Harpist Phyllis L. Ensher-Peters, 91, of Wyomissing, Pa., passed away on December 18, 2022, at Reading Hospital after a brief illness.
Born in West Bridgewater, Mass., she was a daughter of Napoleon and Virginia (Essayan) Ensher. She started playing the harp at the age of 9 with an instructor in Providence, R.I. When she was 14, she met Carlos Salzedo at a concert, and later spent four summers studying with him at his harp colony in Camden, Maine.
After receiving her Bachelor of Arts in Music from Wheaton College in 1953, Ensher-Peters studied with Salzedo at the Curtis Institute of Music, graduating in 1957. She spent the next two decades as the principal solo harpist of the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and a staff artist with the Canadian Broadcasting Company. After relocating with her husband, Frank, and daughter, Ariana, to Florida in 1976, and again to Wyomissing, Pa., in 1986, Ensher-Peters performed with several orchestras in the surrounding area, in addition to teaching harp students.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Reading Musical Foundation.
