The Fort Smith (Ark.) Symphony has appointed Emily Duncan principal harp. Duncan began her position in 2023 and recorded The Music of Louis Wayne Ballard with the Fort Smith Symphony; the album of world premiere recordings was released on NAXOS later that year. “The Fort Smith Symphony is a gem of an ensemble, and I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity to perform with such kind, welcoming musicians in my home state of Arkansas,” Duncan says. She has also performed with the Oklahoma City Community Orchestras, the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra, the Akron Symphony, the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas, and the Oklahoma City (OKC) Philharmonic.
In 2022, Duncan was appointed Adjunct Instructor of Harp at Oklahoma City University, where she is also the Senior Administrative Assistant for the Wanda L. Bass School of Music and the School of Theatre. Duncan also maintains a private harp studio.
Duncan completed her undergraduate studies at Oklahoma City University summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Music in Harp Performance, and graduated with her Master of Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music under the tutelage of Yolanda Kondonassis. Duncan won first prize in the LMC Zachritz Harp Competition in 2020, and made her solo debut with the Oklahoma City Sinfonia with a world premiere of Smetana’s Die Moldau transcribed for harp and orchestra. In 2022, she was awarded the Alice Chalifoux Prize in Harp from the Cleveland Institute of Music.
