SIXE

Cecilia Bernardini was born in 1984 in the Netherlands and has a Dutch/Italian nationality. She studied at the Conservatory of Amsterdam with Jan Repko, Vesko Eschkenazy and Ilya Grubert before furthering her education at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with David Takeno. She received tuition on the baroque violin from Lucy van Dael, Rachel Podger and Pavlo Beznosiuk.
She was granted various scholarships to take part in music courses in Holland, St.Petersburg, California, Cornwall (Prussia Cove, open chamber music) and Baden-Baden at the Carl Flesch-Akademie where she was awarded the Ruth-Flesh-Gedachtnispreis) in 2003.
Cecilia has won first prizes at various national competitions and was a finalist at the Andrea Postacchini international violin competition with a special prize for the interpretation of the Debussy sonata. In 2004 she was awarded the prestigious Dutch Anton Kersjes scholarship and in May 2005, she won the second prize at the Oskar Back national violin competition where she also made her debut in the main hall of the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam. Additionally, she won a prize for her interpretation of Bach at the Leopold Mozart competition in Augsburg in 2006.
Cecilia has performed as a soloist and as a chamber musician in the Netherlands and abroad (London, Paris, Rome, Bucharest, Abu Dhabi, Athens, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Guatemala, Nicaragua) and has recorded for the Dutch broadcasting company several times.
As a baroque violinist, she frequently plays with ensembles such as Zefiro, La Serenissima, Collegium Marianum and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Her many recordings include Mozart Divertimenti with the ensemble Zefiro for Sony Classics.
She enjoys playing chamber music particularly with the pianist Mirsa Adami with whom she has given numerous concerts in Holland and abroad. In March 2003 they won the Vriendenkrans competition of the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; they recently made their debut recital in this hall.
Cecilia now plays on a Santo Serafin violin and a Tourte bow, which has been kindly lent to her by the Dutch National Music Instrument Foundation.