Abigail Kent

One of the brightest young stars of the harp, Abigail Kent is an international award-winning harpist, hailed as “superb” by the South Florida Classical Review and praised for her “immaculate playing and musical sensitivity” in Fanfare Magazine. Kent was the February 2018 “New Artist” for Musical America International Magazine as well as the touring Harp Ambassador as “Concert Artist” for the American Harp Society 2017-19. With this prize, she presented 25 solo recitals and taught 18 masterclasses throughout the US.

In addition to her success as a concert soloist, Ms. Kent is also in high demand as an orchestral harpist. She is Acting Principal Harpist for the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Principal Harpist for “Symphony in C” Orchestra in New Jersey, and plays often with the New World Symphony.

A committed pedagogue, her love of teaching stems from hosting masterclasses during her two years as Concert Artist. Ms. Kent is on faculty at the Charleston Academy of Music and “Circle Circle” Arts Academy (New York City) and manages a private teaching studio. Most recently, she was appointed as harp faculty at College of Charleston, where she has created two unique pathways in harp: traditional lever harp and classical pedal harp. This summer, she will teach at the Brevard Music Festival and will be Guest Artist at the American Harp Academy. She has given masterclasses and lectures for the 2019 American Harp Society National Institute, the Curtis Institute of Music, and The Juilliard School.

Ms. Kent studied for a year in the BMus program at the Royal Academy of Music in London and was then selected as the Maryjane Mayhew Barton Fellow at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she earned her Bachelor of Music degree. Ms. Kent went on to obtain her Master of Music degree as a Presidential Scholar at the Mannes School of Music in New York City, and in June 2021, she completed the residency of her Doctor of Musical Arts degree as a C.V. Starr Fellow at The Juilliard School.