French composer and harpist Bernard Andrès died on July 14, 2026, at the age of 84. Born in 1941 in Belfort, France, Andrès discovered the harp at age 19 and studied at conservatories in Besançon and Strasbourg before entering the Paris Conservatory, where he won a...
Laurie Ellen Bolvig Buchanan of San Antonio, Texas, died on Feb. 18, 2026, at age 87. Buchanan was born in Brooklyn, New York, on Jan. 28, 1939, to Doris Hevener Bolvig and Col. Lawrence John Bolvig. She earned a degree in harp performance from the Eastman School of...
Spanish harpist Mari Lola Higueras died on March 30, 2026. She was born in Madrid on Aug. 3, 1930, to sculptor Jacinto Higueras and violinist María Dolores Domínguez Palatín. The following tribute is by Spanish harpist María Rosa Navas-Pérez: “Mari Lola Higueras was...
Irish singer-songwriter and harpist Moya Brennan died on April 13, 2026, at age 73. Born Máire Ní Bhraonáin on August 4, 1952, to her parents Leo and Máire Brennan, she grew up in the Irish-speaking Donegal Gaeltacht area of Gaoth Dobhair, Ireland. She is best known...
Harpist Arcola E. Clark passed away on Feb. 18, 2026. The following tribute is reprinted here with her family’s permission: “Born in Detroit, Michigan in 1942, [Arcola E. Clark] crossed an ocean to express her calling, and in doing so left an indelible mark on musical...
Filipino harpist Lourdes Gregorio passed away on Thursday, Jan. 22, at the age of 91. Born on Feb. 27, 1934, Gregorio was the first Filipino to obtain an artist diploma in solo courses for harp and piano from the Vienna Academy for Music and Dramatic Arts. She was a...
Polish harpist Urszula Mazurek died on Jan. 18, 2026, in Warsaw. Born September 17, 1937, in Toruń, Poland, Mazurek graduated in 1962 from her harp studies at the State Higher School of Music in Warsaw, then studied harp with Jacqueline Borot, first at the Paris...
Breton harpist Marie-Madeleine Buffandeau-Maingourd passed away on Jan. 8 at the age of 89 in Ploufragan, Brittany, France (located near Saint-Brieuc, where she lived for three decades prior to her retirement in Ploufragan). Awarded a first prize in harp and in...
Massachusetts harpist Judith “Judy” Ross passed away on Sept. 27 at the age of 83. She was born in Boston on March 8, 1942. The following tribute is reprinted here with her family’s permission: “Judith Lynne Ross [was] a beloved teacher, musician, and mentor whose...
British harpist Daphne Boden passed away June 28 after a brief illness. She was 83. Born in Surrey on January 28, 1942, Boden served the international harp community as a member of the World Harp Congress Corporation and Board of Directors. The organization posted the...
