Kimberley Steele

Diploma in Kodály Music Education (Advanced Choral Conducting, Hungary)

Master of Teaching (Secondary, Armidale)

Kodály Primary Levels 1 & 2 (Brisbane)

Graduate Diploma in Music (Accompaniment, Sydney)

Bachelor of Music (1st Class Honours in Piano Performance, Canberra)

LMusA (Flute, Melbourne)

Vibrant pianist and educator Kimberley Steele (née Michael) is a musically sensitive, virtuosic and energetic solo and collaborative artist. Graduate of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Hungary, Kimberley believes that everyone has the right to access high quality music and her dual career goals are to make music for herself and to facilitate musical expression in others. She has felt and seen the impact that music can have on individuals and groups whether they be consumers, hobbyists or professional musicians.

Having graduated with first class honours and as Margaret Smiles Accompaniment Competition winner from The Australian National University, Kimberley went on to be awarded the Geoffrey Parsons Australian Scholarship during post-graduate studies at Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Drawn to collaborative pianism, she was subsequently appointed Head of Accompaniment at the Conservatorium High School and here she relished both performing alongside and teaching young talent. During her time in Sydney, Kimberley worked with numerous musical organisations including Sydney Philharmonia and Sydney Sinfonia.

In her quest to do it all (sometimes a challenge for family life!) since returning to Canberra in 2012 Kimberley has lectured in Creative Arts Education at the Australian Catholic University and accompanied tertiary students at the Australian National University in addition to freelancing as a pianist, teacher, conductor and guest lecturer. She was artistic director of Strange Weather Gospel Choir from 2014-2016 and of Woden Valley Youth Choir from 2017-2018 in addition to classroom and choral music specialist at various catholic and public schools in the ACT. Her programs build musical skills and the joy of music-making, underpinned by Kodály’s musical philosophy and recently enriched by a year of living in Hungary.

She has recorded and premiered works by contemporary Australian composers including James Madsen and Daniel Brinsmead. From 2014-2017 she was founder of and pianist in the foray quintet, a fresh, elite chamber ensemble consisting of pianist and four string players that toured rare and beautiful music a couple of times per year across NSW, ACT and Victoria. Their repertoire included both of Fauré's Piano Quintets, Pejačević Piano Quintet, Bacewicz Piano Quintet No. 2, Shostakovich Piano Quintet and Korngold Quintet.

Kimberley is trained to a high level in flute performance and can play some (dodgy) intermediate level viola in a Suzuki style. She has accompanied at all the major Sydney region competitions and also worked as a repetiteur for private studios. Her performances have been broadcast on 2MBS FM, ABC Canberra and ArtSound FM, as well as being featured by the NSW Accompanists’ Guild.

In and around Canberra, Kimberley has performed (pianist and conductor) with notable artists and ensembles including David Pereira, Anneliese McGee-Collett and Anna Murakawa (strings), Louise Page and Alexander Knight (voices), National Capital Orchestra, Voices in the Forest Orchestra, Canberra Choral Society, Kompactus Youth Chorus and Luminescence Chamber Singers. Recently she has enjoyed presenting workshops for A Gender Agenda and Kodály ACT and she looks forward to continuing this work. She returned from living in Europe in July 2019 and wants to continue teaching and freelancing in Australia in the future.

For more information on upcoming events please see Kimberley's blog or contact pianist@kimberleysteele.com.