The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance has appointed Yolanda Kondonassis to join the department of strings faculty as director of the harp studio, starting this fall. Kondonassis will assume leadership of the harp studio upon the retirement of...
Electric harpist Abbie Palmer recently self-released her fifth album, featuring her original music and self-produced electronics in the style of electronic dance music (EDM). Palmer is joined by guest musicians Jonathan Moorman (fiddle) and Arden Moscati (voice). The...
Ema Pereira and Rita Campos, harpists and harp teachers based in Portugal, have recently published Eu ❤️ Harpa (I Love Harp), a pedagogical harp manual originally published in Portuguese and now available in a Spanish translation (Yo ❤️ Arpa). Pereira and Campos say...
The American Harp Society (AHS) is seeking a new full-time executive director, following its announcement that current executive director Kathy McManus is planning to retire as of December 31, 2026. McManus, who served in the AHS for nearly 11 years, says she is...
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...
The video round presentations from the second round of the World Harp Competition will premiere on the Dutch Harp Festival’s YouTube channel on Saturday, January 24th, at 2 p.m. Amsterdam time (GMT+1). Following the initial elimination round, more than two dozen...
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...
The 45th Edinburgh International Harp Festival (EIHF) will take place April 10–14 at George Watson’s College, Edinburgh. Welsh harpist Catrin Finch, U.K.-based harpist and YouTube artist Amy Turk, jazz harpist Park Stickney, and Paraguayan harpist Juanjo Corbalán will...
The Somerset Folk Harp Festival 2026 will take place July 16–19 and will be held in person at The Westin Princeton at Forrestal Village in Princeton, New Jersey, and online with synchronous Zoom sessions. Presenters will include: Kathy DeAngelo, former director of the...
In their debut collaboration, New York-based artists Zeena Parkins and Cecilia Lopez have released the new album Red Shifts, featuring two instruments they invented. Parkins plays the electric harp she designed, as well as acoustic harp and ebow piano. Lopez performs...
