On March 29, Anneleen Lenaerts released her sixth album, highlighting the works of Nino Rota and featuring Emmanuel Pahud on flute and Adrien Perruchon conducting the Brussels Philharmonic. In addition to Rota’s harp concerto, the Sarabanda e Toccata, and his flute...
2019 Lyon & Healy Award winners announced
On March 16, Anya Garipoli, Claire Thai, and Noël Wan were chosen as the three winners in the 2019 Lyon & Healy Awards in Chicago. With 54 competitors performing Jacques de la Presle’s Le Jardin Mouillé and Nino Rota’s Sarabanda e Toccata, the competition spanned...
Harp Column Podcast Episode 46
Welcome to Harp Column Podcasts, where we go behind the stories in Harp Column with host Kristina Finch. In this episode, Harp Column founder Kimberly Rowe catches up with Vienna Philharmonic harpist Anneleen Lenaerts, who we featured in our May-June 2015 issue....
Arizona State University and Mesa harp program announce partnership
The Arizona State University School of Music and the Mesa Public Schools Harp Program have announced a new partnership offering unique opportunities for a graduate student majoring in harp performance. In addition to performance opportunities in solo, chamber, and...
Israel harp contest announces 2021 repertoire
The International Harp Contest in Israel announced the repertoire for its 21st competition, scheduled to take place Oct. 4–14, 2021, in Akko. The event, which is held every three years, hosted its 20th contest in October 2018, with Lenka Petrovic (Serbia) winning...
Harp Column Podcast Episode 44
Welcome to Harp Column Podcasts, where we go behind the stories in Harp Column with your host Kristina Finch. In this episode, Kristina talks with Kela Walton, author of What Makes a Musical Role Model from our November-December 2018 issue. We also hear from 20th...
Grace Roepke wins Minnesota Orchestra concerto competition
The Friends of the Minnesota Orchestra named harpist Grace Roepke the grand prize winner in its 60th Young Artists Competition, held Jan. 20 in the Twin Cities. With a cash prize totaling $8,500, Roepke was also awarded a concerto performance with the Minnesota...
Angelica Hairston and Elizabeth Steiner selected for SphinxLEAD
Harpists Angelica Hairston and Elizabeth Steiner will be participants in the Sphinx Organization’s inaugural program, SphinxLEAD. Created to empower arts leaders of color in the United States, the program offers a membership network, a year–round curriculum, and...
Sidsel Walstad releases debut album
Sidsel Walstad released her debut album, Sidsel, on Oct. 12, 2018. An experimental record, the album features Walstad on electric harp, Arild Torvik on percussion, and Marcus Lewin on drums. “I am a classical harpist who has always listened to pop music,” says...
Mallory McHenry named young artist with Performance Today
Mallory McHenry was recently named a young artist with American Public Media’s program, Performance Today. Broadcast on nearly 300 public radio stations across the country, Performance Today reaches approximately 1.4 million listeners per week and focuses on “the...
2019 Guide to Spring Harp Festivals
2019 has arrived, so it's time to make good on those harp resolutions. These upcoming festivals are sure to inspire, chock full of performers and clinicians with music to play and wisdom to share. With programs geared towards harpists interested in jazz, pop, folk,...
2019 Suoni d’Arpa Competition Announced
The Italian Harp Association has announced details regarding their ninth international harp competition, “Suoni d’Arpa.” To be held in the medieval town of Saluzzo, Italy, the 2019 contest will take place Aug. 30 – Sept. 4 at the Fondazione Scuola di Alto...
Top 10 #practicalharpist Instagrams of 2018
With harpists everywhere using Instagram to share their musical journeys, our @harpcolumn feed is filled with incredible #practicalharpist shots. Every day this year, we were inspired by photos featuring creative angles, fantastic practice videos, gorgeous venues, and...
30 Day Practice Challenge 2019
30 Day Practice Challenge 2019 30 Days in France! The 30 Day Practice Challenge is back and better than ever! This year we’re focusing on harp music and technique tips from the great French masters. The rules are simple: Pick a piece from one of the three great French...
Uno Vesje wins 2018 USA IHC Composition Contest
The USA International Harp Competition announced that Uno Vesje is the winner of the 2018 composition contest. As part of their mission to expand harp repertoire, the sixth contest received 90 applications by composers from 33 countries. Other finalists include...
DownBeat magazine interviews Alina Bzhezhinska
Ukrainian–Polish harpist Alina Bzhezhinska was interviewed in DownBeat, following the release of her debut album, Inspiration, in June. The album is a tribute to Alice Coltrane, a mix of favorites from the Alice and John Coltrane songbooks and Bzhezhinska’s original...
Remembering Josef Molnar (1929–2018)
—by Sasha Boldachev “It is painful for all the harpists to lose the father of our Japanese harp world. He came to Japan over 60 years ago and started the story of the harp, one could say. How innumerable much he has done for us, one could not express with the words. I...
Kyunghee Kim–Sutre appointed harp professor at new Tianjin Juilliard School
Kyunghee Kim–Sutre has been appointed harp faculty at the newly created Tianjin Juilliard School, opening in China in fall 2019. “It is such an honor to be part of the inaugural faculty at such an institution,” Kim–Sutre says. “The TJS will be a comprehensive,...
Floraleda Sacchi wins Latin Grammy Award
On Nov. 15, 2018, harpist Floraleda Sacchi, alongside composer Claudia Montero and producer José Domenech, won a Latin Grammy Award for their classical album, Magica y Misteriosa. Recorded in March 2018 with the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, the album...
Renée Murphy takes home top prize in 2018 Nippon Harp Competition
Following the 30th Nippon Harp Competition, Renée Murphy has been awarded the top prize. “I am truly honored to have won,” Murphy says. “It was especially meaningful for me to compete and perform in Japan because I am half–Japanese and consider Japan my home.” The...