Denise Bernardini

D.M.A., University of Oklahoma; M.M., Texas Christian University; B.M.E., East Central University of Oklahoma
Assistant Professor of Music, (Voice, Opera Workshop)

Denise is an assistant professor of voice and opera in the Department of Music. She appears in concerts, musical theater, and opera. She is known for her ability to sing in various styles utilizing brilliant high notes, pure tone, communicative warmth, and musical intelligence. She has been a performer internationally and throughout the US with extensive Oratorio experience. She has performed with orchestras such as The New York Pops, Toledo Symphony Orchestra, Southwest Michigan Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, Tulsa Symphony, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, the Symphony of Bartlesville, Oklahoma City Symphony, Roanoke Community Choir, and Charlottesville Community Choir as well as many other symphonic and choral organizations. Denise’s operatic roles include First Lady in Magic Flute, Mother in Amahl and The Night Visitors, Violetta in La Traviata, the title role in Suor Angelica, and Gilda in Rigoletto. Denise has been a soloist in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall and is a sought-after recitalist performing in London, England, Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, and at the Certosa di Gragnano in Milan, Italy, Sackville, Canada, Manitoba, Canada, Leibnitz, Austria performing for international audiences representing 32 different countries.  

In addition to being an active performer, Bernardini is also a sought-after clinician, teacher, presenter, and author. As an author, she has two published books, one titled A Stylistic Guide of Classical Cabaret: A Stylistic and Historical Glimpse with selected songs by Satie, Poulenc, Schönberg, Weill, Britten, and Moore (Amazon), as well as a book titled The Mindfulness of Singing, which has been on the best seller list of Amazon. She is also a presenter/clinician at national and international voice conferences. Denise has presented at The Voice Symposium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; the International Congress of Voice Teachers in Stockholm, Sweden; the Great Lakes Regional Conference of the College Music Society and Indiana Music Educators Convention; Virginia Music Educators Convention, as well as several NATS conferences including the Mid-American Regional NATS conference.  

Denise has taught for summer programs internationally and in the United States. She has recently been on faculty for The Governor’s School of the Commonwealth of Virginia. She has been on the faculty and served as the Director of Vocal Studies. This is the most extensive fine arts program sponsored by the Department of Education in Virginia. 

Currently, Bernardini is involved in a project focused on bringing awareness to human trafficking. A THOUSAND HANDS A MILLION STARS is an all-female collaboration that involves poetry, music, dance, and art. This unique, one-of-a-kind performance piece premiered in Toledo, Ohio, at the annual Conference for Human Trafficking and the city’s premier arts showcase, MOMENTUM, in September 2019. Following its debut, the project has toured throughout the United States and had a Canadian premiere at the Manitoba Museum of Human Rights and the Dream Big Conference.

Bernardini’s students are active performers and teachers. Her students are performing with the Michigan Opera Theater, Toledo Opera, Des Moines Opera, Academy of the West, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Toledo Symphony, Saint Louis Opera Theatre, San Francisco Opera, and Santa Fe Opera and have won regional Metropolitan of Opera auditions. Her students have also performed in Italy, Canada, and Mexico. Many have won prestigious scholarships and awards, including top awards from NATS, Metropolitan Opera, Mu Phi, and various other institutions. Collectively, her students win as much as $100,000 annually.

Bernardini has completed over 50 graduate hours in mental health with an emphasis on mindfulness and performance anxiety pathologies. She is a presenter on the mindfulness of singing for educators and singers. She is set to complete a Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health in May of 2025.

Denise leads a support group for music students to explore performance anxiety issues and develop resilience/coping mechanisms for performance success. She has written for the Journal of Singing about mental health in the applied vocal studio.