About Bridget

Bridget O’Leary, MM, NCTM, is an active pianist, collaborator and educator. Hailing from Raleigh, North Carolina, she maintains a strong presence there as well as in her native Kansas City. In Kansas City, she was a program coordinator of Classical Revolution KC, an organization of young musicians bringing classical music to unconventional spaces including restaurants, record stores, and street corners. She also founded KC Young Musicians Roundtable, an outreach series that helps young musicians develop their professional careers. Showcasing her versatility as a musician, she was a member of the pop orchestra My Brothers and Sisters and performed with the group at the 2015 South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas and at major festivals and venues in the Midwest. Bridget is a passionate educator, and is pioneering the virtual lesson format through online video lessons. She is also the founder of Fourscore, a classical crossover quartet bringing energetic arrangements of contemporary songs to the piano quartet ensemble. They released their first album in April. In 2018, she became a founding member of Xiphias Trio, which specializes in music for clarinet, violin and piano. Xiphias has quickly gained regional attention and was a featured ensemble at the inaugural American Single Reed Summit in October 2018. Bridget began studying piano when she was seven, and at age fourteen she gave her first public solo recital. At sixteen, she made her orchestral debut performing Saint-Saëns’ Second Piano Concerto with the Belleville Philharmonic Orchestra.

Bridget earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Missouri – Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance. While there, she was a winner in regional competitions including the Missouri Music Teachers Association and National Federation of Music Teachers, and was a winner of the 2012 university-wide concerto/aria competition. She has participated in master classes with Vladimir Feltsman, Jon Nakamatsu, and Stanislav Ioudenitch, among others. Her primary teachers include Jennifer Lim-Judd, Jane Solose, Robin Rysavy, and Scott McBride Smith.

Bridget is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM)  and serves on the board of the Raleigh Piano Teachers Association. She enjoys living in North Carolina with her husband Scott and their piano-loving cat, Maria.