“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

Extraordinary Bridget Kibbey is known for her great musical instincts that transcend the harp.

She interprets the masters—Bach, Debussy, Ravel, Bartók—bringing “a fresh face to the familiar music,” while being a bold advocate of genre-crossing storytelling and newly commissioned works (Seattle City Arts Magazine). Through it all, her virtuosic and soulful ability to communicate draws in the audience. In short, “she made 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” (The New York Times).

Bridget has appeared as soloist with the Badisch Staatskapelle Karlsruhe, State Orchestra of Brazil (Pelotas), The Juilliard Symphony, Israel Youth Philharmonic; the orchestras of Orlando, Modesto, Illinois, Alabama, Richmond, Skaneateles Festival, and Princeton; and the Madison and San José Chamber Orchestras, Metropolis Ensemble, among others.

She has been featured as soloist in North America’s top halls—from Carnegie Hall and the Met Opera Main Stage to Koerner Hall, the Ordway, and 92nd Street Y, from the Gardner Museum and the Phillips Collection to the Menil Collection and beyond. Internationally, she has appeared at Schloss Elmau, Festival St. Denis, ANAM, Festival des Harpes (Arles, France), Festival de Música de Morelia, Pelotas Festival, and the Lucerne Music Festival. 

Bridget has recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, SONY Records, and Pentatone, to great critical acclaim. Her debut album was named one of the Top Ten Releases by Time Out New York. Her next solo release with Pentatone Records is slated for 2026—a set of surprising keyboard transcriptions. 

She is the recipient of a prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, a Salon de Virtuosi SONY Recording Grant, and premiere prix at the Journées de les Harpes Competition in Arles, France, and she won a place in the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Bowers Program. 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.

Bridget has commissioned concerti from Vivian Fung and Brazilian composer Joao Luiz, exploring the sounds of Carnaval on the harp; and she brings two newly commissioned concerti to the stage starting in 2027.

Known for her curatorial strengths, Bridget builds touring projects that merge her own solo transcriptions alongside powerful collaborations: The Sacred and the Profane, exploring French Masterworks of the Belle Époque alongside the Calidore String Quartet; and Bach keyboard concerti and sonatas with the Dover Quartet. Her exploration of world cultures has resulted in Bach to Brazil —a celebration of Nuevo Latino Voices alongside Latin Grammy-Winning percussionist/composer Samuel Torres—and Persia to Iberia, a program tracking music of the Islamic Golden Era alongside Iranian Singer Mahsa Vahdat and percussionist John Hadfield.

She has performed in duo with vocalists Kathleen Battle and Dawn Upshaw, mandolinist Avi Avital, the Dover Quartet, violinist Alexi Kenney, the Boy Choir of St. Thomas Church, Latin-Grammy winning percussionist Samuel Torres, Percussionist John Hadfield, Persian singer Mahsa Vahdat, and kora-player Yacouba Sissoko, among others.

Recent performance highlights include appearances as soloist at Toronto’s Koerner Hall, Dumbarton Oaks, Caramoor, Music@Menlo, Festival Napa Valley, the VIVO Festival, Saratoga PAC, and Alice Tully Hall with Artists of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, as well as for 40,000 attendees at “Madison’s Concerts at the Capitol” where she premiered her own transcription of Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. Bridget appears frequently as soloist and chamber musician at festivals and series across the United States: Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart, La Jolla Music Society, International Festival l’Avesnois, Aspen, Bravo!Vail, Santa Fe, Spoleto, Big Ears Knoxville, Chamber Music Northwest, Portland Ovations, Bridgehampton, Savannah Music Festival, The Phillips Collection, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, The Cliburn, Music@Menlo, Chamber Music Columbus, Calgary Pro Musicis, and Chattanooga’s String Theory, among others. 

Bridget was the 2022–2023 Artist in Focus at the Schubert Club in Minneapolis, Minnesota, bringing three programs of her own creation to the city, to great critical acclaim.

From 2022 to 2024, Bridget was the Artistic Director of MOSA Concerts, elevating a local concert series to a notable world-class, cross-genre performing arts series. She showcased the rich diversity of musicians who call Uptown Manhattan home, refocusing the series on presenting talent that live North of Harlem—crossing Classical, Baroque, Latin Jazz, and Global music idioms. Bridget MC’d each event, tracking the history and stories behind the music. 

PHOTOS

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REVIEWS