"...this is a superbly turned out artist, a performer broaching scant detour between conception and delivery, and a musician of such grand endowment and  unsparing discipline...with which she honored her natural gift and therefore the music she plays and the public she plays to… "     
– New York Concert Review, Carnegie Hall Debut Recital

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South African-born pianist, composer and producer Kathleen Tagg, praised for her combining of "outstanding technique with deep musicality", has been based in New York since 2001. She has performed on four continents in leading venues such as Carnegie Hall, had her original music performed 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, Universal, 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, when she was described by critics as “a superbly turned out artist, a performer broaching scant detour between conception and delivery, and a musician of such grand endowment” (NY Concert Review). Since then she has appeared frequently at consulates and cultural organizations across the United States, and has performed live on WQXR New York and WGBH Boston. Known for her explorations in sound color, whether in virtuosic standard repertoire or her own creations exploding the sound of the piano from the inside out using extended techniques, she crosses boundaries seamlessly.  In 2014 she released a recording of the songs of Jake Heggie with American soprano Regina Zona on the NAXOS label, and is currently recording a new electro-acoustic project, Breath and Hammer, with her duo partner, Grammy-nominated clarinetist David Krakauer.

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Recent performances include her and Sophie Jaff’s Orchestrated Songs at Lincoln Center in New York, performances and workshops in India and USA with the Sabina Rakcheyeva Ensemble, and the release of the group's debut album, and Allora and Calzadilla’s critically acclaimed Stop, Prepare, Repair at New York’s Gladstone Gallery. She recorded the music of Pulitzer prizewinner Tom Kitt for the Broadway Lullabies Project, and performed on Broadway at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre at the launch in 2012. She launched a new project with South African jazz pianist Andre Petersen in July 2015 with a multi-city tour of South Africa. The project aims to reimagine the idea of what a piano duo sounds like, creating completely new arrangements of South African jazz standards, original tunes and traditional melodies using extended techniques and virtuosic writing.  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 in 2014/15.

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