The 2011 AHS, Inc. Summer Institute will offer a taste of the rich history of harpists from the Southwest and will feature elements of world music. In addition to the National Competition events for students include master classes, workshops, and student ensemble performances. The week will also include a special viewing of historic Naderman, Erard, and early Lyon & Healy harps.
Download the tentative schedule for the AHS, Inc. 9th Summer Institute and 19th National Competition (PDF)
 |
Heidi Van Hoesen Gorton 2009-2011 AHS, Inc. Concert Artist |
 |
Emily Mitchell Featured Artist |
 |
Michael Colgrass Guest Clinician |
Performers and Presenters
2tone
2tone blends the magic of the electric Jazz harp and the rhythmic strength of the electric bass in perfect harmony. Jazz harpist, Cindy Horstman, and bassist, Michael Medina, formed 2tone 16 years ago and have been actively recording and touring nationally.
"You have a really cool sound" Wynton Marsalis
“I’ve listened to your music and enjoyed it so very much” Dave Brubeck
" Uncommonly creative and thoroughly enjoyable" Jazz Times
Jazz harpist Cindy Horstman has been making beautiful music for the past three decades, earning an array of fans ranging from President Clinton to jazz legend, Wynton Marsalis. After her prize-winning performance in the Lyon/Healy International Jazz Harp Competition, Horstman and Medina formed 2tone. Classically trained, Horstman is the first recipient of a Master of Music degree in harp performance from the University of Texas at Austin. She has earned the ASCAP “Popular Music Award” for eight consecutive years, the “Texas Tornado of Strings Award” from Buddy magazine, Jazz Artist of the Year from the Sammons Center for the Arts, and first prize in the pop and instrumental category from the Songdoor International Song Writing Competition. Horstman wrote and published a Jazz harpists’ theory book, including a series of exercises that encourage harpists to enhance their style of playing and incorporate Jazz styling into their repertoire.
Bassist Michael Medina, a native of Beeville, Texas, moved to Dallas in 1978 and graduated from the University of North Texas. Michael owns "First Bass Productions", a recording production company that produces projects for a wide variety of artists including 2tone’s CDs. In addition to his work with Horstman, Medina has done extensive studio work, national and local television and radio spots, and recordings and performances with various artists including Luis Conte, Andy Timmons, Ignacio Berrora, Alex Acuna (Weather Report ), Edgar Winter, Gregg Bissonette, and Lou Marini. Michael is part of the research and development team at Mesa Boogie involved in creating and perfecting amplifiers for the bass guitar.
American Youth Harp Ensemble & Lynnelle Ediger-Kordzaia :
The American Youth Harp Ensemble, founded and directed by Lynnelle Ediger-Kordzaia, continues to dazzle audiences around the world as America’s premier youth harp ensemble, well known for their musical sophistication, rich sound, emotional power, and imaginative programming of repertoire. The AYHE has brought world-class music to enthusiastic audiences in the U.S. and abroad through hundreds of performances, recordings, television and radio features. With fifteen national and international tours to their credit, the AYHE has toured the Netherlands, Scotland, France, England, Italy, Germany and Belgium. U.S. performance highlights include the United Nations, two AHS National Conferences, the public radio national conference (AMPPR) and Carnegie Hall (2001 and 2007). This season, the Ensemble performed at the White House, the Kennedy Center and toured Austria. Unique in the nation in both size and breadth of programming, the AYHE serves as a national model for arts education. In addition to four performance ensembles, the AYHE’s seven year-round outreach programs use the harp as a catalyst for positive change, personal growth and community service for over 300 youth annually. www.harpensemble.org
About the Artistic Director…
American Youth Harp Ensemble Artistic Director and Founder, Lynnelle Ediger-Kordzaia, has seen her dream of a high-caliber harp ensemble grow from infancy to maturity. Under her leadership, the AYHE has established and enjoyed an international reputation for musical and educational excellence. Mrs. Ediger-Kordzaia has been an invited presenter/performer at the Sixth World Harp Conference, the American Harp Society National Conference, the International Folk Harp Conference, the International Harp Therapy Conference and is in demand as a guest clinician. Serving as the Executive Director of the HARPS Foundation, Ms. Ediger-Kordzaia has twice been named a “Top Forty Under Forty” by arts and business publications in Virginia. She also was honored with the Teresa Pollak prize for “Excellence in the Arts” from Richmond Magazine. She holds an undergraduate degree in harp performance and a graduate degree in music education from Oberlin Conservatory of Music where she was a student of Alice Chalifoux. She also holds a Master's degree in arts administration from Goucher College and is pursuing a doctorate in music education from Boston University.
Catherine Anderson & Sidney King:
Catherine Anderson holds a BM and MM in harp performance from Susann McDonald at Indiana University School of Music, having studied previously with Alice Chalifoux at Oberlin Conservatory and the Salzedo Harp Colony. Catherine has also received her Suzuki Harp Teacher Certification with Mary Kay Waddington. She and her husband have made their home in New Orleans for the past 14 years. Cathy is an active free-lancer and teacher, playing with a variety of ensembles, including the Louisiana Philharmonic, the Mobile Symphony, the Jefferson Performing Arts Society, the New Orleans Musica da Camera, and the Angilray Trio. She is a founding member of the chamber music ensemble Musaica, presenting a yearly concert series featuring new chamber music. Musaica won the Big Easy Best Chamber Music Award in 2007. Catherine serves on the board of the American Harp Society and the New Orleans Harp Society, and is Harp Chair for the Louisiana Music Teachers Association. Catherine and her husband, David Anderson, who is Principal Bass with the New Orleans Philharmonic, have two children: Kyle( 16) and Emily (13).
Sidney A. King is the instructor of double bass at the University of Louisville School of Music and the Sewanee Summer Music Festival. He has recently retired as the assistant principal bassist of the Louisville Orchestra (1984-2006). Mr. King has appeared with the nationally-prominent flamenco ensemble Al Sur as performer, composer, and arranger, and his choral and instrumental compositions and arrangements have been published and performed throughout the country. Mr. King has performed for fourteen years as a core member of the Kentucky Center Chamber Players. He held a position on the board of directors of the International Society of Bassists (2003-2006). Mr. King’s extensive orchestral performances include the Grand Teton Music Festival, Houston Grand Opera, Texas Opera Theater, Sunflower Music Festival, Des Moines Metro Opera, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Houston Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, and the North Carolina Symphony. Previously, Mr. King served as double bass instructor at Indiana University Southeast, and continues be involved in music education by coaching youth ensembles and giving solo performances in public and private schools.
Lynne Aspnes and John Wickey (TrueNorth Harp Duo):
From 1985 until 2008 Lynne Aspnes served as Professor of Harp for the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. During the same period John Wickey completed a Bachelor of Music degree at Boston University with Lucile Lawrence and the Master of Music degree at the University of Michigan. John and Lynne first performed together for the 1992 American Harp Society National Conference, held in San Diego, California. In 1995 John moved to San Francisco where he quickly established himself as a premiere software developer, web analyst, and information technology specialist. While John was establishing himself as a gifted soloist and IT wizard, Aspnes was busy performing as a soloist and chamber musician, recording and teaching, and performing at music festivals throughout the United States and Europe.
John and Lynne reconnected in Phoenix Arizona in late 2008, making the decision to perform together again, under the name TrueNorth. True North is the reference direction for measurement of true direction. As a harp duo John and Lynne are committed to focusing on their true directions as musical artists. Through sharing the support, encouragement, education and legacy that has been shared with them, the TrueNorth Harp Duo is committed to creating opportunity for the next generation of harpists to find their true direction through music, and the harp.
Gail Barber:
A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Dr. Gail Barber is Professor of Harp at Texas Tech University. She retired from the Lubbock Symphony in May, 2010 after 38 years. At the age of 22, she toured the U.S., Canada and Mexico with the Chicago Little Symphony, playing 40 concerto performances in one year. She was Editor of The American Harp Journal from 1970-1979. Gail has been featured at the Edinburgh (Scotland) Harp Festival, the International Istanbul (Turkey) Music Festival, World Harp Congresses (Jerusalem, Vienna, and Maastricht) and the Opening Recital of the American Harp Society National Conference, the featured recital for the First International Harp Therapy Conference and the OffBeat Harp Festival in Cap D’Antibes, France. During 2000 and 2001, she presented recitals and workshops on the French Riviera for two international integrative medical conferences. “It has given me great joy to hear and work with the wonderful harpist and teacher, Gail Barber. She is the best harpist I know…a true artist, musician, soloist…highly skilled…sensitive. She has my greatest admiration.” -- Alan Hovhaness
Fumiko Coburn & Stan Richardson:
Mrs. Fumiko Coburn moved to Dallas from Atlanta, Georgia in 2005. She is originally from Sapporo of Hokkaido. It is in the northern part of Japan. She is dedicated to sharing her love of traditional Japanese music played on the koto (Japanese harp), shamisen (Japanese banjo) and vocals. She has been playing koto over 3 decades and she was certified as a koto teacher following completion of her training in the Miyagi-Sya of Ikuta-School of Koto in Japan. She was a member of Miyagi-Kai for over 20 years before moving to the United States in 2000. She has been teaching koto in the Dallas and Fort Worth area as well as performing at many venues such as churches, college/universities, retirement homes, companies, and museums.
Dr. Stan Richardson received his Master’s teaching license and the shakuhachi name Kakudo from the renowned flutist Yoshio Kurahashi. Dr. Richardson has appeared at many notable area venues including the Myerson Symphony Center, Dallas Museum of Art, Kimbell Museum of Art, and the Crowe Collection of Asian Art. His recording Shakuhachi Meditation Music is one of the best-selling recordings of solo shakuhachi music by a non -Japanese. In 1998 he was a featured performer and teacher at the World Shakuhachi Festival in Boulder, Colorado . He has performed on several occasions and recorded with the world famous Turtle Creek Chorale. In 2002 he performed with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra at the gala event featuring renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Dr. Richardson is currently head of Mujuan Shakuhachi Dojo, the Texas branch of the Kyoto based school founded by Yodo Kurahashi.
Michael Colgrass
Michael Colgrass graduated from the University of Illinois in 1954 in percussion performance and composition. He freelanced in New York City with the New York Philharmonic, Dizzy Gillespie, West Side Story orchestra on Broadway and the Stravinsky Conducts Stravinsky series at Columbia Records, among many others. He has been commissioned by many of America’s top orchestras, chamber groups, wind ensembles and bands, and these works are played around the world. He won the 1978 Pulitzer Prize for Music, and an Emmy Award in 1982, two Guggenheim Fellowships, grants from the Rockefeller and Ford foundations, and First Prize in the Barlow and Sudler International Wind Ensemble Competitions. For over 35 years he has given performance excellence workshops in Great Britain, Italy, Argentina, Brazil, Bali, South Africa and throughout the United States and Canada. His new autobiography, “Adventures of an American Composer,” is a collection of 89 anecdotes about his life in music published by Meredith Music. He lives in Toronto and makes his living internationally as a composer.
Susan Dederich-Pejovich:
Susan Dederich-Pejovich played principal harp with the Oklahoma City Symphony and New Orleans Symphony before joining the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in 1977. She has appeared as soloist with the symphony in two "Amazing Music" videos with Andrew Litton, Ginastera Concerto with Eduardo Mata and concertos by Liebermann and Mozart with James Galway. She is also active in chamber music and has given the American and North American premieres of several works by American, English, and Czech composers at two International Flute Conventions. She also premiered the triple harp concerto “Knights of the Red Branch” by Kevin Kaska, commissioned by the American Harp Society National Convention in Philadelphia in June of 2005. She also played a harp solo during the American Harp Society Tribute to Alice Chalifoux (June, 2008). Dederich-Pejovich was born on Long Island, New York, and graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music after studying under Alice Chalifoux. She records for Klavier Records and is working on a second CD of music inspired by Debussy. She is currently adjunct professor of harp at Southern Methodist University.
Kimberly DeRosa & Marc Garvin:
Soloist, chamber ensemble and orchestral harpist Kimberly Snaufer DeRosa is founding director of Houston Baptist University’s Summer Harp Festival and Harp Journeys, an annual 3-day festival for adults. She earned her B.A. at Southern Methodist University with Susan Dederich-Pejovich and completed graduate studies at The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto under Judy Loman. Previously Affiliate Artist at Houston Baptist University and Sam Houston State University, her private studio is now in Denton, TX. The Snaufer-Garvin Duo blend classical backgrounds with unique creativity. These recording artists produce exquisite arrangements of South American, Spanish, classical, sacred and popular music. Their educational and formal programs have been sponsored by Houston’s Da Camera, The Texas Institute for Arts in Education and Texas Commission for the Arts. Guitarist Marc Garvin is soloist with Houston’s Symphony Orchestra, Grand Opera and Ballet. His music degree is from Carnegie-Mellon University. Garvin has taught at Carnegie-Mellon University, San Jacinto Jr. College, Houston Community College, Houston Baptist University and Lamar University. Their CD recordings “Zero Hour” and “Tidings of Joy” have received rave reviews and have been featured on KUHF.
Delaine Fedson & Elaine Barber:
Delaine Fedson is a vibrant musician and innovative educator in Austin, TX. Her experience includes performing with orchestras, opera companies, chamber groups, and regional tours with national touring acts. She is the harp instructor at the University of Texas (Austin) Butler School of Music and Southwestern University’s Sarofim College of Fine Arts. As a pioneer Suzuki Harp teacher and Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA) registered Harp Teacher Trainer, Delaine promotes Dr. Suzuki's approach in harp education. Delaine teaches at national and international Suzuki workshops, festivals and conferences. Her students include past participants in, and winners of, the AHS National Competitions, YAHS Competitions, and Texas All-State Orchestra Auditions. Many of her former students are active professional harpists. Delaine is the President of American Harp Society, and is the founding director of the Young Texas Harp Ensemble, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing access and opportunity for harp study to students of diverse populations. Her primary teachers were Margaret Rupp Cooper, Mary Green Beckman (BM), Gayle Horn Barrington (MM), Mary Kay Waddington, and Alice Chalifoux (Salzedo School).
Elaine Barber is Principal Harpist for Austin Symphony and Austin Lyric Opera. Also an early music specialist, she plays renaissance and early baroque music with Texas Early Music Project. She has been a featured soloist at the American Harp Society National Conference, and with Austin Symphony, Mississippi Symphony, Shepherd Symphony, and Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra. She has performed with Ray Charles and Pavarotti, for the King of Norway and the Governor of Mississippi, on movie and video game soundtracks and children’s TV shows. She plays with central Texas chamber music groups such as Austin Chamber Music Center, Cactus Pear Music Festival, Chamber Soloists of Austin, Musical Offerings, Salon Concerts, Victoria Bach Festival and Viola by Choice. She has recorded for the Naxos, Nonesuch and Matador labels, and has premiered solo and chamber works by Gordon Jones, James Sclater, Peter Stopschinski, and P. Kellach Waddle. Barber maintains a private teaching studio in Austin and has been on the faculty of Austin Chamber Music Center, Sewanee Summer Music Festival, Abilene Summer Music Festival, University of Texas Harp Camp, and Mississippi College.
Joan Holland:
Joan Raeburn Holland is Associate Professor of Harp for the University of Michigan and Resident Instructor of Harp for the Interlochen Arts Academy and Interlochen Arts Camp. As the principal harpist, Ms. Holland has collaborated as concerto soloist for various orchestras around Michigan. 1977-79, Joan was principal harp for the Phoenix Symphony, the Cleveland Ballet Orchestra, and substitute harpist for the Cleveland Orchestra and Pittsburgh Symphony. An avid chamber musician, Joan plays in chamber music series around the United States, Canada and China, including the World Harp Congress, the American Harp Society and the International Viola congress. Solo Performances include recital programs for regional and national conventions of the American Harp Society. Ms. Holland began her harp studies with Miss Eileen Malone at the Eastman School of Music Preparatory Department, continuing with Miss Alice Chalifoux at the Cleveland Institute of Music, from age twelve through her Bachelor of Music. Joan and her husband David, violist and conductor, have a family of two children, Jennifer, a violist and teacher, and John, a visual artist and musician.
Heidi Van Hoesen Gorton:
Recently hailed by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as a performer that “play[s] with a flair that we are coming to know well”, harpist Heidi Van Hoesen Gorton is one of the most acclaimed soloist, chamber and orchestral musicians of her generation. Actively competing in domestic and international competitions, she was most recently awarded first place in the Young Professional Division of the American Harp Society (AHS) National Competition in June 2009. Also named the AHS Young Concert Artist, she will present solo recitals in the U.S. through 2011. Ms. Van Hoesen Gorton is Principal Harpist with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra (Connecticut) and has performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Van Hoesen Gorton completed her undergraduate degree in harp performance and will graduate with a Master's degree in harp performance (2011), both from the Juilliard School. She is a present student of Nancy Allen, and has studied with Gretchen Van Hoesen and Anne Marguerite-Michaud in Pittsburgh, as well as Elizabeth Fontan-Binoche in France.
Carlos Guedes:
Having mastered the diatonic Venezuelan harp, Carlos Guedes came from Caracas, Venezuela to the USA with the goal of becoming a jazz harpist. Today, based in Dallas, Texas, Carlos plays a custom-made electro-acoustic harp. His music offers a powerful live act combining a unique blend of contemporary Latin jazz with Afro-Caribbean and Brazilian rhythms. The Carlos Guedes group presents his original compositions backed up by a drummer. The Bass player is his left hand on the harp. As with his previous CDs, TODA AMERICA and CHURUN MERU, Carlos Guedes as a recording artist has reached National and International airplay from commercial to public radio stations, as well as radio and TV commercials including a few soundtrack documentaries. He has shared the stage with Dave Brubeck, Ray Charles, Tito Puente, Dave Valentín, David Benoit, Strunz & Farah, and many others. Carlos has performed at events such as: The Warren Hill's Smooth Jazz Cruise 2005, Concert Series introducing The Oasis as a new radio station in Dallas, 1994 FIFA World Cup (Soccer Games), to name a few.
Therese Honey:
Childhood fascination with the harp blossomed into an exciting and successful career as a professional harpist and recording artist for this Houston native. Therese researches and performs Celtic, Medieval and Renaissance music on various harps in her collection of a dozen instruments. Honey’s unique specialization keeps her in demand for lectures, concerts and festival engagements across the United States. She has an active studio in Houston. Therese has performed with the Chieftains, and at the 20th Annual Carolan Festival in Keadue, Co. Roscommon. In addition to presenting concerts and workshops across the United States and Canada, she has been a frequent performer at the North Texas Irish Festival and is a two time first-place winner of the Gulf Coast Celtic Harp Competition. Ms. Honey has released four solo recordings and has published several books of arrangements of Celtic and Early Music for Celtic harp. She performs & records with the Texas Early Music Project & Istanpitta, and Wyndnwyre.
David Ice:
David M. Ice began his harp studies in 1978, and has studied with Adine Bradley, Mildred Dilling, Marjorie Call-Salzedo, and David Watkins. A film editor by trade (his Hollywood credits include six years of the TV series M*A*S*H ), David never intended on pursuing playing the harp professionally, but fate has taken him in this direction. He is currently principal harpist with the Musica Nova Orchestra and has performed with the Phoenix Symphony, El Paso Opera, Symphony of the West Valley, Flagstaff Symphony, Arizona Opera, and Arizona Theater Company. David is the past-president of the Phoenix Chapter of the American Harp Society. In addition to his harp work David also continues to work in videotape editing and various multimedia programs.
Robert Litton:
Robert Litton received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in composition and percussion performance from CSU Hayward (now East Bay). Recipient of the 2010 "Young Alumnus of the Year" award, he graduated first in his class from the prestigious scoring for motion pictures and television program at the University of Southern California. He has performed with the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, Marin Symphony, Berkley Symphony, Composers Inc., multiple musical theatre productions, and with the Kensington and Fremont Symphony Orchestras. His compositions have been performed by members of the San Francisco Symphony, SF Opera, San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, LA Opera, LA Chamber Orchestra, as well as the New York Philharmonic. In 2001, he was honored with a featured performance in New York's Carnegie Hall. An emerging film composer, Litton has scored many award winning films for up and coming directors including "Cowboys and Indians" by George Valos, "Gerald's Last Day" by Justin and Shel Rasch, and "Negotiations" by Ethan Cushing which was selected to be part of the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.
Laura Logan:
Laura Logan, D.M.A., is on faculty at Texas Christian University where she teaches harp and directs the TCU Harp Ensemble. In addition, she maintains an active home studio, teaching both Suzuki and traditional students. Logan is founder and director of the popular HarpFire summer camp, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2010. A highly regarded freelance harpist, Logan currently serves as Principal Harp with the Lewisville Lake Symphony. She held the position of Principal Harp with the Richardson Symphony Orchestra from 1990 - 2010. She also served as Principal Harp in the Oklahoma City Philharmonic (1995-1997) and has played second harp numerous times with the Fort Worth Symphony, the Fort Worth Opera and with The Dallas Opera. She is founder and artistic director of the Octavia Harp Ensemble, comprised of eight professional harpists from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Octavia has released two recordings on the Traditional Sounds label and has commissioned and premiered several new works for harp ensemble. Logan is a long time board member of the AHS in Dallas chapter.
Susann McDonald & Linda Wood Rollo:
Susann McDonald is acknowledged as one of the world’s leading harpists and teachers. She was a student of Henriette Renié and Lily Laskine and was the first American to receive the Première Prix in harp from the Paris Conservatory. Susann McDonald holds the title of Distinguished Professor of Music at Indiana University, where she chairs the largest harp department in the world. She also chaired the harp department at The Juilliard School for ten years. Her students continue to be among the leading teachers and orchestral harpists in the world as well as winners of national and international competitions. Susann McDonald is Artistic Director of the World Harp Congress and Founder and Artistic Director of the USA International Harp Competition.
Linda Wood Rollo is a well-known teacher, composer and arranger of harp music. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Redlands and a Master of Music degree from the University of Southern California. She has taught on the harp faculties of Indiana University, The Ursuline School of Music and Drama, San Francisco State University, Dominican College and San Domenico School for Girls. She toured under the auspices of Columbia Artists both with orchestra and as a soloist for many years and served as “Artist in Residence” at the University of Surrey, England. Her honors and awards include the World Harp Congress Award of Recognition, the Distinguished Alumni Award (University of Redlands) and the Adolf Kodolfsky Performance Grant (USC).
Carrol McLaughlin:
Carrol McLaughlin performs extensively as a soloist and with orchestras throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia and Russia. She was the opening recitalist at the World Harp Congress in Copenhagen and the American Harp Society Conference in Denver, Colorado and serves on the WHC Board of Directors. Her education includes Master of Music from Juilliard and Doctor of Musical Arts with Susann McDonald and extensive study with Russian harpist Maria Korchinska. Carrol is Distinguished Professor of Harp at the University of Arizona and heads the internationally respected harp ensemble HarpFusion. She is a Fulbright Senior Scholar which allowed her to perform and teach in Cairo, Egypt and perform with the Cairo Philharmonic. Her book Power Performance teaches how to overcome performance stress (available from www.Integrityink.com.)
Emily Mitchell:
Emily Mitchell has earned critical acclaim as “a marvelous harpist” (The New York Times) who captivates her audiences with “playing of the utmost delicacy, beauty and subtlety.” (Records and Recording) In the words of The Washington Post, “Mitchell commands a vivid palette of colors and uses them with imagination.” Ms. Mitchell recently completed an extended run as tour harpist/rehearsal pianist for the Lincoln Center national tour of South Pacific. She is on the roster of the Lyon & Healy Hall 2010/11 concert series and will contribute to the WHC in Vancouver this summer. Serving on the AHS Board, she will chair the 2012 AHS 50th Anniversary Conference/NYC. Ms. Mitchell’s discography includes her RCA Celtic harp recordings, and her concert harp recordings on the JMR Label. Later this year Azica Records will release an album of flute & harp works by flutist Gary Schocker performed by the Shocker-Mitchell Duo. Ms. Mitchell is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and an Associate of the Royal College of Music, London. She won the 1st Prize at the 7th International Harp Contest, Israel.
Kathy Bundock Moore:
Kathy Bundock Moore has played the harp since she was 9 years old, and her mother was also a harpist. Dr. Moore went to school at the Eastman School of Music, where she earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees. She earned her PhD at Michigan State University. Her past teachers include Eileen Malone and Bernard Zighera. Dr. Moore is Principal harpist in several orchestras throughout northern Colorado. She has been a member of the faculty at the University of Northern Colorado for 32 years as Professor of Music Theory and Harp. She currently teaches at UNC as the Professor of harp. Dr. Moore currently works with Jackson and Almeda Berkey, members of the group Mannheim Steamroller, and has recorded 3 CD’s of their music. She has worked with Mason Williams (who wrote Classical Gas), and he asked her to arrange his music for solo harp. Dr. Moore has judged the American Harp Society competitions. She is the music theory editor for the American Harp Journal. She has published 17 books and arrangements...some have been performed on national and local TV.
Nobuko Otaki, Hiroko Kishimoto & Yasuko Nakamura:
Nobuko Otaki studied koto under koto master, Masaki Uehara, who was named a National Living Treasure of Japan and koto master, Kazuko Ueno, and received her Dai Shihan degree (Master Instructor's license) from Ikuta Miyagi School. She received her Master's degree in social studies and Ph. D. in philosophy and arts from Saitama University. Ms. Otaki is a recipient of the highest honor from the Philosophy Society. She is a board member of Zushi Sankyoku Society and a member of Miyagi Society. She has been performing extensively in Asia, including the venues such as the National Concert Hall of Japan and Kamakura Arts Center, Guam/Saipan Cruises just to name a few. Ms. Otaki maintains an active teaching and performing schedule and is committed to foster the traditional Japanese music.
Hiroko Kishimoto began studying under koto master, Kazuko Ueno, and received her Shihan degree (Instructor's license) from Ikuta Miyagi School. Also she has her Bachelor's degree in Indonesian language and culture from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. She is a member of Miyagi and To Societies. She has appeared at National Concert Hall of Japan, NHK Hall, Kamakura Arts Center, Kamakura Special Learning Center, Zushi Culture Plaza, Osaka Festival Hall, Sapporo Education Center, and Guam/Saipan Cruises. In addition to teaching and performing Koto, she is a retired teacher for the Yokohama City District.
Yasuko Nakamura, a native of Yokohama, began studying under koto master, Nobuko Otaki. She performs extensively for community concerts, outreach programs, and Guam/Saipan cruises. She received her Associate Degree from Joshibi Junior College of Art and Design. She maintains an active teaching schedule as a Tea Ceremony Master at the tea room of her own traditional Japanese home in Kamakura. She gives her "Presentation of Japanese Culture" to visitors from all over the world.
Paula Page:
Paula Page joined the Houston Symphony as Principal Harpist in 1984. A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music, Miss Page began her career as Principal Harpist of the Oklahoma Symphony Orchestra and was a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony for thirteen years. She has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and is Principal Harpist of the Grand Teton Music Festival. She has been featured at American Harp Society conferences and at the World Harp Congress, and has served as a judge for the ASTA (American String Teachers Association) and Corpus Christi International Competition. She was the 2006 recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Miss Page is on the faculties of Rice University, University of Houston, Texas Music Festival and the International Festival-Institute at Round Top. She has taught at the University of Oklahoma, Temple University Institute, Carnegie-Mellon University and Interlochen Arts Camp. This combining of performing and teaching careers follows in the pattern of her mentors, Alice Chalifoux and Edna Phillips.
Ricky Rasura:
From the softest tones to the brightest chords, Ricky Rasura's harp performance reflects the exuberance of the pedal harp. Ricky studied with Gail Barber at Texas Tech University (1999) and has been principle harpist for many orchestras, including El Paso Symphony, Roswell Symphony, Abilene Symphony, Las Cruces Symphony. Ricky was also 2nd harpist for New Mexico Symphony and Santa Fe Symphony. In 2002, Ricky joined the upstart symphonic pop band, The Polyphonic Spree and entered the harp into a new realm: rock music. As the featured soloist of the Polyphonic Spree, Ricky has performed at numerous events where the harp is rarely found: Top of the Pops (British music show), Late Night with Jay Leno, the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards, The UK Music Hall of Fame, the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Concert, and Jimmy Kimmel Live. Ricky is endorsed by Lyon and Healy Harp Makers to play their Style 2000 Electroacoustic harp exclusively. He performs with the Polyphonic Spree, The Golden State Pops Orchestra, and bands Circus Minor and Soul or System.
Phyllis Richmond:
Phyllis Richmond, MA, Certified Teacher of the Alexander Technique, has been teaching in North Texas since 1991. She teaches in the College of Music at the University of North Texas and offers private lessons in Dallas and Arlington, TX. She also teaches summer workshops for singers and instrumentalists. Ms. Richmond has taught the Alexander Technique for many universities and professional programs including: University of North Texas, Southern Methodist University, Rice, Baylor, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma, Texas Women’s University, University of Louisiana, University of Texas at Arlington, American Harp Society, National Association of Teachers of Singing, Sheila Paige’s Annual Keyboard Wellness Seminar, Texas Cello Academy, Conservatorio “A. Stiffani” in Castelfranco Veneto (Italy), and Tunghai University International Music Festival in Taichung (Taiwan). Ms. Richmond is a member of both the American Society for the Alexander Technique (AmSAT) and the British Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique (STAT). She is the Editor of AmSAT's professional journal, AmSAT News.
Rizpah:
Hailing from Detroit, Michigan, and a University of North Texas alumni, Rizpah is taking this ancient instrument to new levels. She gives the harp a unique and brilliant sound through expression of various musical styles. Rizpah was one of the first harpists to attend the Jamey Abersold Jazz Arts Workshop, has participated in the prestigious Henry Mancini Institute in Los Angeles, and has played with the Metropolitan Wind Symphony. While attending Cass Technical High School, Rizpah served as principal harpist of the Detroit Civic Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Lang Shui. She attended Interlochen Arts Camp and Tanglewood Music Institute and continues to stretch boundaries with her music and expand the definition of a harpist incorporating classical, jazz, and avant-garde in her style known as "Organic Jazzy Soul". In 2007, Rizpah performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. as part of the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program. In the same year, Rizpah received 1st place in Lyon & Healy's 2007 Jazz & Pop International competition in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Yumiko Endo Schlaffer
Yumiko Endo Schlaffer has been steadily gaining a reputation as a masterful artist ever since her impressive American debut recital in May 2000 at the Carnegie Recital Hall in New York, shortly after her completing her Master's degree from the Juilliard School. She has been a recipient of numerous awards, including First Prizes in the Japan International Harp Competition –in both Young and Advanced divisions. Ms. Endo Schlaffer is one of the most distinguished harpists in her native Japan, and she was honored with the opportunity to perform at the Imperial Palace for Her Majesty the Empress and Her Royal Highnesses. Ms. Endo Schlaffer has performed throughout the US, Europe and Asia, and her recent solo engagements include appearances with Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, San Angelo Symphony, Las Colinas Symphony Orchestra, Allen Philharmonic, and Irving Symphony Orchestra. She had been also invited as a solo artist by Chicago Chamber Musicians, Basically Beethoven Festival in Dallas, The Wartburg Symphony, New World Symphony, among others. Her teachers include Ayako Shinozaki, Nancy Allen, and Sarah Bullen.
Rosalind Simpson:
Rosalind Simpson has toured throughout the Southwest in recital and education. She has worked with all major musical organizations in the area, including The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, Santa Fe Desert Chorale and Women’s Ensemble, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the Santa Fe Pro Musica, Albuquerque’s “Chatter”, Taos Chamber Music Group, and the Las Cruces, New Mexico, El Paso, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Amarillo, Fargo ND and San Juan symphony orchestras. Recent festivals include Music in the Mountains Durango, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Telluride, Animas, the 2008 World Harp Congress in Amsterdam, Holland and the 2010 American Harp Society National Conference in Tacoma. Before moving to Santa Fe, Rosalind was principal harpist of the Bern (Switzerland) Symphony Orchestra. She was awarded the Premier Prix (Harp and Chamber Music) and the Diplôme Supérieur (Harp) from the Brussels Conservatoire.
Rachel Wilder Smith:
Rachel Wilder Smith is a Career Advisor at the University of North Texas. For the past six years she has been working with students in the College of Music to provide them guidance and direction as they consider their career options. She is in constant awe of the dedication that musicians have to their art and feels it is an honor to be in their company.
Naoko Nakamura Stromberg:
A native of Yokohama, Japan, harpist Naoko Nakamura Stromberg is currently the principal harpist of the Dallas Wind Symphony. She has appeared as a soloist with the New Philharmonic of Irving, the Dallas Asian American Youth Orchestra, and Musica Piazza at Casals Hall in Tokyo, Japan. She is active as a chamber musician, having appeared at the “Cliburn at the Modern” series with composer Sebastian Currier, the Fine Arts Chamber Players in Dallas, and the Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth. Ms. Stromberg appears frequently as a member of the symphony orchestras of Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston, in addition to the Houston Ballet and orchestras in Asia, Central and South Americas. Her musical training began at the Preparatory Division of the Manhattan School of Music, followed by three years of study with the renowned harp pedagogue Alice Chalifoux at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where she earned a Bachelor of Music degree in both Harp and Piano. She has also spent numerous summers at the Salzedo Harp Colony in Camden, Maine, and two years at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where she received a Master’s degree in Harp Performance under the tutelage of Paula Page, principal harpist of the Houston Symphony. Since 1998, she has maintained an active performing and teaching schedule in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
Louise Trotter:
Combining a love for music with performing, Texan Louise Trotter is a versatile entertainer on pedal and lever harp. She plays a varied repertoire, from classical to Broadway, swing, Latin, rag, sacred, jazz, and is one of the few harpists who specializes in country western music on the harp. A nationally-recognized performer and presenter, Louise has performed and presented for American Harp Society, World Harp Congress, Canadian Folk Harp Society, Edinburgh Scotland Harp Festival, Lyon & Healy Harpfest, Somerset, Big Sky Montana Folk Harp Festival, and International Society of Folk Harpers and Craftsmen (who awarded Louise its 2003 Lifetime Achievement Award for her promotion of the folk harp). Louise began musical training at age six, gave her first solo concert in piano and harp at seventeen. Advanced studies came at Texas Women’s University and with Mildred Dilling in New York City. Louise’s interest in modern harmony led to studies with the leading pop and jazz harpists in the country, and an extensive series of publications and recordings in her unique harp style, including her down-home sense of humor.
Sadie Turner:
Sadie Turner, 1st prize winner of the American Harp Society’s National Competition, made her solo debut at age 18 with the Houston Symphony. As a recitalist, she has performed throughout the United States. In the orchestral arena she has performed with the Houston Symphony, New World Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, Arkansas Symphony and the Rice University Symphony and Chamber Orchestras. During the summers, she has also participated in several acclaimed festivals such as the Tanglewood Music Center for two summers, the Pacific Music Festival, the International Festival Institute at Round Top, Texas Music Festival and the Salzedo School for Harp. She has also won numerous competitions such as the Ruth Burr Awards Competition, the Texas Association of String Orchestras Concerto Competition, the Houston Symphony’s High School Concerto Competition and the Houston Young Artist Award. Ms. Turner completed both her Master of Music and Bachelor of Music Degrees in Harp Performance at Rice University. She studied with Paula Page, Principal Harp of the Houston Symphony, and has also studied with Susan Dederich-Pejovich and Alice Chalifoux.
Mary Kay Waddington:
Mary Kay Waddington graduated from Oberlin Conservatory with a Bachelor of Music degree in harp performance. Since then she has been devoted to studying and teaching the Suzuki Method. Her study has included working with many fine Suzuki teachers in this country as well as three months in Japan at the Talent Education Institute. She has worked extensively with harp-builders to develop high quality instruments suitable for young Suzuki students, and has invented Right-hand Levers and Pedal Extensions to further the ability of small children to play the instrument. As well as authoring the Suzuki Harp Method, Mary Kay has developed reading materials specifically for Suzuki-trained harp students. Her students have received prizes in both regional and national competitions, and her teaching skills, for training both students and teachers, are in great demand across the country.
David Williams:
David S. Williams is a veteran musician with over forty years of experience. He has served as the principal harpist for the Dallas Opera Orchestra since and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. He has held these two positions since 1989. Additionally, he was appointed as the Dallas Symphony Orchestra 2nd harpist in 1979. David received his BM (1971) from SMU, studying with Julia Hermann. He received his MM (1976) from UNT, studying with Charles Kleinsteuber. David also studied privately with Dorothy Lymann. David is a master harp builder and technician and has owned his own harp company (Williams Harp Gallery) since 1968. David is also an experienced field paleontologist and has worked with a number of noted museums.