The Sarasota Orchestra appointed Hannah Cope Johnson as principal harpist, following three rounds of auditions May 15–16. Cope Johnson begins her first season with the orchestra in September.
Cope Johnson says preparing 14 excerpts and three solos and auditioning over two days was exhausting, but the friendly people she met made the experience enjoyable. “I got to chat with the personnel managers between rounds—they were kind and cheerful during the whole process,” she says. “After the audition concluded, I was able to meet the audition committee members. I was touched when one committee member told me that she cried when I played an excerpt from Strauss’s Death and Transfiguration in the final round. I look forward to sharing many more touching musical experiences like this with the Sarasota Orchestra musicians in my new position.”
Cope Johnson received her Master of Music and Graduate Diploma, both in harp performance, from New England Conservatory. She also holds a Bachelor of Music with a minor in business management from Brigham Young University. Cope Johnson is the winner of the 2020 American Harp Society Foundation Grandjany Memorial Competition. In addition, she won second prize at the 8th Felix Godefroid International Harp Competition this spring.
To learn more about Cope Johnson, visit her website.
