Insa Bernds studied piano, music theory and violin and then musicology and comparative literature in Lübeck, Freiburg, Milan and Berlin. She works as a freelance musician and musicologist in Berlin. The focus of her pianistic work is on accompaniment.
She participates in numerous music theatre projects as a répétiteur and/or pianist in the performances and also regularly takes on the rehearsal and musical direction of the respective productions (e.g. at the Neuköllner Oper, at the Festival Oper Oder Spree, at the Schlossplatztheater Köpenick, at the Lübeck Summer Operetta, etc.).
She performs regularly as an orchestral pianist, organist and harpsichordist (Prussian Chamber Orchestra, Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Szczecin Philharmonic Orchestra), plays as an accompanist with choirs (Rundfunkchor Berlin among others) and vocal ensembles and performs with ensembles playing early jazz and swing. Since 2019, she has been responsible for the musical direction of the scene evening as répétiteur at the master class “Oper Oder Spree”. Since 2020, she has held a teaching position at the Berlin University of the Arts (UDK), and since 2021, she has also held a project-based teaching position at the Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” Berlin.