24-year-old double bassist Nina Bernat, acclaimed for her interpretive maturity, expressive depth and technical clarity, emerges onto the world stage with awards and accolades, thrilling audiences everywhere. She was hailed by the Star Tribune as a “standout” for her recent concerto debut with the Minnesota Orchestra, praising her performance as “exhilarating, lovely and lyrical… technically precise and impressively emotive.”
Nina is a recipient of the 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant and winner of the 2023 CAG Elmaleh Competition. 1st prizes include the Barbash J.S. Bach String Competition, the Minnesota Orchestra Young Artist Competition, the Juilliard Double Bass Competition, and the 2019 International Society of Bassists Solo Competition.
Engaged in all aspects of double bass performance, she has been invited to perform as guest principal bassist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Oslo Philharmonic. Additionally, as a substitute musician, Nina has appeared with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and plays regularly in that capacity with the New York Philharmonic.
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As a soloist, she has appeared in recital at the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series, Nancy Frampton Rising Artists Series, and been featured in WQXR's Greene Space. She makes her Carnegie Hall debut in 2024 and Merkin Hall debut in 2025.
Nina is in demand as a passionate chamber musician. She begins her involvement with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center as a member of the Bowers Program in 2024. Among her regional chamber performances are appearances with the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players, Bridgehampton Chamber Music Series, and Mostly Music. She spent two summers at the Marlboro Music Festival.
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Nina began her studies with her father, double bassist Mark Bernat. A recipient of the Kovner Fellowship, she continued her studies with bassist Tim Cobb and cellist Astrid Schween. She is currently completing her Artist Diploma at Juilliard.
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Nina has been appointed to the faculty of Stony Brook University, beginning her position there in the Fall of 2024.
Nina performs on a beautiful and sonorous early-18th century bass, handed down to her from her father. Attribution Guadagnini.
