The International Harp Archives is moving to the University of North Texas (UNT) from its previous home at Brigham Young University (BYU). According to a press release, BYU initiated the transfer, which was completed in coordination with the American Harp Society and World Harp Congress, to allow adequate storage space for continued growth and to ensure the archives’ preservation and continued access for harpists, scholars, and music enthusiasts worldwide.
The International Harp Archives (IHA) collects, preserves, and provides access to materials documenting the harp’s rich history and artistry, including scores, manuscripts, recordings, photographs, correspondence, programs, and interviews. UNT Professor of Harp Jaymee Haefner is the newly appointed IHA archivist. Susannah Cleveland, head of the music library at UNT, serves as curator. Together, they will lead efforts to preserve, catalog, and share the archives, carrying forward the dedicated work of David Day at BYU. “We are honored to steward this extraordinary collection,” Haefner says. “The International Harp Archives will not only enhance UNT’s resources but will also serve as a central hub for harp research and performance in service to the international harp community.”
UNT’s inaugural Harp Day celebrating the archives is scheduled for September 20, 2025, marking the 150th birthday of legendary harpist and composer Henriette Renié (1875–1956). The one-day event will feature performances, presentations, and exhibits highlighting rare artifacts from the archives. Future Harp Days will focus on different harp collections contained in the archive, including those of Marcel Grandjany, Carlos Salzedo, and Marcel Tournier; Harp Days will also feature handwritten correspondence from other prominent musicians such as Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy.
The IHA began in 1985 with a major donation of scores (including many rare editions), research papers, and photographs from Samuel and Rosalie Pratt. Not long after, numerous additional harpists donated personal archival materials, scores, and recordings. From 2001 to 2005 the archives received generous funding for scores from the Victor Salvi Foundation. Thereafter the IHA became the official host of the Archives of the American Harp Society and World Harp Congress. Now finding a new home at UNT, this archive expands the university’s existing music resources, which include a collection of 18th- and 19th-century historical harps donated by UNT alum David Williams (MM, 1976).
Dean of the UNT College of Music John Richmond says, “I am absolutely thrilled to celebrate the arrival of the International Harp Archives to the University of North Texas and our amazing Willis Library Special Collections. It is both an honor and a sobering responsibility for us—one we take very seriously and with so much gratitude. The global harp community can rest assured that our UNT Library music colleagues will curate this collection with devotion and deep expertise. I hope this creates yet another reason to welcome our harp colleagues from around the world to our campus.” University Librarian and Vice Provost Sian Brannon says, “This is an amazing archive that the UNT Libraries are proud and excited to care for. Providing access to this comprehensive collection will afford us the opportunity to work with harp enthusiasts worldwide, and we are thankful to be entrusted with it.”
For more information about the International Harp Archives at UNT and upcoming Harp Day events, visit the website of the IHA at UNT.
