Kirsten Agresta
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Kirsten Agresta is an American harpist based in New York City and Nashville, TN. She received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Indiana University Bloomington in Harp Performance. Agresta was Bronze Medal winner in the 1989 USA International Harp Competition.[1] She is an Affiliated Artist on the music faculty at Sarah Lawrence College.[2]
Her debut album, Dream World was released in August, 2001.
Agresta has performed as a solo artist throughout the United States, Europe, South America, Israel, Japan, and the South Pacific. She made her Carnegie Hall solo recital debut in 1998 in Weill Concert Hall, returning again by popular demand in 1999, and 2002. Agresta debuted as concerto soloist in Isaac Stern Auditorium in April, 2006 and at Lincoln Center Avery Fisher Hall in May, 2009. She has appeared in People (Magazine) and presented on NBC, CBS, and ABC-TV, MTV, Saturday Night Live, Late Night with David Letterman, "The Early Show" and the Today Show.
Commanding a wide range of genres, Agresta has collaborated with many hip hop, R&B, and pop icons, including Jay-Z, Beyoncé Knowles, Enya, Kanye West, Alicia Keys, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Nettles, Alan Jackson, Frank Ocean and The Roots. She is featured on the Erykah Badu album New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh on the hit single "Window Seat" and "Incense". She can also be heard on several tracks of electronica/producer Bonobo's album "The North Borders".
She can also be heard on numerous movie soundtracks, including "Night At The Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian", "Sex and the City 2" and "The Tempest".
Agresta had the honor of performing for U.S. President Barack Obama at the second official White House State Dinner (honoring Mexican President Felipe Calderón) with R&B icon Beyoncé. She appears on "Live at Roseland: Elements of 4", a DVD of performance with Beyoncé at Roseland Ballroom in New York City. Agresta also took the stage with Jay-Z at Carnegie Hall for two performances, benefiting the United Way and the Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation in February, 2012.
She has also privately performed for notable officials and dignitaries, such as: Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden, Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, and former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.
Agresta is a Board Member of the World Harp Congress, Voting Member of NARAS, Vice President of the American Harp Society Nashville Chapter, and a member of ASCAP.
