Music at the Library: Abigail Kent
The Passionate Harp
$20 members, $25 nonmembers
For tickets, please click here.
Abigail Kent, from Charleston, SC, entered the Curtis Institute of Music in2014 and studies with Elizabeth Hainen, Principal Harpist of the Philadelphia Orchestra. All students at Curtis receive merit-based full-tuition scholarships and Ms. Kent is the Maryjane Mayhew Barton Fellow. Prior to studying at Curtis, Ms. Kent spent one year at the Royal Academy of Music in London in the BMus program.
Among her many awards, she was Laureate Finalist and Senior Division Winner of the 2015 American Strings Teachers Association National Solo Competition, Prizewinner at the Young Professional Division of the 2015 American Harp Society National Solo Competition, Finalist at the 2014 International Young Artist Harp Competition, Semi-Finalist in the Chief Musician category of the 3rd Wales International Harp Competition in 2014,1st Place Winner of the Orchestra Audition at the 2014 Saratoga Harp Colony, and 1st Place Winner of “Play With the Pros” Concerto Competition and performance with members of the Philadelphia Orchestra at the 2013 Saratoga Harp Colony.
In addition to these awards, Ms. Kent has had many performance opportunities, including orchestra, opera, chamber, and solo. As an orchestral harpist, she is Principal Harpist of Symphony in C and is Guest Musician harpist for the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. As rotating Principal Harpist of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, she has performed many orchestral works like Mahler Symphony No. 1, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherezade, Prokovief Symphony No. 5, Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe, Stravinsky’s Petrushka, Strauss’s Don Juan, and Berlioz’s Symphony Fantastique. In addition, her operatic experience includes Puccini’s La Boheme, Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos, Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, and Strauss’s Capriccio. She has performed under the batons of Michael Tilson Thomas, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Vladimir Jurowski, Ludovic Morlot, Marin Alsop, Ken Lam, Christopher Warren-Green, Rossen Milanov, and JoAnn Falletta.
Ms. Kent has performed in many different venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall, Verizon Hall and Perelman Hall (Kimmel Center), Prince Music Theater, Field Concert Hall, Abravanel Hall (Salt Lake City, UT), The Gaillard Center (Charleston, SC), Arthur Zankel Music Hall (Saratoga Springs, NY), Galeri Caernarfon (Wales, UK), Southwark Cathedral (London, UK), Melk Abbey (Austria), St. Peter’s Church (Vienna, Austria), and Mariazell Basilica (Austria). Ms. Kent and the other members of the Curtis Harp Studio were featured performers at the 2015 American Harp Society National Conference as the Salzedo Harp Quintet.
Having studied the classical pedal harp for six years, her previous teachers include Judy McCoy, Anastasia Jellison, Catherine White, and Jacquelyn Bartlett. Additionally, she has worked in masterclasses with Susann McDonald, Jana Bouskova, Maria Luisa Rayan, Catrin Finch, Ina Zdorovetchi, Karen Vaughan, Chantal Mathieu, Skaila Kanga, and Isabelle Moretti.
Please RSVP to mstokenberry@charlestonlibrarysociety.org