Andy Berryman

Andrew is an acclaimed trombonist and conductor with an international career spanning orchestral performance, musical direction, education, and outreach. A graduate of the guildhall school of music and drama (agsm with distinction) and holder of a master of arts in performance from salford university, andrew has held principal positions with some of the uk’s leading orchestras and has built a reputation as a versatile and expressive musician.
Currently, andrew is principal conductor and artistic director of the nso symphony orchestra abu dhabi and dirigent of the berrytones big band in grafschaft bentheim, germany. He also conducts for the internationally renowned film the piano in live performance settings.
Andrew’s musical journey began with the national youth orchestra of great britain, where he served as principal trombone from 1978–1980, followed by four years as principal trombone with the european community youth orchestra. He studied at the guildhall school of music and drama from 1980–1984 before pursuing postgraduate studies at salford university.
Andrew was principal trombone of the ulster orchestra (1984–1988) and principal trombone of the hallé orchestra (1988–2008). He has performed as guest principal with prestigious ensembles including the london symphony orchestra, london philharmonic orchestra, chamber orchestra of europe, and many others. His versatility has also seen him perform in west end productions such as jesus christ superstar and evita.
As a soloist, andrew has appeared with the ulster orchestra, the hallé orchestra, the bbc concert orchestra, and the royal oman symphony orchestra.
An accomplished and sought-after brass band soloist, andrew has performed with elite bands including fodens, black dyke, brighouse and rastrick, and yorkshire building society, among others. He has also worked as a clinician for boosey & hawkes and edwards instruments.
Andrew has a distinguished teaching career, having taught at the Royal Northern College of Music, chetham’s school of music, and manchester university. He served as head of brass at brighton college abu dhabi and was a consultant for jmi/imi music schools in abu dhabi from 2010 to 2020. His international masterclass engagements include the juilliard school, manhattan school of music, guildhall school, royal scottish academy, and lieksa brass week in finland, among many others.
A respected adjudicator, andrew has judged competitions such as bbc radio young musician of the year, the european brass band championships, and norwegian brass band championships. He is also actively involved with music for autism international, using music to create accessible experiences for neurodiverse audiences.
In addition to his current roles, andrew has conducted ensembles including the staatsorchester braunschweig, orchestra da camera fiorentina, the london metropolitan orchestra, the bolton symphony orchestra, and numerous brass bands and jazz ensembles across europe and the middle east. His work with the dubai opera big band highlights his genre-spanning conducting skills.