Praised for her “especially fine contributions” and “standout solo work”, Eleanor Kirk is Principal Harpist with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra and Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra. She also served as acting principal harp with the Santa Fe Opera for their 2024 season, the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra for the 2022-2023 season, and with the Detroit Opera for their 2023-2024, and 2024-2025 seasons. Eleanor was principal harpist with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago from 2018-2022, and frequently performs as a guest with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and St Louis Symphony Orchestra. She looks forward to playing with the San Francisco Opera as acting principal harpist for their 2024 summer season.
Chamber music highlights from the past year include new membership with the Chicago Harp Quartet, and appearances on the Rush Hour and Dame Myra Hess concert series, which were featured on Chicago’s classical music radio station, WFMT. An active soloist, Eleanor performed concertos with the Bach Week Festival Orchestra and the Illinois Symphony Orchestra in their 2021-2022 seasons.
With degrees from Columbia University, and Chicago College of Performing Arts, Eleanor is a dedicated educator, serving as harp faculty at The Peoples Music School and the Young Artist’s Harp Seminar. Her students have received top honors at the Greater Chicago Chapter of the American Harp Society Competition, the Illinois American String Teachers Association Concerto Competition, and the Midwest Harp Festival Competition.
Eleanor is a founding member of 5th Wave Collective, a Chicago based classical music ensemble dedicated to the performance and promotion of music by womxn, where she works as development director.
Please note: Biographies are based on information provided to the CSO by the artists or their representatives. More current information may be available on websites of the artists or their management.
