Fall is my favorite season. Leaves are turning, apples are ripe for picking, and students are heading back to school. The potential a new school year holds is exciting, and across the country and around the world harpists are loading their backpacks with their music and tuning keys and heading back to campus for another year.

What’s important is not just the number of schools where you can continue your music education, but the array of options for what that education looks like.

Each fall Harp Column puts together a directory of all the college-level harp programs available in the U.S., as well as a few in Canada and Europe. While it’s not a comprehensive list (the listings are voluntarily submitted by schools), it is extensive. This year more than 130 schools are included in the directory (see “Higher Ed Harp Programs” on pg. 32). Think about that for a moment—there are more than 130 colleges, universities, conservatories, and community colleges where harpists can continue their studies after high school. That is a far cry from just a few generations ago, when just a handful of conservatories and major music schools offered harp programs. 

Few things irk young people more than older people telling them how different things were when they were kids. But it’s hard not to point out the proliferation of college harp programs in the last few decades. (Cue the Gen Z eye rolls.) Today’s students have a plethora of options to pursue their harp studies. What’s important is not just the number of schools where you can continue your music education, but the array of options for what that education looks like. 

Schools tout “customized” and “personalized” programs for their students today. You can find the program that fits you, whether that is a double major in business and music at a major university, a harp minor at a liberal arts college, or harp lessons at a local community college. Of course the traditional routes of music performance degrees from conservatories and large universities are still excellent options for the students who want to immerse themselves in their craft. Even many of these traditional programs have expanded their course offerings and areas of emphasis to meet the needs of students in recent years. 

If you find all these choices overwhelming, you’re not alone. In some ways, the college decision was easier for harpists when the only choice was to major in music performance at a handful of schools with a harp teacher. Today it’s hard to know where to start. So before you peruse the 130-plus programs in our college directory, take a look at the article “Five Critical Questions about College” on pg. 28. We asked five top college harp experts to break down some harp-specific topics that often aren’t covered in your standard “how to choose a college” article. You’ll find out everything you need to know about the different types of schools and degree programs, how to choose the best one for you, and what you can do now to prepare. Our experts share valuable insights that can help students, parents, and teachers navigate the sea of choices.

One point raised many times in the article is the importance of choosing the right teacher for your college studies. “For harp studies, your entire educational experience will be shaped by your harp teacher, with whom you will have more contact than with any other faculty member,” says Cincinnati College-Conservatory harp teacher Gillian Benet Sella. It’s critical to do your research and get to know your potential college instructor. One place you can start doing your homework is in our cover interview with USA International Harp Competition winner Noël Wan (see “Wan Wins Gold” on pg. 22). On the heels of her triumph, in Bloomington, Wan begins a new teaching appointment at Florida State University this fall. In what may be a first in major international harp competitions, the top prize winner is an active college teacher (Wan previously taught in Canada at the University of Western Ontario in London). Being a reigning competition winner certainly offers a unique teaching perspective. 

Fall is not just the best season for flannel shirts and apple cider. It can also be a great time to explore the many educational opportunities the harp world holds, no matter where you find yourself in your studies. •