Rachel Lee O’Brien (formerly Rachel Lee Hall) is one of North America’s leading emerging harpists, recognized for her expressive musicality and refined technique. A Gold Medalist in the Houston Symphony Orchestra’s Ima Hogg Competition, she has appeared as a soloist with ensembles including the Houston Symphony, members of The Philadelphia Orchestra, the West Virginia Symphony, and the National Repertory Orchestra, with performances in major venues such as the Kimmel Center, Severance Hall, and Blossom Music Center.

An award winner of Astral Artists’ National Auditions and multiple national competitions, O’Brien is also an active chamber musician and former member of the Astralis Chamber Ensemble. She has performed as a guest harpist with orchestras including The Cleveland Orchestra and is currently a member of the Harvest Arts Chamber Ensemble.

Deeply committed to education, O’Brien is Professor of Harp at Virginia Tech and maintains an international private studio. She is the author of Purpose in Practice: 26 Rules for the Practicing Musician, a widely used resource for developing musicians.

O’Brien holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Yolanda Kondonassis. She lives in Roanoke, Virginia with her family.

Parker Ramsay is one of the most boldly original voices in the harp world today. Equally at home with Bach, electronics, historical instruments, and cutting-edge multimedia collaborations, he is redefining what the harp can say—and where it can go. His critically acclaimed performances have taken him to Alice Tully Hall, the 92nd Street Y, IRCAM, King’s College Cambridge, and the Spoleto Festival USA, and his genre-shifting recordings—from the Goldberg Variations to The Street with Nico Muhly and Alice Goodman—have earned praise from Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine, WQXR, and the Wall Street Journal.

A fierce champion of new music, Ramsay premieres works that push the instrument’s sonic boundaries, partnering with leading composers such as Aida Shirazi, Marcos Balter, Artun Çekem, and Lucy McKnight. He appears regularly with ensembles including Mark Morris Dance Group, Apollo’s Fire, and Quatuor Van Kuijk, and co-directs the New York period-instrument group A Golden Wire. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Early Music America.

Originally from Tennessee and now based in New York City, Parker began harp studies with his mother, Carol McClure, served as organ scholar at King’s College, Cambridge, and holds degrees from Oberlin and Juilliard. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in historical musicology at Columbia University.

Minnesota-born and Shetland-based, Sunita Staneslow is a beloved voice in the folk harp world, known for her lyrical playing, her deep connection to traditional music, and her remarkably accessible arrangements—featured across fifteen published books with Afghan Press, Seraphim Music, and Mel Bay. A Manhattan School of Music graduate with classical roots, she has built a career that bridges Celtic, Jewish, and classical traditions, both onstage and in the studio.

Sunita spent fifteen years as a therapeutic harpist at Schneider Children’s Medical Center in Israel, bringing comfort and music to young patients—a role that deeply shaped her artistic outlook. She is a regular instructor and performer at leading North American folk harp festivals, a featured presenter in the Virtual Harp Summit, and a lever harp instructor for Harp Column Academy.

When she’s not performing or teaching, she’s likely exploring the wild landscapes of Shetland, restoring a centuries-old stone house on the island of Unst, or guiding one of the boutique harp tours of Scotland she runs with her husband. (Yes—this is the same couple who once cycled across Europe for six months… with a harp.)

Elizabeth “Lizzie” Steiner is a dynamic harpist whose career thrives at the intersections of classical, contemporary, and popular music. As an orchestral artist, she has appeared with ensembles such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Chineke! Orchestra, Sarasota Orchestra, and the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia. She is also a member of The Sinfonietta, the all–female-identifying ensemble that premiered Barbie the Movie in Concert at the Hollywood Bowl and made its live debut through Carnegie Hall Citywide.

Her recording credits are equally compelling—she can be heard on the GRAMMY Award–winning track “Refuge” by Geoffrey Keezer and on Unheard Bird with Ken Peplowski. A committed advocate of new music, she performs regularly with The Crossing and Arcana New Music Ensemble and recently headlined a solo program of her own arrangements for Bowerbird New Music.

Versatile by nature and by choice, Lizzie has taken the harp into fashion, film, and pop culture, performing at New York Fashion Week for designer Tia Adeola and appearing in Adeola’s Le Noir Est Beau (premiered on Vogue.com). Her collaborations include work with Stevie Wonder, Brandy, Leslie Odom Jr., Tierra Whack, Moses Sumney, Raye, and Josh Groban.

Lizzie holds degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and Temple University, where she studied with Yolanda Kondonassis and Elizabeth Hainen. Her leadership and advocacy have been recognized through a Sphinx LEAD Fellowship, a Sphinx MPower Grant, and a Fitler Club Fellowship.

Passionate about expanding access to harp education, she serves as a Teaching Artist for the Lyra Society at the Philadelphia High School for Girls, offering free, high-quality harp instruction to the next generation of young musicians.

Rhett Barnwell

Rhett Barnwell is a composer, arranger, performer, and conductor, and the founder of Seraphim Music, a publishing company devoted to sacred, classical, and meditative music for harp and voice. His works are performed and recorded by musicians on six continents, and he is widely recognized for his contributions to sacred and healing music for the harp. As a featured artist and presenter, he has appeared at the American Harp Society National Conference, Southeastern Harp Festival, Somerset Folk Harp Festival, Harp Gathering, and Harp in Worship Conference, and he serves on the faculty of the Harp Column Academy.

An active performer in the U.S. and abroad, Rhett has appeared in Italy and Ireland and has performed with orchestras including the Atlanta Symphony, Charleston Symphony, and Spoleto Festival Orchestra. In addition to his performance career, he serves as Director of Music and Organist at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in LaGrange, Georgia, and is Composer in Residence at the Atlanta Harp Center.

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.

Kristina Finch

Dr. Kristina Finch is a harpist, educator, and entrepreneur based in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, who embodies the spirit of the modern independent musician. Professor of Harp at the University of Southern Mississippi and director of the Mississippi Harp Academy, she is dedicated to making harp education accessible and inclusive for students of all ages and backgrounds. Kristina is also a sought-after performer, serving as Principal Harpist with the Miami City Ballet and the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, and appearing regularly as a guest artist with ensembles across the United States.

Kristina is the creator of the One Pedal Off Digital Harp Conference and former host of the Harp Column Podcast, and she is passionate about expanding the harp’s role in contemporary and popular music.

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 PDF publications are available on the Atlanta Harp Center and the Virginia Harp Center websites.

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.

Morgan Rysdon

Morgan Rysdon is a nationally certified Alexander Technique teacher, speaker, and movement educator based in Atlanta. She is dedicated to helping individuals cultivate greater ease, balance, and comfort in their bodies through improved posture, reduced tension, and mindful coordination. Morgan teaches private lessons, group workshops, and monthly introductory classes, and she leads a year-round Parkinson’s wellness class through the JCC in association with NYU Langone’s Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Center.

Morgan holds a BA in Theatre from Illinois State University and completed her Alexander Technique certification at the American Center for the Alexander Technique (ACAT) in New York City. She also holds certification through the National Parkinson’s Foundation Allied Team Training Program and has served in leadership roles within both ACAT and the American Society for Alexander Teachers (AmSAT).