“Kibbey made it seem as though her instrument had been waiting all its life to explode with the energetic figures and gorgeous colors she was getting from it.”
– The New York Times

Bridget Kibbey
HARP

BIO

Harpist Bridget Kibbey is praised for great musical instincts, blazing virtuosity, and expressive power. The New York Times proclaimed, “she makes it seem as though her instrument had been waiting all its life to explode with the gorgeous colors and energetic figures she was getting from it.” Alongside the great masterworks for harp, she transcribes and interprets works of the canon from J.S. Bach to Mahler and beyond. Her cross-genre collaborations on stage illuminate the stories behind the music in travelogues that traverse time and place.

Recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, Salon de Virtuosi SONY Recording Grant, and first prize at the Journées de les Harpes Competition in Arles, France, Kibbey has been featured as concerto soloist across five continents as well as recitalist and chamber musician in North America’s prominent halls with programs she has curated—from Carnegie Hall and the Met Opera Main Stage to Koerner Hall, the Ordway, 92NY, the Gardner Museum, Phillips Collection and the Menil Collection. She has been featured at festivals and concert series such as Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart, La Jolla Music Society, Aspen, Bravo! Vail, Santa Fe, Spoleto, Big Ears Knoxville, Chamber Music Northwest, Portland Ovations, Savannah Music Festival, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, The Cliburn, Chamber Music Columbus, Calgary Pro Musica, and Chattanooga’s String Theory, among others. Internationally, she has appeared at the Lucerne Music Festival, Schloss Elmau, Festival St. Denis, ANAM, Harpe en Avesnois, Festival des Harpes, Arles, Festival de Música de Morelia, and the Pelotas Festival.

Kibbey has toured and recorded with such collaborators as Kathleen Battle, Dawn Upshaw, Placido Domingo, mandolinist Avi Avital, violinist Alexi Kenney, the Dover Quartet, kora master Yacouba Sissoko, Persian singers Mahsa and Marjan Vahdat, and more.

Dedicated to exploring music through a broad lens, Kibbey builds touring projects that merge her own solo transcriptions alongside powerful collaborations including The Sacred and the Profane, exploring French Masterworks of the Belle Époque alongside a string quartet, and Bach keyboard concerti and sonatas with the Dover Quartet. Her long-time friendships and collaborations across cultures and traditions have resulted in Bach to Brazil—a celebration of Nuevo Latino voices with Latin Grammy-winning percussionist/composer Samuel Torres and violinist Rubén Rengel—and Persia to Iberia—a program exploring the musical connections of Spain and the Islamic Golden Era alongside Iranian singer Mahsa Vahdat and percussionist John Hadfield.

Recent and upcoming concerto debuts include appearances with the Baltimore Symphony, Alexandria Symphony, and National Philharmonic. She has appeared as soloist with the Badische Staatskapelle Karlsruhe, State Orchestra of Brazil (Pelotas), and Israel Youth Philharmonic, the Juilliard Symphony, the orchestras of Orlando, Modesto, Illinois, Alabama, Richmond, Skaneateles Festival, Princeton; Madison and San José Chamber Orchestras; and the Metropolis Ensemble and A Far Cry.

Kibbey has performed the world premiere of new works by Elliott Carter, Kaija Saariaho, Sebastian Currier, Paquito d’Rivera, Kinan Azmeh, Avner Dorman, João Luiz, Osvaldo Golijov, Kati Agócs, Vivian Fung, Du Yun, among others. She’s recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, SONY Records, and Pentatone, to critical acclaim. Her debut album, Love is Come Again, was named one of the Top Ten Releases by Time Out New York. Her 2023 album of newly-commissioned solo works on Pentatone Records, Crossing the Ocean, pushes the boundaries of the harp, showcasing impeccable technique and expression. Soprano Dawn Upshaw joins her as a special guest on the album.

Her solo performances have been broadcast on NPR’s Performance Today, New York’s WQXR, WNYC’s Soundcheck, WETA’s Front Row Washington, WRTI’s Crossover, and A&E’s Breakfast with the Arts.

A graduate of The Juilliard School, Kibbey serves as Associate Professor of Harp at the Eastman School of Music and resides in New York City.

PHOTOS

VIDEOS

REVIEWS