Founded by Andrew Bernardi in 1989 to inspire all ages of the community to share and benefit from the joy of music; the Bernardi Music Group comprises a committed group of professional musicians from some of the UK’s leading ensembles and orchestras.
Performing together to create a variety of versatile repertoires, they work within and across a number of different performance, education and corporate settings in Sussex, the UK and internationally.
Andrew’s founding vision was to perform in the traditional concert hall, as well as bringing communities together through music; inspiring people of all ages and backgrounds to come together, share music together and support charitable causes. This commitment has remained at the heart of the Bernardi Music Group’s work ever since.
From its humble beginnings as a meeting point for a small group of musicians to perform alongside each other, it has expanded to encompass the Shipley Arts Festival which was founded in 2000, the new Leonardslee Concert Series and an array of regular performances at leading venues across the UK.
In addition, a year-round String Academy education programme for young musicians which is coupled with international cultural exchanges, connects and compliments the vast range of ongoing community work, along with ambassadorial work with governments and businesses and major partnerships with national and international sponsors and partners.
The group’s flexibility and expertise as an ensemble allows for their work to range from chamber music through to symphonic, and over the years they have worked with internationally-renowned composers such as James Whitbourn, Roderick Williams OBE, Malcolm Singer and Cecilia McDowall. The Bernardi Music Group worked with the late Jon Lord (formerly of Deep Purple), performing ‘To Notice Such Things,’ which reached No. 4 position in the Classic FM charts.
Bernardi Music Group is also a champion of English music and most notably that of the composers John Ireland, Elgar and Vaughan Williams; whose music have strong connections with the group’s home county of Sussex.
Still passionate and anchored by its founding purpose more than thirty years later, the Bernardi Music Group is looking ahead to the future and forging major partnerships with like-minded international organisations. Under a shared vision to create new art forms that span different disciplines and genres, we continue to expand the work we have achieved. By engaging and connecting with both musicians and audiences using the latest technology, we are driving innovation and excellence within the music industry.