Event Detail

With her "wonted skill and poise", soprano Kirsten Ashley Wiest presents her first recital-in-residence toward fulfillment of her Doctorate of Musical Arts degree. Lyrical settings of emotionally-charged poetry juxtapose fragmented musical offerings of Sylvia Plath and text of utter nonsense in this magical music of the past century.

Program:
Gabriel Faure: L'horizon chimérique, Op. 118
   Kyle Adam Blair, piano
Kaija Saariaho: From the Grammar of Dreams
   Sara Perez, soprano
Wolfgang Rihm: Drei Hölderlin-Gedichte
   Kyle Adam Blair, piano
Per Nørgård: Fons Laetitiae
   Tasha Smith Godinez, harp
György Ligeti: Mysteries of the Macabre
   Siu Hei Lee, piano

Soprano Kirsten Ashley Wiest is “a new music natural” committed to the continuous evolution of classical vocal music. Her “wonted skill and poise” has captured the attention of many composers, resulting in several world premiere performances and close collaborations. Kirsten has worked with Ben Johnston, Jeffrey Holmes, Denis Kolokol, Ellen Reid, and Christopher Rountree, among others.
Kirsten has sung as a soloist with wild Up new music collective, the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus, UCLA John Cage Symposium, kallisti chamber opera, UCSD's Palimpsest, CalArts New Century Players Ensemble, and Chapman University’s New Music Ensemble. She has also performed with The Industry - LA’s home for experimental opera, San Diego Pro Arte Voices, the Metroplex Opera Company in Dallas, and the Texas 'Lone Star' Ambassadors of Music.
Currently a DMA student at UCSD under the instruction of Grammy award-winning soprano Susan Narucki, Kirsten holds an MFA from California Institute of the Arts and a BM cum laude from Chapman University’s Conservatory of Music, where she was awarded the New Music Award for her outstanding commitment to the performance of contemporary works.