harpcolumn

College Harp Program Directory

University of North Texas College of Music

Overview

Region

United States

Faculty

Dr. Jaymee Haefner

Program summary

The UNT harp program includes an array of world-class performance facilities and opportunities for harp performance, including: two orchestras, three bands; chamber, choral and jazz opportunities; contemporary and traditional ensembles; courses in harp pedagogy and literature; harp ensemble (UNT HarpBeats); professional topics including music business, arranging, recording and networking.  Our program is ranked in the top 10 music programs in the US and worldwide at a state-university tuition.

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program details

Type of school

University

Music and arts degrees offered

  • Bachelor of Music
  • Bachelor of Arts
  • Master of Music
  • Master of Arts
  • Master of Music Education
  • Doctor of Musical Arts
  • PhD
  • Artist Diploma or Certificate
  • Performance Diploma or Certificate
  • Professional Studies Certificate
  • Specialist Degree
  • MBA (Music Business)

Lessons available for non-majors?

Yes

Harp minor offered?

Yes

Number of school harps

10

Space provided for personal harps?

Yes

University of North Texas College of Music

This program is best suited for students who:

"want a top-tier conservatory-level music education (at the price of a state university)"

What sets this program apart from others is:

"our harp studio size (16 harpists), student awards and international performances by the HarpBeats"

Students who graduate from this program go on to:

"international faculty and orchestra positions, win national awards, record, and publish"

The three words that best describe this school's environment are:

"supportive, diverse, cutting-edge"

Jaymee Haefner’s performances have been described by Daniel Buckley as possessing “an air of dreamy lyricism… interlocking melody lines with the deftness of a dancer’s footwork.” Jaymee holds the Associate Professor of Harp position at the University of North Texas (UNT), where she has taught since 2006. She currently serves as Director of Graduate studies for the College of Music and has previously served as Director of Undergraduate Studies and co-chair of the University Undergraduate Curriculum Committee. An avid supporter of new compositions for harp, has premiered new works for harp by several composers (Patterson, da Silva, Broberg, Schocker, and Libby Larsen) and has performed internationally (Hong Kong, New York City, New Orleans, Atlanta, Mexico, Czech Republic, Russia). Dr. Haefner chaired the 2011 American Harp Society Institute at UNT and currently serves as the Treasurer for the World Harp Congress (WHC), board member of the AHS, Inc. Foundation, and serves on the American Harp Journal editorial board. She regularly writes for The Harp Column and The American Harp Journal and has published two books: The Legend of Henriette Renié and One Stone to the Building: Henriette Renié’s Life Through Her Works for Harp, and recently had her article about Henriette Renié published by the New Grove Dictionary of Music. Dr. Haefner is a passionate teacher and has adjudicated for the Hong Kong International Harp Competition, the AHS National Competition, the Lyon & Healy Awards, the Young Artist’s Harp Competition, and the Italy International Harp Competition. A respected masterclass teacher, Dr. Haefner recently taught at the Eastman College of Music, the Boston Conservatory, the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and Virginia Harp Center. She presented lectures for the WHC in Amsterdam and Sydney, and has led workshops for the AHS in Minnesota, Louisiana, and Utah. Her violin and harp duo (Crimson), received two grants from the AHS to commission works for violin and harp, and recently released their second recording (Renderings), which fuses visual and aural art. Her performances have been featured at AHS national conferences (New York City, New Orleans, Atlanta) and the World Harp Congress (Hong Kong). Jaymee has worked with several renowned conductors, including Jaap van Zweden, Roger Nierenberg, David Syrus, and David Stern. Her recordings include features with the Bloomington Pops Orchestra, Daniel Narducci, Alfredo Rolando Ortiz, and James Boldin; she has joined Johnny Mathis, Ben Folds, and the Canadian Tenors on stage. Her ensemble (UNT HarpBeats) was featured in the Lyon & Healy Summer Concert Series (Chicago), the World Harp Congress (Hong Kong), and the American Harp Society National Conference (New Orleans), and the upcoming World Harp Congress (Wales) in 2022.

The UNT Harp Beats ensemble is recognized as one of the most innovative student harp ensembles in the country. Led by Dr. Jaymee Haefner, the ensemble is made up of harp majors who arrange most of the ensemble’s music. The ensemble’s repertoire ranges from J.S Bach to Radiohead and everything in-between, and also includes several original compositions for the ensemble, written by members of the group. The group has performed for the World Harp Congress in Hong Kong, the Lyon & Healy Summer Concert Series (Lyon & Healy Hall, Chicago), the American Harp Society National Conference in New Orleans, and has been invited to perform at the Royal College of Music in Cardiff, Wales for the 2022 World Harp Congress.

 

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