Netherlands Bach Society Appoints New Concertmaster

Cecilia Bernadini will step into the role

The Netherlands Bach Society (NBS) has announced that violinist Cecilia Bernadini will serve as its new concertmaster. She succeeds Shunske Sato, and will step into the role at the opening of the 2025/26 season.

Bernadini has already made several guest concertmaster appearances with NBS, including a 2024 performance of the St Matthew Passion directed by Johanna Soller.

Presently the associate artistic director of the Freiburger Barockorchester and concertmaster of the Flemish B’rock Orchestra, Bernadini has developed a career leading some of the world's best early-music ensembles. She was previously the leader of the Dunedin Consort and Pygmalion.

Bernadini has also led or appeared as soloist with Camerata Salzburg, The King’s Consort, Ensemble Zefiro, Arcangelo, Vox Luminis, and the Bach Collegium Japan.

Alongside her early music specialism, Bernadini has also cultivated a reputation as a performer of contemporary music. In 2010, she gave the world premiere performance of Philip Glass's Double Concerto with cellist Maartje-Maria den Herder at the Residentie Orkest.

Bernadini is a graduate of the Conservatory of Amsterdam and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and her principal teachers have included Jan Repko, Vesko Eschkenazy, Ilya Grubert, David Takeno, Rachel Podger, and Lucy van Dael.

"We are proud and delighted with Cecilia’s appointment," said Janneke Slokkers, the managing director of the Netherlands Bach Society.

"First and foremost, she is a phenomenal violinist. In addition, she has a natural and connective leadership style, which fits perfectly with the style of our new artistic director Johanna Soller. The click they had during the St Matthew Passion bodes well for the future."