About
Pianist Libby Burgess is well-known on concert stages across Britain, playing regularly in the country’s major halls and festivals, and on Radio 3.
As both song specialist and chamber musician, Libby thrives on a wide repertoire, and takes inspiration from the breadth of musicians with whom she works. Equally admired for her programming, Libby is the Artistic Director of New Paths Music, where she has curated fourteen festivals of song, chamber music and community outreach. From 2018 to 2022 she was Co-Artistic Director with Martin Roscoe of the Beverley Chamber Music Festival.
Libby’s recent calendar includes song recitals at Wigmore Hall with Alessandro Fisher and Hugh Cutting, Oxford International Song with Stephan Loges and Ailish Tynan, New Paths Music with Benjamin Appl, Southwell Festival with Mark Padmore, Leeds Lieder with Claire Barnett-Jones, Temple Music with Ashley Riches, and Aldeburgh Festival with Ben Hulett; performances of The Rite of Spring in duet with Chris Hopkins; instrumental recitals with Julian Bliss, Matilda Lloyd and Jonathan Aasgaard; a series performing the complete Beethoven cello sonatas with five different cellists; and frequent broadcasts with the BBC Singers. Working often with living composers, Libby has most recently premiered Stephen McNeff’s Three Pieces for Piano and, with regular collaborator baritone Marcus Farnsworth, Everything Grows Extravagantly by Cheryl Frances-Hoad – selected by The Times as a highlight of the year.
Currently undertaking a nationwide Bach marathon, ‘Project 48’, Libby is performing the whole of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier (‘The 48’) in every one of England’s 48 counties, in venues ranging from cathedrals and concert halls to houses, schools, barns and gardens. To date the project has raised over £32,000 for Help Musicians, Live Music Now, Future Talent and Youth Music.
New Paths is in many ways the creative highlight of Libby’s year. Distinctive for its fresh presentation of outstanding music-making, for its bold programming of little-known repertoire, and for its interwoven programmatic threads – inspired by the beauty, heritage and community of its hometown of Beverley in the East Riding of Yorkshire – the festival has rapidly built up a significant profile not only in the region but also across the UK.
Libby is sought after as a vocal coach, working with singers from brand-new undergraduates to seasoned professionals, including as a Vocal Repertoire Coach at the Royal Academy of Music. In a world where the available repertoire is ever widening and barriers are being broken down, and yet pressures on musicians are ever growing, she is passionate about helping singers form a healthy, authentic, personal and imaginative connection with their own voice and musical identity. She is particularly interested in the intersection of music and language, and has been asked to consult on research projects around voice use and language in song.
The seeds of Libby’s love for working with voices were sown in her role as organ scholar at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford (2002-5) – the first time a woman had been appointed to that position at any of the all-male Oxbridge choral foundations. Here she also read for an Oxford music degree, and was awarded first class honours. She continued her training as a pianist, undertaking postgraduate studies (2007-9) and opera fellowships (2010-12) at the Royal Academy of Music. The Academy has since awarded Libby the ARAM in recognition of her substantial contribution to the music industry, while Christ Church commissioned a portrait of her to be displayed alongside historic oil paintings of men, as part of their 2022 Women at the House project celebrating trailblazing individuals.
Libby was formerly Head of Keyboard at Eton College, and is an experienced piano tutor, chamber music coach, adjudicator, workshop leader, speaker and writer. She is convinced that many of the most interesting musicians have a variety of musical interests, and that all types of music-making feed into and enhance one another. Whilst now primarily a recitalist, her own musicianship is informed by the diverse range of experience she has garnered along the way – from repetiteuring or continuo playing to producing recordings, from organ performance or training choral societies to chorus-directing professional chamber choirs and opera productions.
Libby is firmly of the belief that music makes life better, and should be available to all: a regular guest at Chetham’s School of Music, National Youth Choirs of Great Britain and Young Sounds, she loves working in contexts that seek to overcome barriers and share the power of music with everyone.
Please note: this page is not intended for reproduction in concert programmes: please visit the Downloads page to find shorter and more suitable biographies for that purpose.
