Seattle harp and guitar duo March to May come out with their new album Through the Night on April 21. The "folk-tinged" duo featuring Beth Wesche on harp and Darren Guyaz on guitar got its start in 2012 and shortly after released their critically acclaimed Water's...
Duo Scorpio is back in the news with the release of their new album Two Bridges on the American Modern Recordings label. The new project features entirely original compositions for harp duo by composers Andy Akiho, Ferdinando DeSena, Christopher Dietz, Nico Muhly,...
Are you getting excited for the upcoming World Harp Congress in Hong Kong? Whether you're planning to attend in person or follow along vicariously with our updates on harpcolumn.com, we know you probably want to hear more about the harp world's biggest extravaganza!!...
Vancouver harpist Elisa Thorn came onto our radar when we noticed a writeup about her a few weeks ago in the Vancouver Sun. Thorn has just released "Hue," an improvisational recording based on the paintings of her father, Bruce Thorn. Thorn was drawn to creative...
Unless you've been living under a rock—or spending too much time practicing— you've probably heard of the rock band Florence and the Machine. And if you have any interest at all in the harp (which you probably do or you wouldn't be here at Harp Column), you may have...
As harpist with the The United States Army Band "Pershing's Own," Staff Sergeant Nadia Pessoa's harp life surely qualifies as one of the most interesting and diverse you will encounter. At first glance her job may seem like that of any other freelancer playing for...
Anyone who follows harp competitions will recognize the name Emily Mitchell from her first prize win at the 7th International Harp Contest in Israel. Since then, Mitchell has concertized throughout the world, as well as having an active career as a studio musician,...
What's a freelance harpist with a calendar full of teaching, performing, and freelancing through the N.Y.C. region do with extra time on their hands? The answer—if you're Diane Michaels—is to write that novel you've always dreamed of. And what better topic for a...
Northern Ireland singer Gerard Carroll is the first to admit that taking up the harp started out as only a hobby. But now that his "Shut up and Dance" video has gone viral—gaining the attention of Mashable, Belfast Telegraph, and others—Carroll says he may "take...
If you're on Facebook and you're a harpist, chances are pretty good you caught a glimpse of British harpist Oliver Wass in his video performance of Manuel de Falla's "Spanish Dance" posted two weeks ago by Classic FM radio. The socks. The red socks! Who among us...
Harpist Hannah Lash has also been composing music since she "was really tiny," says the Cleveland Institute of Music/Harvard trained/now professor of composition at Yale University School of Music. If that sounds like a run-on sentence, it's only because it's pretty...
It should come as no surprise to anyone when I point out that harpists comprise a rather—shall we say—un-diverse segment of the population. Let's call it like it is: at least in the U.S. and Europe, harpists tend to be white, and more often than not, women. Of course...
We harpists love to complain about bad harp writing, but how many of us are really willing to do something about it? Enter Olivia Jageurs, who on February 1 launched the 15 Second Harp project. In her introductory video (above) Jageurs promises to record and post to...
What do Uma Thurman, Iggy Pop, Philip Glass, and Lavinia Meijer have in common? They will all be featured artists at the 2016 Tibet House Benefit Concert on Monday, Feb. 22 at Carnegie Hall. It's not often that a classical harpist gets invited to share the stage with...
The holidays are over and now it's time to get back to work. But for harpists January can mean little work and lots of down time. So what better time to tackle those harp projects you've been putting off? Maybe you've got a list as long as your arm, or maybe you're...
Hashtag, #dreamgigs. That's pretty much the only way to describe New York harpist Katy Wong's recent experience as a backup musician for pop superstar Katy Perry at New York Fashion Week. Even spin.com took note of the harp on stage. Check out their video to hear Wong...
This season has ushered in many new harp CD releases. A few we're particularly excited about: "French Reflections," Sivan Magen's new disc for Linn Records, includes quintessential staples of the French harp repertoire such as Tournier's Sonatine,...
The world was mesmerized a few weeks ago with Emilie & Ogden's cover of Taylor Swift's "Style." We wanted to find out more about Emilie Khan, the harpist behind the music. Here's what she had to say… So, overnight you have become an internet sensation. Tell us...
The Midwest Harp Festival is in full swing this week at The University of Tulsa's Lorton Performance Center. The annual event—now in its 16th year—grew from a local gathering put together by Lorelei Barton, who continues to serve as the festival's director. We caught...
Harpists are abuzz with talk of the recent Metropolitan Opera Orchestra audition, where Emmanuel Ceysson emerged victorious to fill the Principal Harpist vacancy left by the late Deborah Hoffman. Between winning a dream gig and releasing a new CD, it's been quite a...
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