Mario Bernardi (20 August 1930 – 2 June 2013) was a Canadian conductor and pianist.  He conducted 75 different operas and over 450 other works with the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Born in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, he began his musical training when he moved to Italy at six. The family returned to Canada in 1945, where he finished his studies at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.  In 1957, he conducted the Canadian Opera Company, and in 1963 he began conducting with Sadler's Wells Opera Company.  In 1968, he became the founding conductor of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa.  He led the Calgary Philharmonic from 1984 to 1992; and from 1983 to 2006 he was the principal conductor with the CBC Radio Orchestra.  He was a Companion of the Order of Canada (1972).  In 2001, he received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.