Francesca Hurst (NC '01)

Recognized for her “quicksilver passagework” and “tender lyricism” (The Washington Post), yet not afraid to shout, swing her foot onto the piano, or don fingerless gloves if the music demands it, pianist Francesca Hurst divides her playing evenly between classical and contemporary music. 

Classically trained, she accidentally fell into the new music scene in 2013 when she stepped in last minute for a gig with Great Noise Ensemble. At ease with a wide repertoire ranging from J.S. Bach to Caroline Shaw and a passion for performing the music of living women composers, she makes sense of the music regardless of style and period. Francesca enjoys giving salon concerts in smaller venues and is dedicated to connecting with the audience. During the pandemic, she created the 100-day online series Daily Dose of Piano, which featured music from the Baroque to today, including 14 premieres.

A native of Washington, DC, Dr. Hurst was recently named to the Virginia Commission for the Arts’ Performing Artists Touring Roster. Francesca has performed nationally at such venues as the Kennedy Center, the National Gallery of Art, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC, Brookfield Place in New York, and internationally at the American Cathedral in Paris, the Young Soloists Festival in Cascais, Portugal, Villa Esposito in Salerno, Italy, and Teatro della Concordia in Monte Castello di Vibio, Italy, the “Smallest Theater in the World”.