After studying at the Conservatoire Supérieur de Musique de Genève in the class of Thomas Friedli where he received a First prize of virtuosity “with distinction”, Jean-Michel Bertelli is prize-winner of international competitions, International Chamber Music Competition of Martigny (Switzerland), International Clarinet Competition in Toulon (France), and finally he won First Prize in the USA International Competition organized by the International Clarinet Society (New York, Norfolk, USA).
« I have always been impressed by the seriousness, the professionalism, and also the constant desire for new elaborations of new products at BG »
Since then, he has been invited to perform as a soloist, in recitals and with various chamber music ensembles in Europe, the USA, Japan, New Zealand, and most recently in Macedonia, Montenegro and Poland. As a soloist, he has played with orchestras such as the Hallé Orchestra of Manchester, The Virginia Symphony Orchestra, the Czech National Orchestra, The Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra de l'Opéra National de Lyon, The Wroclaw Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Paul Polivnick, Kent Nagano, Paul Freeman, Gérard Korsten, William Christie, Jan Jakub Bokun…
He played the world premiere of a concerto dedicated by the American composer Richard Felciano in California and recorded in Prague for Albany Records (USA). In chamber music, he performs with artists such as the Britten Quartet, the Vertavo Quartet, the Trio Tchaıkovski, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Christian Ivaldi, Peter Csaba, Nancy Argenta, Edita Gruberova…
From 1999 to 2003, invited by Sir John-Eliot Gardiner, he was principal clarinet of The English Baroque Soloists in London and the Orchestra Romantique et Révolutionnaire. In 2008, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam invited him as solo clarinet for a series of concerts as well as from 2009 to 2014 with the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Christian Zacharias. Until 2020, Jean-Michel Bertelli was also Principal Clarinet of the Lyon National Opera Orchestra with which he made numerous recordings (symphonic and lyrical), audios, videos, radio and TV.
Solicited by many instrumental factories, Jean-Michel Bertelli is International Soloist for Yamaha Music Europe, collaborates with the company BG France and since 2024, he is an Artist Gonzalez Reeds. This conduces him to make many récitals and masters-class in the world (Europe, Asie, USA).
