Who Is Rosie Bergonzi, the Handpan Player?

Have you heard of Rosie Bergonzi, the handpan player? Want to learn more about her journey and the many projects she’s been part of over the years? And what does the discography of this world-renowned musician look like?

Back in December 2020, I discovered Rosie Bergonzi through her album of handpan Christmas songs. I loved her playing, and I’ve followed her work ever since. In this article, I’ll share everything I’ve learned about this remarkable percussionist.

By reading my article dedicated to Rosie Bergonzi, you will learn:

• How she discovered the handpan
• Her complete discography
• The various artistic projects she has completed

In just a few minutes, you’ll get a clear, enjoyable look into the world of a musician who’s become a true reference in the handpan community.

Now, let’s take a closer look at Rosie Bergonzi’s career.

How did Rosie Bergonzi discover the handpan?

Born in the United Kingdom, Rosie Bergonzi was immersed in music from an early age. As a teenager, she even considered a career in science before her passion for music took over. She first studied at Goldsmiths, University of London, where she received a multidisciplinary musical education (composition, musicology, performance) that broadened her artistic horizons. Eager to perfect her percussion skills, Rosie then enrolled at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She graduated with a Master of Music degree in 2016 and the following year was awarded a fellowship that enabled her to continue her artistic development.

Alongside her studies, Rosie Bergonzi explored the wide world of percussion in all its forms. “As a percussionist, you have to be versatile,” she explains, emphasizing that she chose to play both tuned percussion (xylophone, marimba, etc.) as well as drums and hand percussion. That insatiable curiosity eventually led her to an instrument that was still relatively unknown at the time but immediately captivated her: the handpan.

The turning point in Rosie Bergonzi’s career came in 2014. That year, while walking through the streets of London, she heard a street musician playing a strange instrument shaped like a metal saucer for the first time. The instrument in question was a handpan, sometimes called a “hang drum,” invented in the early 2000s. “It was love at first sight,” says Rosie Bergonzi. From then on, she set about mastering the handpan, applying techniques she’d learned on other hand instruments (darbuka, congas, udu, etc.) to develop her own playing style.

During the 2020 lockdown, with live shows on hold, Rosie Bergonzi didn’t sit still: she created a series of video tutorials entitled Handpan Fundamentals to share her passion with an online audience. Here is an example of the type of video she produced:

In 2021, she received the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Trailblazer Award in recognition of the work she’s done to shine a spotlight on the handpan. The award comes with funding that supports forward-thinking artists in their field—and for Rosie, that meant continuing to push the boundaries of a still-young instrument. With this support, she keeps exploring musical territory few people associate with the handpan. “She keeps pushing the handpan into unexpected musical territory,” the Royal Philharmonic Society notes, praising her journey.

The culmination of this innovative approach came in 2024. That year, Rosie Bergonzi made music history by becoming the first handpan soloist to perform a concerto with a symphony orchestra. In June 2024, during a Chineke! Orchestra concert in London, she premiered To the Hibiscus, the first concerto ever composed for handpan and string orchestra. You can hear a short excerpt from her performance in the video below:

The performance was a triumph: the audience gave her an enthusiastic standing ovation, impressed by this unprecedented combination of sounds. This concerto for handpan, likely a world first, was performed again a few weeks later at the prestigious Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg during a European tour by the Chineke! Orchestra.

What is this musician and artist's discography?

While Rosie Bergonzi excels in live performance, she has also released several albums and EPs that make up her discography. Here’s a quick rundown of her releases:

• A Very Handpan Christmas (December 2020): an instrumental Christmas album where Rosie reimagines traditional tunes like Silent Night and O Christmas Tree.
• Crest of the Wave (February 2023): a 2-track EP featuring Crest of the Wave and Mirrors. This short release highlights Rosie’s percussive handpan style.
• Poems About Race (May 2023): a poetry-and-music EP in which Rosie Bergonzi performs her own committed texts on the theme of racism, accompanied by handpan and percussion.
• A Very Handpan Christmas 2 You (December 2023): building on the success of the first volume, Rosie returns with a second handpan Christmas album. It features classics such as Carol of the Bells, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, and Auld Lang Syne, recorded in an intimate, cozy atmosphere.

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• Australis Live (January 2024): a live album by the duo PortaBanda (Rosie Bergonzi & Amy Naylor ). Recorded during their tour of Oceania and the Americas in late 2019 and early 2020, this album captures the unique chemistry of two handpans on stage. Across 14 tracks recorded in front of enthusiastic audiences, you’ll hear the handpan’s full live potential, with musical back-and-forth between Rosie and Amy and a real sense of connection.
• Seasons of Handpan (February 2025): a concept album of 12 tracks, each representing a month of the year and the emotion associated with it. Rosie challenged herself to compose a new handpan piece each month, reflecting her state of mind and the season: for example, Fresh Beginnings (January) for New Year renewal, Sunshine Peaks (June) for summer warmth, or Brittle Drizzle (November) for the cold rains of fall.

In addition to these releases, Rosie Bergonzi has also contributed as a guest artist to several other musical projects. You’ll find plenty of live performances on platforms like YouTube where she accompanies other well-known artists.

What are the various musical projects Rosie Bergonzi has been involved in?

In addition to her participation in various orchestras, such as Chineke!, which I have already mentioned in this article, Rosie Bergonzi is also the co-founder of Beaten Track Ensemble, a percussion quartet founded in 2015 with colleagues from Guildhall who share her taste for rhythmic experimentation. With Beaten Track, she has taken part in original concerts blending percussion and visual arts, such as at the Proms at St. Jude’s festival and at the Tate Modern in London. She co-founded the duo Boubakiki with saxophonist Joe Steel and the duo PortaBanda with singer and handpan player Amy Naylor.

Alongside classical music, Rosie Bergonzi has made a name for herself in musical theater. She has performed in several productions at Shakespeare’s Globe in London, including Richard II (2019), As You Like It (2023), and Romeo & Juliet (2024). She also collaborates with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), for example on Pericles and Two Gentlemen of Verona in 2024. Her talent has led her to take on the role of musical director (MD) for innovative shows: in 2021, she directed Typical Girls at the Sheffield Crucible, a play centered on a group of women in prison forming a punk band. This intense experience drew on both her musical skills and her teaching expertise to teach actresses to play instruments on stage with true rock ’n’ roll energy. She also served as musical director for the show Deptford Creek (2022) performed aboard the Cutty Sark sailing ship, and contributed to projects for young audiences such as Billy and the Beast (2021) with the Britten Sinfonia.

Rosie Bergonzi also explores the world of pop and contemporary music. She has joined renowned artists on world tours: from 2018 to 2020, she accompanied singer Neneh Cherry on stage, then in 2021 she went on an international tour with the young soul revelation Celeste. More recently, in 2023, Rosie collaborated with British rapper Loyle Carner on his live concerts. In these contexts, she brings her unique touch as a multi-instrumentalist percussionist, able to play the handpan, marimba, or djembe depending on the needs of the songs. This ease in moving from one register to another makes her a highly sought-after musician. “I love playing pop music,” she says, happy to take part in mainstream projects while staying rooted in her classical background.

Rosie Bergonzi also teaches handpan lessons on the online platform Master The Handpan. She offers a masterclass on how to jam, as well as a series of tutorials on how to play dozens of Christmas songs, similar to what she presents in her two albums mentioned earlier in this article.

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Rosie Bergonzi is undoubtedly a complete artist whose career commands admiration. In just a few years, she has established the sound of the handpan in prestigious contexts, proving that a percussionist can be just as comfortable in a symphony orchestra as in a rock band. With all the information in this article, you now know a lot more about this talented artist.

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Like Rosie Bergonzi, discover another English-speaking handpan player named Mark D’Ambrosio. This young talent has made a name for himself mainly through his participation in various festivals and events related to this percussion instrument, but also by creating the Planet Handpan platform, which teaches people how to play it. As a result, Mark D’Ambrosio has become a well-known figure in the handpan (or Hang drum) world.