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Get the quick stats and Public Record on the schools featured in this article, and find out how they get all those harps! Plus, read about some High Profile Alumni.

Every day in classrooms around the United States, kids sit at desks and learn their reading, writing, and arithmetic. But for some lucky students, each day also includes class time sitting at the harp, learning to play an instrument usually reserved for private study. These students aren’t at elite prep schools or expensive after-school programs. They are enrolled in public schools where a harp class is part of their daily curriculum. We took a peek inside some of these classrooms to see what goes into building and sustaining a public school harp program. The six we looked at differ in how they are structured, their size, and their history, yet the teachers share similar goals and face many of the same challenges.

Cass Technical High School
Detroit, Mich.

In its 93rd year, the harp program at Cass Technical High School, referred to as Cass Tech by Detroiters, is the oldest public school harp program in the country. Lydia Cleaver, now in her 12th year teaching at Cass Tech, is the latest in a line of devoted harp pedagogues and distinguished alumni to direct the program. Her predecessor, Patricia Terry-Ross—a fellow Cass Tech alumna, led the program for 31 years and succeeded her teacher Velma Froude, an alumna herself, who began teaching at Cass Tech in the late 1920s.

So how did it all start? In 1925 the music department head Clarence Byrn thought that Cass Tech should offer students the opportunity to study every instrument, and invited Laurietta Kink to be the first harp teacher. Byrn and the Detroit Public Schools’ administration was ahead of its time in its vision, because this was before specialized curriculum or magnet schools for the arts were common in the U.S. In fact the program at Cass Tech predates the founding of the Interlochen Arts Academy, Arts High School in Newark, N.J., and the High School of Music and Art in New York—three of the country’s oldest and best known secondary schools for the arts.

Cleaver, a certified teacher in the state of Michigan, sees her students every day for 50 minutes in a group instruction setting in the harp classroom. Her harp classes vary in size from six to 17 students. Most of her students have very limited music education prior to attending Cass Tech, and none have a harp at home. It is a public school, but students take an exam and apply to attend Cass Tech. Upon acceptance to Cass Tech, students choose a curriculum (like choosing a major) for their studies; some of the harp students in Cleaver’s classes are in the music curriculum (major) and others are not. Most of the harp classes are filled with beginners. Students can start harp in any grade. Cleaver also teaches classes for students with at least a year of harp experience, as well as a theory class, and directs the Cass Tech Harp and Vocal Ensemble, the program’s premiere performance ensemble.

The Harp and Vocal Ensemble is a SSA choir accompanied by a harp trio comprised of Cleaver and two harp students. Cleaver directs the entire ensemble while playing from the center harp. The instrumentation is unique, and most of the pieces the Harp and Vocal Ensemble performs were written or arranged specifically for this group by Cleaver, former harp teachers Velma Froude and Terry-Ross, and former Cass harp student Maurice Draughn. “[The harp program at Cass Tech] really has been seen as a jewel of our school district,” Cleaver says. The program’s reputation has served to help maintain their place in the community and the school district, as “a shining example of something different, renowned, and excellent.” Cleaver makes sure the students know they are part of something special and unique with a long history, and for many of her students the harp helps them find their niche in a large school with over 2,000 students.

Cicely Tyson School of Performing  and Fine Arts
East Orange, N.J.

Robbin Gordon-Cartier began her teaching career as the vocal and general music teacher at the Roosevelt School in Elizabeth, N.J. She would accompany her choirs on harp and started giving a few lessons for interested students, which turned into a full-fledged harp program. A few years later in 1996, Gordon-Cartier was invited to start the harp program at the Cicely Tyson School in East Orange, N.J. She teaches five classes a day, and her position is unique at Cicely Tyson in that she teaches classes at both the middle school and high school levels. Students audition to attend the school in fifth or eighth grade and declare a major area of study. Students with no prior harp experience can audition for the harp program. Gordon-Cartier describes the audition as evaluation based on tonal memory through singing, rhythmic memory, and an interview process. Harp students meet every day for group instruction on both solo and ensemble repertoire in the harp room. The harp classes vary in size with a maximum class size of 16 students. Some students who express a desire to practice more are allowed to take school harps home for additional practice. Middle school students study mostly ensemble repertoire and basic music fundamentals in class. “As the students progress into high school they play more and more solo repertoire,” Gordon-Cartier explains.

Ever the innovative teacher, Gordon-Carter constantly strives to find new ways to keep her students engaged and excited about the harp. This fall she and harpist Deborah Henson-Conant collaborated to create the DHC Challenge, where all 41 harp students at Cicely Tyson learned one of Henson-Conant’s works for solo harp and orchestra. Gordon-Cartier arranged harp ensemble versions of three of Henson-Conant’s works including Baroque Flamenco, and students were assigned a piece to learn that best matched each individual student’s musical goals and technical development. Students received instruction from Gordon-Cartier in class and studied with Henson-Conant’s teaching videos using the classroom’s Smart Board. At the end of two months, students auditioned to win a chance to perform their concerto as a harp quartet with Gordon-Cartier. The winners performed with Gordon-Cartier and the West Shore Symphony Orchestra in concert this past November.

Gordon-Cartier does not expect everyone that goes through her program to become a harpist, but she does expect the students to work hard and to help each other. “I want the students to learn that most things are achievable if you’re willing to work,” she says.

Ector County Independent School District
Odessa, Texas

You might not think a former Army Staff Sergeant turned elementary school principal in west Texas would be a passionate advocate for the harp, but Nelson Allison dreamed of creating a harp program in Odessa, Texas, for 20 years before it became a reality. Thanks to the combined efforts of Allison and harp instructor Reba McHaney, the harp class was officially added to the course offerings at Ector Junior High in 1997, and then expanded as the students matriculated to Odessa High School in 2000. Like at Cass Tech and Cicely Tyson, the harp program at Ector County Independent School District (ISD) is a fully integrated, co-curricular program. Which, in layman’s terms, means the program has a full-time certified classroom teacher, and the students register for harp, not band or orchestra. However, students do not have to audition for the harp program in Odessa.

Vincent Pierce, now in his fifth year with the program, teaches all of the harp students at three campuses in group classes where the students study music theory, solos, and ensemble repertoire. The high school harp classes meet daily in a dedicated harp classroom. The middle school uses a rotating block schedule and students receive group instruction on alternate days in their harp classroom. The elementary program is relatively new, and Pierce sees these students two days a week. None of the students own harps, but some occasionally take harps home over breaks and weekends.

Just because his students receive instruction in a group setting and don’t regularly have a harp at home doesn’t mean they don’t practice. Pierce and his students spend class time talking about methods and strategies for independent practice on their assigned music. Pierce explains, “It is expected that students learn how to practice independently and in small groups. They often practice simultaneously in one room, in pairs, or sometimes alone.” The harp students also play on some orchestra concerts and collaborate as individuals or as an ensemble with the school’s other performing groups like band, choir, dance, and mariachi.

The program’s top performing group is the Odessa High School Harp Ensemble, which rehearses once a week after school. The OHS Harp Ensemble regularly performs for district and community events, and has also performed at the White House, the Kennedy Center, and for the military in Hawaii. Pierce acknowledges, “While it would be ideal to have all of my students play harp for ever and ever, even if they don’t, the things that they can learn aside from playing the instrument are really beneficial to them.” Pierce says he wants his students to develop good fundamentals of harp technique, self-discipline, as well as respect for themselves, their peers, and their teachers.

Frisco Independent School District
Frisco, Texas

The Frisco Independent School District (ISD) harp program is relatively new, but with 110 students, 58 harps, 18 campuses, and six teachers, it does bring to mind the saying everything is bigger in Texas. The program was the vision of the district’s director of fine arts at the time, Dr. Daryl Trent, who convinced the rapidly growing school district north of Dallas to purchase 16 harps at once. (See sidebar “How do they get all those harps?” on page 26.) In 2007 the program began with 12 lever harps, four petite pedal harps, two part-time harp teachers, and nine harp students at four middle schools. The program has grown steadily ever since.

Frisco ISD does not require a teacher certification currently for their harp directors. Harp directors are classified as paraprofessionals that work with an orchestra director, and most are full-time employees of the school district and receive benefits. Each harp director teaches all of the harp students at three or four campuses.

Students in Frisco audition to be part of the harp program at the end of fifth grade. No previous harp background is required to audition, but students must be able to read music and most have two or three years of piano experience. Once accepted, students are registered in orchestra class where they study only harp. Sixth and seventh grade harp classes meet everyday, while eighth grade and high school classes meet every other day. Students are expected to perform with their orchestra on all school concerts, as well as participate in one of the harp ensembles at the annual district-wide harp recital each year.

Each harp class has only three harp students, and they meet in a harp room adjacent to the orchestra room so students can easily move from harp class to orchestra rehearsals. Yumiko Endo Schlaffer, who has been teaching in Frisco since the program started, says having a class of three students works very well. “It is not as intimidating as a private lesson, but it is small enough that we can give a lot of individual attention to each student in our class.”

With a daily class, Schlaffer says they get into a routine pretty quickly. “We spend about the first five minutes on their theory homework, then about 10 minutes on warm-up exercises, and then the rest of the class is divided between their solos and orchestra repertoire.” Since the students are enrolled in orchestra, one of the main tenets of the program is to teach harpists how to play in orchestra. “Students learn the orchestra pieces in the harp classroom first, and then a few weeks before the concert, they go out into the orchestra room for rehearsals,” Schlaffer explains. Frisco ISD has a set harp curriculum that includes theory, exercises, and graded solos that all the instructors must follow. “We cannot spend all our time on just orchestra pieces because the students must also progress through the district harp curriculum,” she adds.

Mesa Public Schools
Mesa, Ariz.

With over 200 students, the Mesa Public Schools Harp Program in Arizona is the largest public school harp program in the country. It all began with one lever harp, one teacher, and one student at one junior high school. It was founded in 1974, under the collaborative leadership of harp teacher Karen Miller, music supervisor Ralston Pitts, and district superintendent George Smith. Currently, Charles Lynch and Karen Miller teach 248 students at 16 different campuses. The program requires all students to play another instrument in band or orchestra and maintain a level of good standing in that organization. Miller and Lynch are both certified teachers paid by the school district, but they are not the teacher of record responsible for assigning grades because the students are enrolled in band or orchestra. Miller founded and grew the program for 41 years; she retired in 2015 but recently came back to teach three days a week due to increased enrollment numbers. The program is led by the district’s full time harp specialist, Lynch, who is also an alumnus of the program.

Harp students begin in seventh or eighth grade and have a 15- or 20-minute lesson once a week during their orchestra or band class. Most receive individual lessons or are taught in pairs in small practice rooms at the schools. All of the students learn solo repertoire, and Lynch and Miller work together to ensure each student is assigned their own different solo, that not only develops technique and skills, but also suits that student’s personality. Due to the rotating block schedule and large enrollment numbers in some classes, Lynch and Miller often co-teach students, meaning the student sees Lynch one week and then Miller the next. The students also study ensemble repertoire and perform a harp part with their band or orchestra at least once a year.

“As far as practice time goes, that is the student’s responsibility,” notes Lynch. “They have to work on their communication skills with their directors and harp peers, to work out their own practice schedules during class.” This is no simple task when you consider that 115 high school students share 16 pedal harps across six high school campuses, and all the harpists also play other instruments in class as well. All of the harps stay at the schools, and the vast majority of students do not have a harp at home.

The Mesa Public Schools harp program has three district-wide honor ensembles: two high school harp ensembles, divided by upper- and lowerclassmen, and one junior high honor ensemble. Acceptance to the honor ensembles is by invitation, and all of the ensembles rehearse after school. The frequency of rehearsals and performances varies by group, and all of the ensembles perform for district and community events. The upperclassmen MPS High School Harp Ensemble requires the largest commitment, with weekly rehearsals and four full recitals each year.

As with many school harp programs, the original premise of the program in the Mesa Public Schools was to develop harpists who, by the time they reached high school, could play harp parts needed in high school orchestra or band repertoire. Lynch notes the harp program provides an added bonus. “The student’s experiences in their harp lessons also reinforce the musical skills they need on their primary instrument such as note reading, rhythm, etc.” Lynch says his goal is to develop well-rounded students who will use the things they’ve learned at the harp throughout their whole life. Like the students at Cass Tech, the students in Mesa know they are a part of an established program. “We make sure that the students are aware they are getting a unique opportunity that other people don’t get,” Lynch says. “We make sure it relates to their whole education, and we make sure they have fun.”

Urban Youth Harp Ensemble
Atlanta, Ga.

Atlanta is home to a harp program that exists because of unique collaboration between a public school and a private non-profit. The Urban Youth Harp Ensemble (UYHE) is a non-profit organization that partners with Drew Charter School, a non-selective public charter school where students apply by lottery to attend. The UYHE was the brainchild of Atlanta Public School music teacher Roselyn Lewis and Elisabeth Remy Johnson, principal harpist of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. The UYHE began in 2000 with one lever harp and two students. Today the program at Drew Charter has 78 students and two full time harp teachers: Angelica Hairston, the program’s artistic director, and her fellow teaching artist Molly O’Roark. Now retired from the Atlanta Public Schools, Roselyn Lewis remains the executive director of the UYHE, and is described by Hairston as, “the beating heart of the program.”

How does this partnership work? The UYHE owns and maintains all of the instruments and pays harp teacher salaries. Drew Charter School provides the classroom space as well as some professional development opportunities and access to the district’s substitute teacher plan. Students at Drew Charter register for harp class and receive elective course credit towards their diploma. Harp classes meet for 90 minutes on a rotating block schedule and vary in size with a maximum of 13 students per class.

With two teachers the program offers harp class every period of the day, which allows more students to find time in their schedule for harp. “Having two teachers really gives us flexibility,” Hairston explains. “Sometimes we co-teach a class, other times we may divide the students up between us or pull out a single student and work with them in the hallway if they need some individual attention.” In harp class students study solos and ensemble repertoire, as well as play theory games like Rhythm Jenga to improve their music fundamentals.

In addition to the program for students enrolled during the school day, the UYHE also offers a free after-school program for elementary students to adults at Drew Charter. The UYHE also has an after-school program at Main Street Charter Academy where Monica Hargrave is the harp instructor and Julia Blackwell, a student at Agnes Scott College and graduate of the UYHE, is the intern responsible for supervised practice.

Vision and Support

These public school harp programs are all so diverse and unique, but they share several important traits. All of these programs were founded by visionary educators who were passionate, persistent, and persuasive advocates for the program. It takes a coalition of support between the community, the school district administrators, the other fine arts teachers, and the harp teachers to create and continue a harp program. Hairston cautions, “You need authentic relationships with people in the community before you ever start a program.” The harp teachers in each of these programs directly attribute the support of their communities and district administrators to their program’s continued existence. Cleaver says that school administration and the community have to see it is both unique and excellent for a harp program to survive.

Working Together

Every program we looked at collaborates with other music and fine arts programs, both within the school and the larger community. “It can be hard to produce an entire concert by ourselves, so it is helpful to collaborate,” Pierce points out. In Frisco, Mesa, and Atlanta, multiple harp teachers work together. The students often receive instruction from multiple teachers, so it is crucial that teachers collaborate effectively. Schlaffer explains that in Frisco, “All six of us are in very tight communication throughout the year so that we all share basic understanding for what is happening at each campus, and share the same expectations among teachers.”

In situations where the harp students are playing in orchestra, Lynch stresses that collaboration between ensemble directors and the harp teachers is of the utmost importance. He explains, “Communication and flexibility are key with us. It gives the harp students a better chance of thriving when the directors work together. If the teachers are not communicating or not flexible or adaptable about things, it is a recipe for student failure.”

Defining Success

In a school harp program it can be tempting to measure success based on the results at contests, or how many students go on to become music majors and professional musicians. Pierce concedes, “It is easy for the district to see the program as successful when harp students earn awards for their performances at various solo and ensemble competitions.” Yet Pierce finds the sense of community and morale within the harp program as a much better barometer of success. Every year since 2012, students from the Frisco ISD harp program have consistently won places in the Texas All-State Orchestras, but Schlaffer is quick to point out that, success looks different for every student. Parents, administrators, schools, and teachers love to brag about their students accomplishments, and understandably so. However, we would be wise to remember that assigning rankings and giving awards for music performances is subjective, and the majority of students who participate in any public school music program do not go on to become professional musicians. When we define success with these narrow parameters, it only tells part of the story.

The rest of the story is in the daily victories, and the string of small successes that must precede the bigger milestones like graduating, going to college, or finding employment. For Cleaver success is found in the “Ah ha!” moments when students learn how to put the puzzle pieces together. “When they are pleased with their efforts, they become self-motivated and enjoy learning,” she says. Gordon-Cartier agrees success is about the daily effort.“If my students are working hard, it’s a success. They won’t all play easily and that separates their repertoire, but not each personal achievement.”

When asked what makes a public school harp program successful over time, Hairston answered without hesitation, “It comes down to the teachers.” When you use learning to play the harp as a vehicle to work on self-discipline, self-confidence, anger management, and life skills with these students, Hairston says. “It takes someone with thick skin, who is truly committed to the students.”

Life Lessons

For some students success is learning to manage emotions, like anger or anxiety, that surface when they are faced with limited practice time and limited individual instruction time. When this happens to his students Lynch says he first acknowledges, “Okay, you’re overwhelmed.” Then he asks, “What can you do to focus? What is something you can control?” He takes the opportunity to talk about how brains work because he says, “I want them to know that harp isn’t a separate thing from the rest of school. We use harp to help teach life skills like time management or test taking.”

“If you can get a kid to where they can really play the harp—even if they didn’t think they could or don’t have aspirations to become a musician— it still has a tremendously positive impact on them,” says Pierce. “It helps them think differently, and it is a very good way to prepare students for college or job interviews.” Pierce elaborates, “Students that practice handling their nerves when they perform, have strategies to help them deal with nerves in a job interview.”

Schlaffer echoes the same sentiment. “Students gain so much from studying the harp. They gain confidence. They’ve trained themselves how to accomplish something in a set amount of time. They will use these skills their entire life.”

Hairston agrees. “Being able to equip these students with skills that transfer through their whole lives is something that we can’t forget as a teacher; it is really the most critical piece.”

Unintended Consequences

We asked educators if, with the benefit of hindsight, they saw any unintended consequences that resulted from creating a harp program.

Pierce wondered how private harp teachers might react to public school programs in their community. District policy prevents Pierce from teaching any of his classroom students privately. Since he is the only harp teacher in the area, none of the Ector ISD students take private lessons. Schlaffer maintains, “Public school harp programs can be a benefit to private harp teachers in the area.” District policy in Frisco also prohibits Schlaffer from teaching her classroom students privately. However, many Frisco harp students take lessons from other Frisco ISD harp teachers or private teachers in the greater Dallas area.

Several teachers expressed concerns about how to help students who want to continue playing harp after they graduate but don’t have a harp. Gordon-Cartier has successfully matched a few students with individuals that donate or rent used harps. Other teachers have encouraged their students to attend colleges with harp programs where they can still play harp as non-music majors.

“I can’t see a downside,” Cleaver says. “Educators are problems solvers. So if there is something that is a negative as a result of what we do, we don’t see it as unconquerable.” When someone is the only harp teacher at a school or in a district, it easy to feel alone or misunderstood. Public school teachers face many challenges, and when she needs a morale boost, Cleaver says she remembers the wisdom given to her by her teacher. “She said, ‘You cannot let people who do not understand the value of something, win the struggle. You must win.’” Cleaver continues, “Sometimes that means changing how you think about things. Sometimes the paradigm has to shift within the teacher’s mindset. A happy unintended consequence is I get to grow as an individual by working in these situations everyday.”

Our Tole

Should we as a harp community do more to support and create new harp programs in public schools? Every educator we interviewed replied without hesitation, “Yes!” and they were not shy about telling us why.

“We can offer a lot to students, using this instrument we love,” Lynch says. But for him it is not about creating more professional harpists, it is about creating a kinder and more aware society.

Gordon-Cartier has a similar philosophy, “One of the biggest problems in our society is that nobody feels special anymore, or they think to be special you have to tear down others. Harp especially gives our kids a lot of feedback when they go out and perform. It makes them feel special.”

“Middle school and high school is a tough time in life.” Lynch adds, “Sometimes students need a few minutes of one on one interaction with an adult that cares about them.” Some students struggle in other subjects with larger class sizes, but Gordon-Cartier and Pierce will tell you those same students often thrive in the smaller harp classroom environment where they benefit from more individual attention. Harp programs can help students find their niche. “Harp gives them a place where they belong, a purpose, a reason to be excited about school,” Lynch says.

“For students of color, learning how to be unique and present yourself amongst your peers is a very beautiful thing for these students to learn,” Hairston adds.

The teachers also adamantly agree the harp does not need to be so exclusive, but rather more accessible to students. By providing instruments and instruction to students, barriers to access are lifted. Gordon-Cartier says, “I’d love to see harp anywhere and everywhere.” Lynch proclaims, “Harp isn’t a weird or elite instrument to our students in Mesa because they see it all the time.”

Cleaver cautions, “If we don’t perpetuate this more widely, then we lose a connection as a harp community with the greater culture.” She explains the relationship between harp community and communities that need to know about the harp is a reciprocal one, stating, “Each side brings something that is different and valuable. By exposing the larger culture to what it is we do in the world of harp we can push the envelope, open the boundaries, and advance the art form.”

Gordon-Cartier believes that “everything should be offered in the schools, so kids have the opportunity. You don’t know, maybe the next Marcel Grandjany is out there somewhere just waiting to meet the harp.”

For many students harp class at school is a life-changing experience that alters their life’s trajectory. Terry-Ross said in a 2017 interview, “Had I not gone to Cass Tech, I would not be a harpist.”

“I certainly would not have had access to this, if not for Clarence Byrn and his vision,” Cleaver adds.

“If this program were not here, I would have never considered playing the harp,” says Lynch. ”I wouldn’t have the friends or the life I have now…I would be a totally different person.”

All the teachers we interviewed agreed that harp programs in public schools changed the lives of their students and made a positive impact in their communities. Students learn more than just playing notes. Work ethic, time management, collaboration, responsibility, and self-confidence are important skills that will help them succeed in whatever they choose to do.

Instilling a love of music and a love of the harp in students today ensures there will be supporters who understand the value of the arts in the future. Public school harp programs can make the world a better place, not just for harpists but for everyone, one class at a time.