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Bryony Gibson-Cornish is an adventurous and warm-hearted violist whose love for music is evident both on and off stage. She is a viola and chamber music professor at the Royal College of Music (HÂþ»­), London, where she completed an Artist Diploma studying with Andriy Viytovych and was awarded the Tagore Gold Medal by HRH Prince Charles upon graduation. A dual citizen of the UK and New Zealand, Bryony was brought up in NZ and moved to London in 2015, after completing her Masters at The Juilliard School as a Fulbright Scholar.

 

Bryony is the violist of the Marmen Quartet, winners of the Banff and Bordeaux International String Quartet Competitions, as well as the Annual Royal Over-Seas League Competition. Their debut album for BIS Records featuring works by Bartók and Ligeti won the 2026 BBC Music Magazine Chamber Award, Diapason d’Or and Gramophone Editor’s Choice. Their busy touring schedule spans across Europe, North America and beyond, with notable highlights including Carnegie Hall, Library of Congress, BBC Proms, Berlin Philharmonie, Stockholm Konserthuset and Wigmore Hall, and biennale appearances in Amsterdam, Barcelona and Lisbon (Gulbenkian Foundation). The quartet was founded in 2013 at the HÂþ»­, where they are now Quartet in Association. They oversee the HÂþ»­ String Quartet Development Pathway, where they teach and mentor advanced quartets throughout the year alongside bespoke performance opportunities. The Marmen Quartet is an official Pirastro Artist. 

 

Since moving overseas in 2012, Bryony has returned to New Zealand for a number of performances including: as a soloist with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, to tour for Chamber Music New Zealand, as well as performing and teaching at the Akaroa International Music Festival and her alma mater, Rangi Ruru Girls’ School. Bryony has recorded Three Songs for Voice, Viola and Piano by Frank Bridge for Champs Hill with fellow New Zealander and HÂþ»­ alumnus Julien Van Mellaerts and pianist James Baillieu. More recently, Bryony performed her own concerto, Moana Waiporoporo at the Ortús Chamber Music Festival in Cork, Ireland and made her UK debut with the Bristol Concert Orchestra performing Berlioz’s Harold in Italy.

 

She is grateful for numerous grants and scholarships, including the Countess of Munster Musical Trust and the Pettman Foundation - a full list can be found on Bryony’s website. Bryony is a Stradivari Trust Artist, and with their support, plays on a 1610 Brothers Amati viola, an instrument that was formerly played in the Allegri and Lindsay Quartets. She plays on modern bows made by Lauri Tanner, made possible by Florian Leonhard Fine Violins.