Solent Symphony Orchestra

Conductor - Steve Tanner                Leader - Kirstie Robertson

  Karen Kingsley studied piano with Jean Harvey and piano accompaniment with David Willison at the Royal Academy of Music , gaining prizes and commendations for both solo and ensemble performances. Enjoyable highlights from her time at the RAM include playing the Gershwin Concerto and the Shostakovich Second Concerto, both of which Karen later played with the SSO. Other Concerto performances include works by Beethoven, Chopin, Gerhardt, Grieg, Haydn, Mozart, Poulenc ( again, thanks to SSO!), Rachmaninov, Rubinstein and Saint-Saens. In the sphere of contemporary music, Karen joined Rob Blanken and Steve Tanner for the premiere of John Webber’s Triple Concerto with the Portsmouth New Music Orchestra, and gave the world premiere of the Concerto for Piano and Wind by Paul Carr. 

  Karen loves chamber music, and has joined the Anemos Wind Quintet on several occasions to perform quintets and sextets by Mozart, Poulenc and others. She is a member of the Monington Duo with clarinettist Rob Blanken, their repertoire numbering over 200 works, several of which have been composed especially for them. With bassoonist Richard Moore, they gave the world premiere of Three Humours by Antony Hedges as part of Radio 3’s Light Fantastic Festival. 

  Karen is a busy accompanist, playing for numerous festivals, masterclasses and summer schools. She also accompanies students at Chichester and Southampton Universities for their degree recitals. 

Karen Kingsley

Our soloist for the Fauré Ballade for Piano and Orchestra on 14 July 2024