Joanna Newsom put the harp front and center during her Dec. 8 performance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. Newsom performed "Leaving the City," a track from her new Divers album. Look for our review of the recording in the January-February 2016 issue of Harp...
Joanna Newsom Lands on Two “Best of 2015” Lists
Shout out to Joanna Newsom, who landed a spot on NPR Music's 50 Favorite Albums of 2015 for her recently released Divers recording. "How can a storyteller confront experiences that defy narrative: generation, death, the stringlike bendability of time? Newsom's songs,...
Virginia and Atlanta Harp Centers Introduce Premier Harp Strings
The Virginia and Atlanta Harp Centers have announced that they are now carrying the Premier Harp Strings line of concert tension gut harp strings. The new line is compatible with all brands of concert-tension harps, according to the company. "We always strive to offer...
Yuying Chen wins the 19th International Harp Contest in Israel
We're following the 19th International Harp Contest in Israel via our correspondent Sunita Staneslow. Check here for updates throughout the competition. Dec. 3, 2015, 11:15 p.m. Yuying Chen of China is the winner of the 19th International Harp Contest in Israel!...
19th International Harp Contest in Israel Starts Now
We're following the contest! Jump to results and updates. The 19th International Harp Contest in Israel kicks off Nov. 23 with an opening concert by Anais Gaudemard, First Prize winner of the 18th contest, held in 2012.The prestigious competition takes place every...
Anna Odell Joins Air Force Band
“Basic training, here I come!” Not an exclamation typically heard from an up-and-coming young harpist, but this is the heartfelt reaction from 26-year-old Anna Odell who won the recent audition for the Air Force Concert Band principal harp position. “I am honored to...
Andrea Mumm Appointed at UNCG
Andrea Mumm, Principal Harp with the Charlotte Symphony, is Lecturer of Harp at University of North Carolina-Greensboro following her appointment earlier in 2015. "I want to build a strong and modern harp studio," says Mumm. "My dream is to have pedagogy, technique,...
Harp Column Podcast Episode 1
Welcome to Harp Column podcasts, where we go behind the stories in Harp Column with your host Kristina Finch. In our very first podcast episode Kristina talks to Nov-Dec. 2015 issue Advice experts Destiny Muhammed and Diana Dunnavant about social media strategies for...
27th Nippon Harp Competition Names Winners
The Nippon Harp Competition has announced winners of its 27th competition, following three stages that took place Nov. 11–14, 2015. First Prize (¥300,000) went to Ritsuko Arima; Juri Saito took Second Prize (¥200,000); and Sonia Bize received Third Prize (¥100,000)....
Isabelle Moretti to Lead L’Academie Camac 2016
Camac Harps has announced plans for its second L'Academie Camac, to take place April 16–24, 2016, in the southern France town of Saint-Chamas. Isabelle Moretti will be the instructor for the week-long event, which is open to Camac clients age 18–30. Five artists will...
Hong Kong Harp Competition 2015 Winners
Hong Kong Harp Chamber held the 3rd Hong Kong Harp Competition October 23–26, 2015. The competition was sponsored by Lyon & Healy and Salvi Harps, with over 130 participants in 6 divisions. The closing concert was held October 26 at the Y Theater in Chai Wan, Hong...
10 things you don’t know about Sylvain Blassel
Sylvain Blassel—Instructor of harp at the Lyon Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique—will give the closing concert at the Princeton Harp Festival on Nov 8. Just listen to his performance of Bach's Goldberg Variations to understand why this French phenom is in...
New Issue!
The November-December 2015 issue of Harp Column has hit the stands, and we can hardly contain ourselves with excitement! Not only have we featured Kathleen Bride—one of the most renowned harp pedagogues the harp world has to offer—on our cover, but this...
Remembering Susan Allen
Susan Elizabeth Allen died on Sept. 7, 2015, at Evergreen Hospice Center in Kirkland, Wash. Allen taught harp and served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) until her retirement earlier this year. She was a native...
10 things you don’t know about Addi & Jacq
Next up in our Ten Things series: Addi & Jacq. While you might already know a little bit about this N.Y.C. harp and vocal duo from the other stories we've run on them recently, we figured it wouldn't hurt to ask them a few more questions. They perform on Saturday,...
Remembering Olga Erdely
Olga Erdely April 1, 1927 - October 2, 2015 Olga Erdely, Russia's foremost harpist and Moscow Conservatory Professor for 45 years, died on October 2, 2015, at the age of 88. A funeral service was held at the Small Hall of the Moscow Conservatory on October 5. Erdely...
10 things you don’t know about Noa Kageyama
It's not often we feature a non-harpist on harpcolumn.com, but we simply couldn't resist the chance to find out 10 things about Bulletproof Musician blogger Noa Kageyama. Noa will speak at the Princeton Harp Festival on Nov. 7. How do you keep...
Grace Browning named Santa Fe Opera principal harpist
Grace Browning is the new principal harpist with the Santa Fe Opera summer festival, following the departure of Emily Levin, who recently won the principal harp position with the Dallas Symphony. Browning will fill the vacancy left by Danis Kelly, who announced her...
USAIHC Seeks Former Participants
The USA International Harp Competition is asking former participants to share their experiences to be included in a tribute to Susann McDonald, the competition's founder and Artistic Director. The tribute will take place during the 2016 competition, June 8–18, in...
10 things you don’t know about François Pernel
Harp Column's Ten Things series is back! This time we're catching up with some of the featured artists who'll be appearing at the Princeton Harp Festival in just four weeks. First up, from France, François Pernel, scheduled to perform at the festival's opening concert...




















