Timbre Cierpke, better known as Timbre, is an American musician, composer, harpist, singer and songwriter based in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. Timbre fronts her eponymous neoclassical /

baroque pop Baroque pop (sometimes called baroque rock) is a fusion genre that combines rock music with particular elements of classical music. It emerged in the mid-1960s as artists pursued a majestic, orchestral sound and is identifiable for its appropria ...

band "Timbre", which has toured throughout Europe and the US. After receiving her

Bachelor's A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ( ...

Music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

in Harp Performance from Trevecca University., Timbre's double album ''Sun & Moon'' was chosen by UNESCO's Crossings Institute as one of the most important albums of the 2010s. Timbre went on to record with

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975) is an American musician who achieved international fame as the guitarist and lead singer of the rock duo the White Stripes. As the White Stripes disbanded, he sought success with his solo career, subse ...

on his album ''Lazaretto''. In 2017, she announced on Twitter that she was on tour as part of

Karen Elson Karen Jill Elson (born 15 January 1979) is an English model, singer, and songwriter. Early life and education Elson was born in Oldham, Greater Manchester, and attended North Chadderton School as a child. She has a fraternal twin sister, film ...

's band opening for

Ryan Adams David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American Rock music, rock and Country music, country singer-songwriter. He has released 30 studio albums and three as a former member of Whiskeytown. In 2000, Adams left Whiskeytown and released ...

. Timbre is also a founder and the Music Director for SONUS choir and plays harp for the Jackson Symphony Orchestra

Early life

Timbre Cierpke was born in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

. She is the daughter of a

music professor A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

and a

choral director Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duties ...

. Timbre learned to read

musical notation Musical notation is any system used to visually represent music. Systems of notation generally represent the elements of a piece of music that are considered important for its performance in the context of a given musical tradition. The proce ...

before she learned to read letters. In an interview with the

Greensboro News & Record The ''News & Record'' is an American, English language newspaper with the largest circulation serving Guilford County, North Carolina, and the surrounding region. It is based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and produces local sections for Greensbo ...

, she said, "I remember being in church and looking at a

hymnal A hymnal or hymnary is a collection of hymns, usually in the form of a book, called a hymnbook (or hymn book). They are used in congregational singing. A hymnal may contain only hymn texts (normal for most hymnals for most centuries of Christia ...

and being able to sing the melody and making up words to go along." She played harp professionally by the age of twelve. She has said that she "grew up in the Republican suburbs of Nashville" and that she was a pacifist and an activist before she encountered anyone who thought like her.

Career

Early work

Timbre began writing and composing songs in college, "blurring the lines between classical and songwriting". She was invited to sing in

Eric Whitacre Eric Edward Whitacre (born January2, 1970) is an American composer, conductor, and speaker best known for his choral music. Early life Whitacre was born in Reno, Nevada, to Ross and Roxanne Whitacre. He studied piano intermittently as a child a ...

vocal ensemble A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

for his debut at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

in 2010. In 2011, the production of Timbre's Christmas album was fully funded on

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

. The album was released for free with a stated goal being that the music would be "able to be enjoyed by anyone no matter their economic status". In 2012, she played harp as well as consulted in choral arrangement and conducting for

Brooke Waggoner Brooke Waggoner (born May 30, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter from New Orleans, Louisiana, who resides in Nashville, Tennessee. Early life Waggoner was born in Houston, Texas, to Lewis Earl and Kris Allyn (Kulcke) Waggoner. She comes fr ...

's album, ''Originator''. She was invited to perform at Audiotree Live in Chicago in May 2013. In June 2013, the production of her double disc album Sun & Moon was fully funded through a

crowd-funding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance, to fund projects "without standard financia ...

campaign on

Indiegogo Indiegogo is an American crowdfunding website founded in 2008 by Danae Ringelmann, Slava Rubin, and Eric Schell. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, California. The site is one of the first sites to offer crowd funding. Indiegogo allows peo ...

Other work

On May 8, 2017, Timbre was invited to perform on-stage at

TEDx Talks TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...

in Nashville, Tennessee. When asked about her collaborative work during an interview for the

, Timbre has said: “I get really excited y my work with bandsbecause I get challenged ..I’m writing songs I normally wouldn't write, especially with bands like The Chariot, which is super hard-core. And I love it. I love having a song and trying to get inside of it, trying to give more life to it."

Sun and Moon Double Album (2014–2015)

HM Magazine ''HM Magazine'' is a monthly, digital and print on demand publication focusing on hard music and alternative culture of interest to Christians. It is based in Houston, Texas. Originally published as ''Heaven's Metal'', it was renamed to ''HM'' in ...

named ''Sun & Moon'' one of Eight Overlooked Albums for 2015. "Saying harpist Timbre Cierpke is underrated is a massive understatement. If you hear a harp in heavy music, it's probably from her. ..There is no doubt that Cierpke has the ability to write a mainstream chamber folk album that would rival the brilliance of

Joanna Newsom Joanna Newsom (born January 18, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. After recording and self-releasing two EPs in 2002, Newsom signed to the independent label Drag City (record label), Drag City. Her debut album, ''The Milk-Eyed ...

, but instead of choosing to please a wide audience, she creates the music she wants make". The song "Day Boy: Photogen Sees the Moon" on the Moon side, and its counterpart on Sun, "Night Girl: Nycteris Sees the Sun" are both based on an 1882 fairy tale by

George MacDonald George MacDonald (10 December 1824 – 18 September 1905) was a Scottish author, poet and Christian Congregational minister. He became a pioneering figure in the field of modern fantasy literature and the mentor of fellow-writer Lewis Carrol ...

, " The Love Story of Photogen and Nycteris". Regarding aspects of composition in the double-disc album itself, Timbre has said: "I wanted these songs to reflect each other, as the sunset and sunrise do in nature, so I connected them with a melody

palindrome A palindrome (Help:IPA/English, /ˈpæl.ɪn.droʊm/) is a word, palindromic number, number, phrase, or other sequence of symbols that reads the same backwards as forwards, such as ''madam'' or ''racecar'', the date "Twosday, 02/02/2020" and th ...

. 'Sunrise' ends with a soaring cello and violin melody. At the opening of 'Sunset' I wrote a soprano solo with the same melody, but sung backwards, note for note."

Film & Video-games

In 2020, Timbre's vocals appeared in the popular video-game

Spiritfarer ''Spiritfarer'' is an indie management sim and sandbox action game developed and published by Canadian studio Thunder Lotus Games. It was released for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Android and Stad ...

on the track What Will You Leave Behind composed by Max LL. In 2014, Timbre's work was licensed for use in

David Kassan David Jon Kassan (born February 25, 1977 in Little Rock, Arkansas) is an American painter best known for his life-size representational paintings, which combine figurative subjects with abstract backgrounds or ''trompe-l'œil'' stylings. Of th ...

's instructive art documentary, ''Painting a Life.'' Her compositional works have since been used for the film The Heart Of Man by director Eric Esau.

Guest appearances

The Rocketboys The Rocketboys is an indie rock band from Austin, Texas. History Formerly known as Homer Hiccolm & the Rocketboys, the band formed late 2005 in Abilene, Texas. The original line-up met while they were attending Abilene Christian University. Si ...

– Wellwisher *

A Hill to Die Upon A Hill To Die Upon is an American blackened death metal band from the Monmouth- Galesburg area of Illinois, formed in 2004 by the brothers Adam and R. Michael Cook. The brothers initially founded the band as hardcore project, but eventually st ...

(song "O Death", from the ''Holy Despair'' album), 2014

Critical reception

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' reviewed Timbre's Sun & Moon album as an "alt-classical, art concept album that is near impossible to categorize" and said that Timbre's vocals were "embedded in melodies and arrangements that suggest the mystery and beauty of a band such as Sigur Rós". In the same article, reviewer Mark Allberg called the work "exquisite, well worth listening to". ''Sputnik Music'' referred to the album as "like being in Rivendell, the White Lodge and freakin' Narnia all at the same time".

Musical style and influences

In an interview with the

Charleston City Paper This is a list of newspapers in South Carolina, United States. Current news publications The following is a list of current (print and web-based) news publications published in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Defunct 18th century Charlest ...

, Timbre spoke of her views on live and classical music: “I’ve always felt like there’s a deep, intrinsic connection between two musical worlds. Playing with bands is energetic and passionate hereasclassical music has depth, like a broad palette of color." She has cited classical composers as influences, as well as bands like Radiohead and Sigur Rós.

Personal life

Timbre's parents named their four children after

musical terms Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

. She has three siblings: Tenor, Treble, and Tetra. Timbre resides in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

and occasionally gives private piano, harp, and voice lessons. In the past she has been contracted to as many as four professional symphonies at a time.

Discography

Live band

* Chris Leidhecker – drums * Laura Epling – violin Past members * Mason Self – drums, glockenspiel, toy piano * Patrick Rush – cello * Camille Faulkner – violin

Collaborations

Lazaretto A lazaretto ( ), sometimes lazaret or lazarette ( ), is a quarantine station for maritime travelers. Lazarets can be ships permanently at anchor, isolated islands, or mainland buildings. In some lazarets, postal items were also disinfected, usu ...

* Lauren Daigle * Rachel Grimes * Kaleo * Coin * One Republic * Devon Gilfillian * Pvris * Cale Tyson *

MewithoutYou MewithoutYou, usually stylized as mewithoutYou, was an American rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The band consisted of Aaron Weiss (vocals), Michael Weiss and Brandon Beaver (guitars), Greg Jehanian (bass guitar), and Rickie Mazzott ...

Long Live (The Chariot album) ''Long Live'' is the fourth studio album by The Chariot, released on November 23, 2010. Writing and recording Prior to recording ''Long Live'', Matt Goldman, the producer of all of The Chariot's albums to date, contacted the group in early 2 ...

* Floating World * The Whistles & The Bells * Brooke Waggoner * Ricky Skaggs * Tom Jones * O’Brother * Anathallo * Cool Hand Luke * Seryn * Caleb Groh * Dhruv * Amanda Shires

References

External links

# Dick, Charlie (November 2016)
"Settling the Score: Claire Boling, Timbre Cierpke, and Kelly Corcoran discuss classical music in Nashville and beyond"NATIVE Magazine
Issue 23. Retrieved August 7, 2017. # Salles, Andre (December 22, 2015)
"Should I Tear My Heart Out Now: The 2015 Top 10 List"
''tm3am.com''. Retrieved August 4, 2017. #

.
Alone In My Home"
YouTube. Retrieved November 8, 2014. # Huncherick, Sean (January 6, 2016)
"Eight Overlooked Albums in 2015"
hmmagazine.com. Retrieved August 6, 2017. #
Song Premiere: Timbre – "Song of the Sun""

Utne Reader ''Utne Reader'' (also known as ''Utne''; , ) is a digital digest that collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment, generally from alternative media sources including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music, and ...

. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
"Timbre – "Song of the Sun (Mason Self remix)" (audio) (premiere)
.

. Retrieved August 10, 2015. #

https://www.ohio.com/akron/entertainment/lose-your-marbles-will-roll-into-akron ‘Lose Your Marbles’ will roll into Akron]".

Akron Beacon Journal The ''Akron Beacon Journal'' is a morning newspaper in Akron, Ohio, United States. Owned by Gannett, it is the sole daily newspaper in Akron and is distributed throughout Northeast Ohio. The paper's coverage focuses on local news. The Beacon Jo ...

. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
"Timbre to perform at Relax, It's Just Coffee"

Mansfield News Journal The ''Mansfield News Journal'' is an American daily newspaper based in Mansfield, Ohio. It serves Richland, Ashland and Crawford counties, as well as parts of Morrow, Knox and Huron counties in the north central part of the state. Histo ...

. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
"Forces of ‘Sun & Moon’ illuminate Thought Lot"The Slate Online
Retrieved November 16, 2016. #

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

. Retrieved September 1, 2011. #Hedlund, Joshua (December 2, 2011)
"Timbre: Silent Night"Indie Vision Music
Retrieved August 8, 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cierpke, Timbre American women harpists 21st-century American composers American women classical composers American accordionists American women accordionists American pianists American women pianists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Songwriters from Tennessee Singers from Nashville, Tennessee Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee Musicians from Louisville, Kentucky Songwriters from Kentucky Singers from Louisville, Kentucky