"...it was the Hillman Quartet’s viola player, Bernard Kane, who stole the evening with the world premier of his tone poem, Sargasso, conceived on Elbow Beach, Bermuda, an area of shipwrecks, tornadoes and tragedy. It was intensely moving, graphic, haunting; a piece I hope to hear again".

​The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald

 

"Bernard Kane’s Music conjures up the images he portrays in a timeless manner; it’s as though the music has always been there. Beautiful".

​- James Dean Bradfield 

​

Born and raised in Cardiff, South Wales, Bernard began his studies as a chorister in the Metropolitan Cathedral of St David's, Cardiff before studying violin, and later viola. He went on to win scholarships to study music at the Royal College of Music in London, Yale University, USA, and the University of British Columbia, Canada.​

 

Having attained a bachelors at the RCM, and a masters at Yale, he gained a doctor of musical arts degree at UBC with his thesis: 'From manuscript to publication : aspects of Lionel Tertis' style of viola playing as reflected in his 1936 edition of Ralph Vaughan Williams' suite for viola and orchestra'. Having unearthed previously unpublished letters which supported his thesis, he later wrote an article on his findings which  was published by the Journal of the Vaughan Williams Society. 

 

 Bernard has performed with the likes of: Quincy Jones, Natalie Cole, Ricky Martin, Manic Street Preachers,

Bryn Terfel, Catrin Finch​, Julian Lloyd Webber,

Karl Jenkins, and Kurt Masur. His compositions include music that has been performed in Canada, the USA, the UK and been also been broadcast by the BBC. 



Writing for his own ensemble, The Kane Players,  performed  his song cycle: 'Song Settings of Dylan Thomas', in celebration of the one hundredth birthday of Dylan Thomas in 2014. Bernard  was commissioned to compose three new works for Dylan Thomas in Fitzrovia Festival:

 

'Fanfare for Fitzrovia', and 'Invernal River (Afon Cleddau)' were performed by Camerata Wales at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, London, under the baton of Owain Arwel Hughes CBE. The festival also commissioned new music from Bernard for Tim Schneider's verbatum play: 'A Warring Absence: Dylan and Caitlin Thomas'. This was performed at the National Theatre, London in October 2014.