Sandy Bartai

Sandy Bartai was born in the Shetland Islands and studied at St. Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh and at the Royal Northern College of Music, where his teachers were Moray Welsh and Leonid Gorokhov.

Sandy began his professional career with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and is now a member of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. He has worked with many other orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra and the Philharmonia, and has performed as guest principal with the RTE National Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Northern Sinfonia and the Orchestra of Opera North. He is also a member of the Bloomer Piano Quartet.

Sandy’s work encompasses a diverse range of musical projects, including improvising and writing scores for silent films with members of The Paper Cinema and The Cabinet of Living Cinema, and he has made three albums as a member of instrumental rock band The Pirate Ship Quintet.

Sandy’s interest in teaching stems from his experience as a peripatetic teacher for the Wirral Schools’ Music Service, where he worked for ten years at the start of his career. As part of this strand of his work, he has taught students across all levels, frequently coaching orchestral sectionals as well as assessing and auditioning.