Bio

Naomi Berrill

Naomi Berrill is an Irish cellist, singer and composer, currently based in Florence.

After completing her classical studies in Scotland, Italy and Switzerland, Naomi began experimenting and developing the use of cello as an accompanying instrument to the voice. She rearranges and composes original works for voice and cello.

Naomi has a unique way of working with music from different genres and eras and using this as inspiration to create new material that is original and challenging. She also  plays guitar, piano and concertina.

She has released three albums to date, ‘From the Ground’ (Lampi,2015) ‘To the Sky’ (Egea,2017) and ‘Suite Dreams’ (Warner Music, 2020). Her first two albums have been re-released in Japan under the label Nature Bliss.

Naomi’s work is published by Casa Musicale Sonzogno, Italian publishers founded in 1874 who have worked with artists such as Giacomo Puccini, Pietro Mascagni and contemporary ones like Giovanni Sollima.

She has collaborated with cellists Giovanni Sollima, Mario Brunello, The Crash Ensemble, Arvo Part, Bill Viola, Stefano Benni and many contemporary dance and theatre groups including Virgilio Sieni and New York City Ballet.

Riverdance composer Bill Whelan has composed an original work for her for voice and cello.

She has performed in Europe at both classical and jazz music festivals and venues such as: Amsterdam Cello Biennale, Music for Galway, Suoni delle Dolomiti, Festival dei Due Mondi (Spoleto), Trame Sonore (Mantova), Uffizi Galleries (Florence), Spike Cello Festival (Dublin), Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Filarmonica Romana, Biennale Danza and Biennale Architettura (Venice)

She has recently developed ‘Dragonfly Duo’ with renowned classical violist Danusha Waskiewicz. Both musicians play and sing, working four part harmony arrangements of baroque and classical repertoire. Dragonfly has opened the 2022 edition of the Trame Sonore chamber music festival in Mantova.

She is artistic director of the festival ‘ High Notes’, a multi-genre festival which takes place in the Apuane Alps, founded in 2010.

Her upcoming album ‘Inish’ is a collaboration with young Italian producer/musician Lorenzo Pellegrini (HandLogic).

Studies

Naomi was born in 1981 in Galway on the west coast of Ireland. Her parents, who are both music teachers, taught her music from a young age. In 1997 Naomi was awarded a scholarship to study cello at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin, and in 2000 she moved to Glasgow to continue her studies at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. In 2005 she made her debut as solo cellist with the Royal Scottish Academy Orchestra with three performances of Tchaikovsky’s RococoVariations for cello and Orchestra. After graduating Naomi continued her studies in Italy with Enrico Bronzi and Francesco Dillon. She has also taken masterclasses with Louise Hopkins, Johannes Goritzki, ValterDespalj and M. Rostropovich. In 2010/2011 She attended the Masters chamber music course at the Musik-Akademie of Basel studying with Rainer Schmidt.

Collaborations

As a soloist she has been invited to collaborate and perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Spoleto Festival, Macerata Opera Festival, Venice Biennale, the Uffizi Galleries, Palazzo Pitti, Suoni delle Dolomiti, Galway Jazz Festival, ‘Spike’ Cello Festival in Dublin, Irish folk festivals in Italy and Ireland, Sollima’s 100 Cellos, Mario Brunello’s venue ‘Antiruggine’, and classical music seasons including ‘Music for Galway’, ‘Filarmonica Romana’ and ‘Amici della Musica Mestre’. Over the last few years Naomi has used her music alongside other art forms. These include original compositions for choreographer Virgilio Sieni, recordings for Ocarina – a music player for children, and collaborations with UNHCR on a campaign for homeless refugee children She has recorded and performed at many Italian Jazz Festivals with the Jazz ensemble ‘Purple Whales’ and as a duo with jazz pianist Simone Graziano. She is artistic director of the festival ‘High Notes’. A multi-genre music festival which she founded in 2010, which takes place each year in the Apuane Alps. She has recently developed ‘Dragonfly Duo’ with renowned classical violist Danusha Waskiewicz. Both musicians play and sing, working four part harmony arrangements of baroque and classical repertoire. Dragonfly has opened the 2022 edition of the Trame Sonore chamber music festival in Mantova.