Featured Artists
Valérie Milot
Canadian harpist Valérie Milot challenges the preconceptions of her instrument by exploring its powerful sound and astonishing colors. Her playing has been described as “replete with nuance and so dynamically rich that she appeared to transcend the technical limitations of the instrument.” (Bachtrack) She regularly performs as a soloist with orchestras such as Les Violons du Roy, Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, and Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal. An active musician online, Valérie generously shares her performances via her YouTube Channel which has garnered over three million views.
She was awarded the Prix avec Grande Distinction upon completion of her studies at the Conservatory with Caroline Lizotte. She has won numerous awards and competitions including the Prix d’Europe, Révélation Radio-Canada, the Prix d’interprétation at the Concours International de harpe de la Cité des Arts de Paris, the Opus Award for the Découverte de l’année, and others.
Valerie is also known as a recording artist and promoter of new music and possesses her own music publication company as well as overseeing a diverse array of production activities.In addition to her active schedule, Valérie holds the esteemed Harp Professor position at the Montreal Conservatory of Music, and is in demand as an adjudicator and conference host.
Juan Riveros
Multi-award winner Juan Riveros is one of a new generation of young harpists who bridge a variety of genres and artistic avenues, building audiences and fostering fresh appreciation for an instrument with ancient and diverse traditions. He most recently performed at the 2023 Rio International Harp Festival, various solo recitals through the American Harp Society’s Winner’s Outreach Program, and the 2019 and 2022 USA International Harp Competitions. His numerous honors include Award Winner in the 2022 Lyon & Healy Awards, Outstanding Instrumentalist in Harp at the 2022 and 2023 Sphinx SOPA Competitions, Award Winner in the 2020 Anne Adams Awards Competition, Third Prize in the Young Professional Division of the 2019 American Harp Society National Competition, and Grand Prize in the Lewisville Lake International Concerto Competition.
In addition to an active solo career, Juan has performed with the Atlanta Symphony, Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, Midland Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Repertory Orchestra, Round Top Festival Orchestra, and the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Harp Performance and Music Theory from the Cleveland Institute of Music where he studied with Yolanda Kondonassis. In 2023, Juan received an International Postgraduate Certificate in Harp Performance and Research from the National University of the Arts (Argentina). He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Music Theory at the University of Michigan.
Kim Robertson
Hailed for her “incredible playing” by the L.A. Times and as “one of the best players recording today” by Compact Discussions, Kim Robertson has been a pivotal force behind the development of Celtic harp music in America over the past 40 years. Through her performances, workshops, recordings, and publications, Kim has influenced an entire generation of harpists. Classically trained in piano and orchestral harp, she forged a path into the folk harp genre at a time when very few resources were available and developed her own unique style of arrangements that has become her signature sound as heard on her numerous CDs including Highland Heart, Shady Grove, and Shall We Gather. Recently acknowledged with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Somerset Folk Harp Festival, Kim continues to expand the folk harp repertoire while she so generously shares her insight and techniques through her highly popular harp classes filled with humor and great camaraderie.
Amanda Whiting
Welsh harpist Amanda Whiting challenges traditional perceptions of her instrument by bringing a thoroughly modern approach to her compositions and performances. As the first UK harpist to earn a Masters in Jazz, she tours extensively around the world with engagements including London’s Southbank to jazz festivals with trumpeter Matthew Halsall in Hamburg, London, Helsinki, Johannesburg, and Belgium. Recent projects include collaborations with numerous DJs including DJ Yoda, Rebecca Vasmant, and Jazzanova, as well as being on flutist Chip Wickham’s album Blue to Red. She has spent the past year writing and recording her latest album as a follow up to her highly successful After Dark (Jazzman Records) which led to her nomination for the prestigious “Instrumentalist of the Year” at the Jazz FM Awards. In addition to her active performance and recording schedule, she is on faculty at The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, and the Harp Column Academy. As a response to her students’ requests for learning how to play in the jazz style, she wrote her popular Pedal Sliders series of books encouraging the freedom to improvise by making jazz accessible and fun.
Guest Artists
Lynne Aspnes
Harpist Lynne Aspnes has enjoyed a distinguished career as performer, teacher, and administrator. In addition to many solo appearances and recordings for various labels, Lynne is professor emeritus at the University of Michigan, where she taught for over 20 years, and also served as Associate Dean, Chair of the String Department, and Director of the Center for Career Development. Lynne subsequently joined the faculty at Arizona State University for several years, where she also held the role of Associate Dean.
Dr. Aspnes has been a guest presenter at festivals and masterclasses around the globe. She is an inspiring educator who is passionate about sharing her vast knowledge of the harp.
Rhett Barnwell
Rhett Barnwell is a composer, arranger and performer, and the founder of Seraphim Music, which publishes sacred, classical and meditative music for lever and pedal harp. He has concertized extensively in the United States, Italy, and Ireland and has been in demand as a presenter and performer at harp conferences, including the American Harp Society National Conference and the AHS Summer Institute, Somerset Folk Harp Festival, and others.
Mr. Barnwell earned a Master of Music degree in French horn performance with a cello minor from St. Louis Conservatory and was a Doctoral candidate in Organ and Choral Conducting at the University of Georgia. He has studied harp with Mary Brigid Roman, Sunita Staneslow, Ellen Foster, Kelly Stewart, and Monica Hargrave. He has performed with the Spoleto Festival Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfonica de Tenerife, AIMS Festival Orchestra in Austria, and others. He has served as a Director of Music and Organist for churches in the Southeastern U. S. since 1983.
Angi Bemiss
Angi Bemiss is a lifelong musician who is best-known in the harp world as an arranger/publisher through her company Simply the Harp. Her arrangements are for lever harp but are easily playable/adaptable for pedal. Within 14 books and ~150 pieces of sheet music, there are arrangements for over 550 pieces – popular, theater, classical themes, traditional, worship, wedding, lullabies, and holidays.
Angi is a Certified Music Practitioner (CMP - MHTP) and Certified Therapeutic Harp Practitioner (CTHP - IHTP). She has played at Northside Hospital in Atlanta since 1998, plus in other hospitals and hospices. She is a popular workshop presenter, plays for weddings and church services, accompanies soloists, and gives presentations to community groups. In addition to her various roles with the harp and piano, she is a retired accountant and was a partner and CFO in a financial consulting firm. She lives in Atlanta with her husband Kevin.
Robbin Gordon-Cartier
Robbin Gordon-Cartier directs the harp program in the East Orange School District at the Cicely L. Tyson School of Performing and Fine Arts. She is a Concert Artist/Adjunct Harp Faculty member of Kean University in Union, NJ. Robbin has served as the 2nd Vice-President and Director at Large of the American Harp Society.
Mrs. Gordon-Cartier performs regularly in the New York metropolitan area with credits including appearances at Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York City. Robbin is a Salvi Concert Artist and has presented a week of master classes and a concert at the French ambassador's residence in Bogota, Columbia for the Salvi Harp Foundation.
Ashley Crosland
Ashley Crosland is a seasoned harpist with over two decades of performance experience and more than a decade of dedicated teaching. With a solid background in both pedal and lever harp, Ashley holds a degree in Harp Performance from DePauw University. She has performed around the world and spent a season as a wedding harpist in residence in India. Her expertise extends beyond playing the harp, as she previously managed the prestigious Atlanta Harp Center, where she collaborated with numerous students and educators working to expand the harp community. After retiring from her role at the Atlanta Harp Center, Ashley made a move to South Alabama to establish a full-time harp studio, where she continues to share her passion for this enchanting instrument and inspire a new generation of harp enthusiasts.
Paula Fagerberg
Atlanta-based Paula Fagerberg is one of America’s foremost historical harpists, specializing in the chromatic harps of the late Renaissance and Baroque eras. She tours abroad and performs around the country with many of the nation’s finest early music ensembles, such as the Bach Collegium San Diego, The Folger Consort, The Bishop’s Band, The Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, Orchestra of New Spain, The Rose Ensemble, and The American Bach Soloists, and has appeared with The (modern) Minnesota Symphony Orchestra as well. She was featured as an expert on the history of the harp in the PBS documentary Harp Dreams.
Paula attended graduate school at Indiana University’s Early Music Institute, where she studied the art of continuo with lutenist Nigel North and historical harps with Andrew Lawrence-King. She earned a B.Mus. in historical harp performance, graduating magna cum laude from Clayton State University,
Angelica Hairston
Harpist, Educator, and Activist Angelica Hairston is known for her fiery performances and passion for social change. Throughout her career, she has made it a priority to create social impact through the power of the arts. In 2016, she founded the organization Challenge the Stats, an organization dedicated to empowering BIPOC artists and amplifying the call for justice both on and off the concert stage. With an ease on camera, engaging personality, and a culturally-relevant framework, Angelica is an in-demand speaker, presenter, and performer for virtual and in-person engagements across the globe. Angelica has served organizations such as the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Morehouse and Spelman Colleges, the Sphinx Organization, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, NPR’s From the Top, New World Symphony Orchestra, and the European Network on Cultural Management and Policy.
Jacqueline Pollauf
Jacqueline Pollauf performs both as a soloist and with ensembles, including venues such Carnegie Hall, the Eleventh World Harp Congress and the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.
In addition to performing, Jacqueline is a composer and arranger. Her works are available through Lyon and Healy Publications, Sylvia Woods Harp Center, the Virginia Harp Center, the Atlanta Harp Center, Harp Column Music and others.
As a teacher, Jacqueline is the director of the Baltimore Harp Camp, and is on the faculties of the Baltimore School for the Arts and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Jacqueline holds Master's and Bachelor of Music degrees from the Peabody Conservatory.
Guest Ensembles
Feiner Musicke Adult Harp Ensemble
The Feiner Musicke Adult Harp Ensemble, formerly known as the North Atlanta Harp Ensemble, has been delighting audiences in the northern suburbs of Atlanta for over 10 years. Under the direction of Ellen Heinicke Foster, the group consists of adult harpists from all over Georgia who come together once a month to rehearse. Their repertoire includes music from many genres including Classical, Celtic, Jazz, Patriotic, Spirituals and Musicals. In 2023, they had a piece written for them by Atlanta composer Kevin Robison. The piece, The Work of Christmas, is scored for harp ensemble and tenor and was given its world premiere in December 2023.
Ellen Foster, Feiner Musicke Adult Harp Ensemble Director
Ellen Heinicke Foster is a harpist and teacher in Atlanta, GA where she plays 2nd Harp for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Since 2014, she has been the Adjunct Professor of Harp at Southern Adventist University. She is also Adjunct Professor of Harp at Truett McConnell University. Foster has a Bachelor of Music, Cum Laude, in Harp and Music Education from The Eastman School of Music. After teaching K-6 Music in Lawrence, Kansas public schools, she continued her harp studies, receiving a Master of Music in Harp Performance from University of British Columbia and an Artist Diploma from Yale University. Her teachers include, Nancy Allen, Rita Costanzi and Eileen Malone.
As an educator, she has been a teacher and mentor for the Urban Youth Harp Ensemble, taught at The Carver Schools and is the Director of the Feiner Musicke Adult Harp Ensemble. Foster has been an active member of the American Harp Society and has served 3 terms as President for the Georgia Chapter.
Middle Georgia Harp Ensemble
The Middle Georgia Harp Ensemble, founded by Calista Anne Koch, was first orginized in 2004. The ensemble includes adults, college students, as well as younger members that understand the expectations put on them by being a member of such an organization. As director and organizer, Calista Anne Koch writes parts specifically for the ensemble, often basing pieces on orchestral, choral, and ballet works that includes harp originally.
The ensemble has performed at many events around the state, such as the Cherry Blossom Festival in Macon, the Music and Arts Festival in Macon, and the American Harp Society National Convention in Atlanta.
Calista Anne Koch, Middle Georgia Harp Ensemble Director
Calista Anne Koch has been performing professionally since she was a young adult, growing up in Marietta, Georgia. She obtained degrees in Music Therapy, Harp Performance, and Church Music. As a pedagogue, Calista Anne Koch is the harp professor at Mercer University, where she has a well rounded studio of aspiring harpists, conducts the Mercer Harp Ensemble, teaches pedagogue and Music Literature, and coaches for different ensembles on campus and in the community. The Middle Georgia Harp Ensemble and the Middle Georgia Gen Z Harp Ensemble are also under her baton. Calista Anne maintains a full teaching studio in addition to her students at Mercer.
Urban Youth Harp Ensemble
The goal of the Urban Youth Harp Ensemble is to deliver quality musical instruction on the harp, develop music reading skills and musicianship in students at Drew Charter School in Atlanta, GA. What began in 2000 as two students learning from Elisabeth Remy Johnson, the principal harpist of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, has grown into over 70 students learning this ancient instrument from their two harp Instructors, Jennifer Betzer and Molly O’Roark. A major force for the ensemble comes through UYHE Executive Director Roselyn Lewis, a retired music teacher who taught almost all of her 40 years in the Atlanta Public School system. This instrument becomes a positive anchor and a swooping symbol of self-confidence for the students that study the harp both in school and after school. Over the UYHE’s 16 year history, over 500 students have been exposed to the harp.
Dr. Jennifer Betzer, Urban Youth Harp Ensemble Teaching Artist
Jennifer Betzer was appointed an Instructor for the Urban Youth Harp Ensemble in the Fall of 2021. She previously held positions as the Harp Teaching Fellow for the University of North Texas and Harp Director in Frisco ISD in Texas.
Jennifer has been privileged to study and perform abroad in Austria, Australia, Italy, China, and Brazil. She toured with UNT’s harp ensemble The Harpbeats and as the Principal Harpist with the Sydney Sinfonia.
Jennifer obtained her Bachelor of Music degree at Vanderbilt University, her Master of Music Performance from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and her Doctor of Musical Arts from The University of North Texas. Her doctoral dissertation, "The Innovation and Influence of Jazz Harpist Dorothy Ashby" was published in the Spring of 2020.
Dr. Molly O’Roark, Urban Youth Harp Ensemble Artistic Director
Dr. Molly O’Roark, a native of Memphis, TN, is a dynamic performer and composer known for crafting exciting and energetic programs that showcase her love of music and the harp as well as enhancing the traditional concert experience. Currently based in Atlanta, GA, Dr. O’Roark serves as a full-time Artistic Director with the Urban Youth Harp Ensemble. In her performing career she has won various awards and competitions including: 2014 National Anne Adams Award, 2014 Artist Presentation Society Auditions, Eastman School of Music concerto competition, Wayne Barlow Award for excellence in Harp Performance. As a composer, Dr. O’Roark likes to weave melodic and sometimes theatrical narratives into her works for harps or mixed ensembles. In October 2017, she was a featured composer at Michigan Harp Day where she premiered her commissioned harp ensemble work “Apollo at the Temple of Delphi” at Michigan State University.
Dr. O’Roark received a Master’s of Music in Harp Performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In the studio of Dr. Ann Yeung, she served as the harp studio teaching assistant for three years working with both the harp majors and elective lessons program. Recently, she received her Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Dr. O’Roark’s undergraduate degree was a Bachelor of Music in Harp Performance, Performer’s Certificate, and Arts Leadership Certificate from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY.
