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Nanny McPhee, The Talented Mr Ripley and Pride and Prejudice. He has regularly performed on national television in China including on Phoenix TV to an audience of over 40 million. Andrew continues a 25 year relationship with Raymond Gubbay Ltd having performed over one thousand concerts in the Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, the Barbican and Lucerne Concert Hall.
Andrew performs on the 1696 Amici Bernardi Stradivarius and a Voirin bow formerly owned by the late Lord Menuhin. Outside of music, Andrew’s other great passions are sailing, architecture, and racing classic performance automobiles at the Goodwood Motor Circuit.