Sarah Gibson was a brilliant pianist, composer and educator, and one of the brightest lights in our community. Along with pianist Thomas Kotcheff, she was half of the piano duo HOCKET, who joined Piano Spheres as a Core Artist in 2019, but she has been part of the PS family for over a decade. To say she will be missed does not encapsulate the magnitude of this tragic loss, but she will live on in our hearts and through her music forever. We will remember her warm smile, contagious laughter, joyful presence and one-of-a-kind musical voice. Our hearts are broken, and we send our love and condolences to her family, friends, colleagues, students, and all those who grieve her passing. Piano Spheres will dedicate our upcoming season to Sarah, and we are working on other ways to remember her memory and impact.
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Sarah Gibson was a Los Angeles based composer and pianist whose works drew on her breadth of experience as a collaborative performer. Her compositions reflect her deep interest in the creative process across various artistic mediums—especially from the female perspective. After living with cancer for several months, Sarah passed away peacefully on Sunday July 14 surrounded by her family and loved ones.
She received a Copland House Residency and commissions from the League of American Orchestras and the Toulmin Foundation, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Tanglewood Music Center, Aspen Summer Music Festival & School, Grossman Ensemble, and Seattle Symphony, among others.
Gibson’s music has been described as “expansive” (LA Times) and has been performed by the BBC & Los Angeles Philharmonics, Atlanta, Seattle, and New Jersey Symphonies, Jennifer Koh, Departure Duo, HOCKET, and at various venues across the United States and in Europe. As a pianist, Sarah has performed with many of these ensembles as well as with Wild Up, the Bang on a Can All-Stars, and the Atlanta Symphony where she debuted under the direction of Donald Runnicles in 2005.
Sarah was co-founder of the new music piano duo, HOCKET with pianist/composer Thomas Kotcheff, which has been lauded as “brilliant” by the LA Times’ Mark Swed, and was a core artist for the inimitable Los Angeles Series, Piano Spheres. HOCKET has held residencies at Avaloch Farm Music Institute and received grants from the Earle Brown Music Foundation and the Presser Foundation. HOCKET has performed at such festivals as the MATA Festival, the L.A. Philharmonic’s Noon to Midnight, Eighth Blackbird Creative Lab, and the Other Minds Festival.
Sarah received degrees in Piano and Composition from Indiana University and the University of Southern California. She was Assistant Director for the esteemed Los Angeles Philharmonic Composer Fellowship Program and Assistant Professor in Composition/Theory at the California State University, Long Beach Bob Cole Conservatory of Music where she also directed the New Music Ensemble.
Below are comments from some of Sarah’s friends and colleagues…
Jen Shyu
composer, vocalist, multiinstrumentalistDavid Lang
composerSarah was truly a remarkable woman of grace and passion….I was deeply honored to know her and I earnestly hope that her work will live on through performances of her music. May she rest in power.
Althea Waites
Piano Spheres Stein Resident Artist for 2024/25Katelyn Vahalla
Piano Spheres Emerging ArtistMicah O’Konis
Vera Ivanova
ComposerHugh Levick
Composer, Director Hear Now FestivalHeidi Vass
CFP MomPlease receive my warmest embrace.
In sympathy and sorrow,
Rafael Liebich
Pianist, Director, Neighborhood Music SchoolLisa Moore
pianistWith deep sympathy,
Joan Huang-Kraft
composerUpcoming concerts with for Sarah
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for Sarah
On July 14, 2024 the Piano Spheres family lost one of our own. Sarah Gibson was …
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