Bryony Gibson-Cornish

ATCL, BMus(Hons), MMus, ArtDip

Viola professor

Bryony Gibson-Cornish is a New Zealand born violist. Various accolades include being awarded the Tagore Gold Medal upon graduating from the Royal College of Music and studying at The Juilliard School as a Fulbright Scholar. Bryony has been teaching chamber music and assisting her former professor, Andriy Viytovych, at the Royal College of Music since 2017 and is delighted to join the distinguished Strings Faculty as a viola professor.

Bryony is the violist of the Marmen Quartet, winners of the Banff and Bordeaux International String Quartet Competitions. Their concert highlights include debuts at the BBC Proms, Berlin Philharmonie, Stockholm Konserthuset and Wigmore Hall, and biennial appearances in Amsterdam, Barcelona and Lisbon (Gulbenkian Foundation).

Since moving overseas in 2012, Bryony has returned to New Zealand for a number of performances including: as a soloist with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, to tour for Chamber Music New Zealand, as well as performing and teaching at the Akaroa International Music Festival and her alma mater, Rangi Ruru Girls’ School. Bryony has recorded Three Songs for Voice, Viola and Piano by Frank Bridge for Champs Hill with fellow New Zealander and RCM alumnus Julien Van Mellaerts and pianist James Baillieu.

She is grateful for numerous grants and scholarships, including the Countess of Munster Musical Trust and the Pettman Foundation - a full list can be found on Bryony’s website. She plays a 1932 Vincenzo Sannino Viola, Rome, Italy, and is grateful to the Loan Fund for Musical Instruments for their support.

Faculties / departments: Strings