Bridget Kibbey

Pictured: Bridget Kibbey

Credit: Lisa Marie Mazzucco

Julia Figueras welcomes renowned harpist Bridget Kibbey. 

Backstage Pass airs Wednesday, August 22 at 1 p.m. on Classical 91.5/FM-HD 91.5-1. Ms. Kibbey actively seeks harp music from around the world, and will perform from her multicultural play list. She'll also talk with Julia about her drive to broaden the scope and platform of her instrument.

Possessing a special connection with her instrument that captivates audiences across the United States and abroad, Ms. Kibbey displays the unique abilities of this fantastic instrument, with genre-bending performances ranging from baroque to world music, to collaboration with singer/songwriters, to commissioning new works from today's composers.  An Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient, a winner of Concert Artist Guild's 2007 International Competition and Astral Artist Auditions, Ms. Kibbey's performances have been broadcast on NPR's Performance Today, on New York's WQXR, WNYC's Soundcheck, and A&E's Breakfast with the Arts.

Ms. Kibbey has premiered new works by Kati Agocs, Harrison Birtwistle, Sebastian Currier, Pierre Boulez, Nathan Shields, Kaija Saariaho, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Augusta Read Thomas, and Charles Wuorinen. She performed Britten's Canticles in Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall with tenor Ian Bostridge, performed the New York premier of Elliot Carter's Mosaic in Zankel Hall for the composer's 100th birthday, and the American premier of Sebastian Currier's Broken Minuets with Symphony in C in Philadelphia's Kimmel Center.

Ms. Kibbey is a graduate of the Juilliard School, where she studied with Nancy Allen. She is on the harp faculties of Bard Conservatory, New York University, and the Juilliard Pre-College Program.

Backstage Pass is a live, hour-long radio series that is committed to highlighting performing artists – giving Classical 91.5/90.3/FM-HD 91.5-1 listeners the opportunity to hear local and visiting musicians performing live. The series is made possible in part by a grant from the Gouvernet Arts Fund at Rochester Area Community Foundation. This program will repeat Sunday, August 26 at 1:00 p.m. on Classical 91.5.