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...
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 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 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 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,...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
—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 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,...
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...
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...
The 2nd Zagreb Harp Competition was held Nov. 16–18, 2018 as part of the 6th Zagreb Harp Festival in Croatia. In the top division, no first prize winner was named, but Joana Téllez of Mexico was awarded second prize, and Balam Ramos (Mexico) and Katarina Stanković...
Angela Schwarzkopf has been appointed harp professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. “I am really pleased to be the new harp instructor at McMaster University,” says Schwarzkopf. With plans to grow the harp department, Schwarzkopf started teaching in...
Mary Brigid Roman recently celebrated 50 years as harp professor at Florida State University. To commemorate the event, students past and present came together on Oct. 8 to perform a recital in her honor at Lindsay Hall and attend a tea–themed reception following the...
Woo Chin (Woojin) Lee of Korea takes home the top prize at the fourth Hong Kong International Harp Competition, with Adam Phan (USA) and Jasmine Shek (Hong Kong) winning silver and bronze respectively. An impressive 173 harpists competed in live rounds that took place...
Gwyneth Wentink was named harp professor at Codarts University for the Arts in Rotterdam, Netherlands. “I am extremely excited to be appointed at Codarts. It is an honor to be part of the lineage of harpists that have inspired so many musicians over decades, including...
Ida Aubert Bang was recently named principal harpist with the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet. Since Aug. 2017, Aubert Bang has held the position of acting principal harpist with the orchestra, but she will officially begin her tenure in early 2019. “The opera...
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