Biography

Kirsten  is an award-winning cellist with an international career spanning solo, chamber, and cross-genre performances. She made her solo debut performing Schumann’s Cello Concerto with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra while studying under the esteemed cellist and pedagogue Johannes Goritzki. Since then, she has cultivated a dynamic freelance career, with a particular passion for chamber music.

 

Following her advanced studies in Switzerland, Kirsten joined the acclaimed Ragazze Quartet in the Netherlands. With the ensemble, she recorded several albums for Channel Classics, and performed regularly on live television and radio, as well as at prestigious venues including the Royal Concertgebouw.

 

Upon returning to the UK, Kirsten was named Best British Cellist at the 2016 International Music Competition Grand Prize Virtuoso. She has since performed with a range of distinguished ensembles, including the historic Allegri Quartet and the Primrose Piano Quartet. She also performs regularly in a duo with celebrated pianist John Thwaites. Her international appearances span major concert series and festivals across Europe, the United States, Indonesia, and Japan, including IMS Prussia Cove, the Piatigorsky International Cello Festival, Rottweil Sommersprossen, and Hatfield House Chamber Music Festival.

 

Kirsten has collaborated with a wide range of leading artists, including JP Jofre, Jörg Widmann, Adam Walker, and Madeleine Mitchell. She is a member of the United Strings of Europe, with whom she has performed at prominent venues such as Wigmore Hall and Victoria Hall, Geneva, and has recorded numerous critically acclaimed albums.

 

Upcoming projects include a series of concerts and masterclasses in China with celebrated pianist John Thwaites - Head of Keyboard at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire - and renowned violist Dorothea Vogel, long-standing member of the internationally acclaimed Allegri Quartet. Kirsten is also looking forward to a busy summer of festivals including Islington Festival and the Llanfyllin Music Festival, and a week of coaching chamber music and giving one-to-one lessons at  Cadenza International Summer Music School.