Chris Bearman attended the Lancastrian School for Boys between about 1959-65 and was the son of Gordon Bearman, the County Librarian and younger brother of two Old Cicestrians, Graham and Bob Bearman ( whose profile appears in another article under Notable Old Boys). I got to know Chris quite well through my visits to his home to see Bob, a contemporary of mine and a good friend. I remember that he took piano lessons, but recall, in particular, that, at the relatively young age of 14 or 15 he had bought an old 2nd hand violin which he took to like a duck to water, becoming highly proficient in a remarkably short space of time. On leaving school he went on to study violin, initially at Dartington College of Arts and after at The Guildhall College of Music where he studied under Eli Goran graduating in 1974.
For the first 20 years from 1974 to 1994 he was based in London as a professional violinist playing with many leading ensembles and orchestras including the BBC Symphony Orchestra. At the BBC he worked with and played for all the principal conductors including Pierre Boulez ; Rudolfe Kempe; John Pritchard; Colin Davis; Andrew Davis; Gennadi Rozhdestvensky; Gunter Wand; Charles Mackerras and David Atherton. During this time as a freelance player he also worked with many other leading conductors including Vernon Handley; Harry Blech; Richard Hickox; John Lanchbury; Adrian Boult and Charles Groves.
Doug Murgatroyd
His interest in conducting and music education began in the early nineties when he became the inaugural conductor of the Surrey Sinfonietta which was involved in an education project in some South London schools. He moved to Australia in 1994. Chris taught at Newcastle and the Central Coast Conservatoriums from 1994, becoming Artistic Director at the Central Coast in 2000, and held the Directorship until 2011. In 2010 and was awarded the OAM* for his contribution to music education and performance on the Central Coast.
Christopher is Artistic Director of the Central Coast Symphony Orchestra and Director of the Concertante Ensemble.
*OAM Order of Australia Medal which was awarded on Australia Day 2010 – below are a few of the accolades he received both in newspapers and radio
Chris Bearman on the left with brother Bob 2nd from the left, Shirley next and eldest brother Graham far right
“If you take a huge dash of good humour, lashings of inspiration, a lifetime of experience on a base of world class musicianship what do you have?
The charismatic and totally extraordinary Chris Bearman. Chris is undoubtedly one of the finest musicians I have ever worked with and his ability to motivate musicians of all ages is legendary. Without doubt Chris is one of our finest musical treasures.” Mark Walton, 2012.
Christopher Bearman has enjoyed forty years making music as violinist and musical director; twenty of those years have also been devoted to passing on his knowledge and experience to students of all ages through his tenure as Director of Central Coast Conservatorium in NSW Australia.