One Harp World (OHW) will take place July 28–Aug. 3 at Sheraton Centre Toronto in Toronto, Canada. The conference is a joint event hosted by the American Harp Society (AHS) and the World Harp Congress (WHC), bringing together an expansive slate of performances and masterclasses with international harpists, concerts featuring Canadian music and new works, interactive workshops, and vendor exhibits from around the world.
“One Harp World is an opportunity for us to connect with each other, to learn from each other, and to celebrate the extraordinary creativity of artists from across the globe,” says Lynne Aspnes, one of the event organizers. “We are so excited to be meeting in Toronto, an incredibly vibrant, welcoming, and culturally diverse city, and to be partnering with an amazing community of harpists wholly dedicated to welcoming the harp world to Toronto and showing off everything that Canada has to offer.” Isabelle Perrin, another coordinator of the event, adds, “The two major harp events that have taken place around the world for decades will this time merge in the greatest event, OHW, featuring ‘la crème de la crème’ of harpists coming to play in Toronto. It will happen only once in a lifetime and you don’t want to miss it!”
The opening concert on July 28 highlights the music and musicians of host nation Canada. The concert will showcase works by well-known Canadian composers Alexina Louie, Andrew Paul MacDonald, Marjan Mozetich, and Kevin Lau; both the compositions and performances of Canadian harpist-composers Caroline Lizotte, Renée Qin, Sharlene Wallace, and Kristan Toczko; and performances by Canadian harpists Lori Gemmell, Erica Goodman, Angela Schwarzkopf, Jennifer Swartz, Noël Wan, and Joy Yeh, along with collaborating musicians.
Additional evening concerts run from July 29 to Aug. 2. A chamber orchestra concert spans a diverse array of music: harpist Ben Creighton-Griffiths’ jazz fusion trio Chube; a chamber concerto for harpsichord, piano, and Anne-Sophie Bertrand on harp; a violin and harp concerto featuring harpist Naoko Yoshino; and a work by Gilad Cohen with Sivan Magen as the soloist. Another evening concert celebrates Canadian collaborations and musicians, while a concerto night with full orchestra spotlights Judy Loman as soloist in a concerto written for her by Canadian composer Kelly Marie Murphy. That concert also features Caroline Lizotte performing her own Concerto Techno for harp and live electronics, sisters Joana and Elena Daunyte (harp and cello) performing music by Lithuanian composer Jonas Jurkūnas, and French harpist Isabelle Moretti performing a staple of the repertoire by Gabriel Pierné. In a chamber music concert, Claudia Lucia Lamanna explores contrasts between conventional and experimental music from the 18th century to the present, and Emmanuel Ceysson performs music of Marcel Tournier. The next night features “Cirque des harpes,” a come-and-go evening of music, theater, and dance; the festivities include the new harp musical “Pluck and Pizz,” produced by Katryna Tan with Rave Harps and the RAMP violin ensemble, as well as a performance by Caroline Lizotte with aerialist Ange Luna.
During the day, OHW includes performances of music from the Renaissance to today, drawing on cultural traditions from all around the world including international instruments in the harp family, such as the Chinese guzheng and Turkish çeng. Presentations, lecture-recitals, and workshops explore the legacies of harpists such as Susann McDonald, Henriette Renié, and Carlos Salzedo; discuss interpretation and style in the works of composers both famous and newly rediscovered; and delve into other facets of harp careers, including pedagogy, arrangements and transcriptions, therapeutic music, physical and mental health (including the “Move Well, Play Better” series and other workshops), and entrepreneurship.
Special programming at OHW combines aspects of both WHC and AHS events. The WHC’s Focus on Youth program offers inspiration through the talent of young harpists ages 22 and under, who give a performance and receive comments from a panel of harpists. As at other World Harp Congresses, attendees at OHW will hear performances by international harp ensembles throughout the conference space and as opening acts in the lobby before each evening concert. In the AHS’s Young Composers Project, harpists ages 25 and under receive input and mentorship from professional harpist-composers; OHW attendees can listen in on masterclasses with those chosen as featured young composers and hear them perform their works. Students participating in the AHS’s Chapter Ambassadors program, which promotes student engagement and leadership development at the chapter level, will present their community service projects in the OHW exhibit hall.
To register, visit the OHW website. Adult and student members of the AHS and/or WHC, as well as non-harpist family members, can register to attend for a single day or for the entire event. Early bird registration ends April 17.
