In 1973, he won the Greater London Arts Association Young Musicians' Scheme award and as a consequence gave more than fifty concerts in the south-east of England between 1973 and 1974.

The following year he recorded a Grammy nominated album[3] with John Williams and friends for CBS with the instrumentation of two guitars, marimba, xylophone and double bass.

In 1995, he gave a benefit concert at London's Wigmore Hall with John Williams to raise awareness of the plight of children caught in acts of war around the world.

Other artists with whom Bonell has recorded and appeared in concert include guitarists Paco Peña and Martin Taylor, violinists Pinchas Zukerman and Salvatore Accardo, and singers Patricia Rozario, Teresa Berganza and the late Philip Langridge.

He has played at international festivals including The City of London, Aldeburgh, Helsinki, Israel, Tanglewood, Sydney, Istanbul, Hong Kong.

After his first visit to Latin America in 2000 he returned every year until 2007 to play with Venezuelan orchestras associated with El Sistema, working closely with some of the younger players prior to performances.

He has recorded sound tracks for the Hollywood films City of Angels and The Honest Courtesan and for the BBC TV productions of Inspector Morse and The Politician's Wife.

Performing artists included Alirio Díaz, John Williams (with whom Bonell played duets), Pavel Steidl in his London debut, Elisa Perez-Saponi, Patricia Rozario and others.

His pupils include Alan Banks, Detlev Bork, Nils Klöfver, Jakob Lindberg, Nigel North, Brad Richter, and numerous others.