Kathleen Tagg

Kathleen Tagg, piano (New York, NY), South African-born pianist, composer and producer, has performed on four continents in leading venues such as Carnegie Hall, had her original music appeared in venues such as New York’s Lincoln Center, appeared on a host of classical, world music and multi-genre recordings and produced numerous CDs and inter-disciplinary programs from South Africa to Los Angeles. Her work has been released on record labels NAXOS, EMI, Table Pounding Records and Gallo Africa. A 2014 SAMA nominee for best classical album, she has performed in recital with some of the world’s leading musicians, and the remarkable breadth of her collaborations defines her multi-faceted career. Kathleen has performed often in venues such as Lincoln Center, Symphony Space and multiple Carnegie Hall recitals, including her 2004 acclaimed solo recital debut as winner of the Artist International auditions. She recorded the songs of Jake Heggie with American soprano Regina Zona, released in 2014 on the NAXOS label. With her great interest in new music, Kathleen has premiered countless works, many written for her. Before leaving South Africa for New York, Kathleen completed her studies at the University of Cape Town, followed by graduate degrees from Mannes College of Music and the Manhattan School of Music in New York, which awarded her the Helen Cohn Award as the outstanding Doctoral graduate, and where she taught for four years. In South Africa, Kathleen received awards from the Ernst Oppenheimer Memorial Trust, National Arts Council and the Jules Kramer and Harry Crossley Awards, the Oude Meeste Prize, and top prizes at the SAMRO, Adcock Ingram and Hennie Joubert Piano Competitions. In New York she garnered awards from the Andrew W Mellon Foundation and the New York Performing Arts Foundation. In 2014 she was appointed to the faculty of SongFest in Los Angeles. She also has a long-standing collaboration with South African singer Zanne Stapelberg, with whom she recently released the album Soul of Fire, based on the show of the same name that received acclaim across South Africa. They launched a new entirely Afrikaans show, Spieël Speel, in 2013, featuring all-new original songs with lyrics by leading South African luminaries. Music from Soul of Fire was also used on Deon Meyer’s new film, Die Laaste Tango, and Kathleen’s arrangement and performance were featured on the soundtrack, released on Gallo Records. Recent performances include her and Sophie Jaff’s songs at Lincoln Center, performances and workshops in India and USA with the Sabina Rakcheyeva Ensemble, and the release of the group's debut album in London, and Allora and Calzadilla’s critically acclaimed “Stop, Prepare, Repair” at New York’s Gladstone Gallery. She recorded for the Broadway Lullabies Project and performed at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre at the launch in 2012. She has been heard live on South African TV and radio and recently performed a live broadcast recital with duo partner, Grammy-nominated clarinetist David Krakauer, for WGBH, Boston’s classical radio station. Her musical “Erika’s Wall’, created with Sophie Jaff, received its premiere run in Chicago in 2010 by The Music Theater Company, and she was named a fellow of the Dramatist Guild of America for 2014-15.