The USA International Harp Competition (USAIHC) is presenting a gala concert featuring three laureates of the competition—Elizabeth Hainen, Agnès Clément, and Dan Yu—as well as guest artist Joshua Bell. The concert will first stream on Mandolin.com on Wednesday, May 11, at 7 p.m. ET and then is available for extended replay on demand May 11–16. Featuring music by Posse, Chopin, Puccini, Couperin, Liszt, Fauré and Chen, the gala concert benefits the 12th Competition, taking place June 29–July 9 in Bloomington, Indiana.
Elizabeth Hainen (USA) won the silver medal in the inaugural USAIHC in 1989 and is the principal harpist of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Hainen was recently featured in the world premiere audio and video recording of Tan Dun’s Nu Shu: Secret Songs of Women with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Agnès Clément won the gold medal in the 8th USAIHC in 2010 and is currently the solo harpist at the Symphony Orchestra of the Royal Opera La Monnaie in Brussels. Clément has performed all over the world, and teaches at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in Brussels.
Dan Yu was the gold medalist of the 5th USAIHC in 2001. A performer and teacher, Yu is currently the music director of the Hong Kong Harp Chamber.
With a career spanning almost four decades, Grammy award-winning violinist Joshua Bell maintains engagements as soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, conductor, and music director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Bell performs with Hainen in works by Chopin and Puccini, arranged for solo violin, harp and string quartet.
Founded in 1989 by Susann McDonald, Professor Emerita of Harp at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, the USAIHC is held in Bloomington, Indiana, every three years. For more information, visit the USAIHC website.
