staff
Mary Jane and David D’Arville
When the Virginia Harp Center opened in Midlothian, Virginia in 1997, David and Mary Jane D’Arville were determined to create a showroom dedicated to serving all harpists. They succeeded by offering the largest selection of harps on the East Coast by some of the finest lever and pedal harp makers in the world including Camac, Dusty Strings, Lyon & Healy, and Salvi. The D’Arvilles live in Richmond, Virginia and David aspires to someday own a small sports car that will not fit a harp.
Katherine Cook - Manager, Atlanta Harp Center
Katherine Cook is a graduate of Kennesaw State University where she studied clarinet performance. She has performed internationally in China and South Korea and studied abroad at Hanyang University in South Korea with clarinetist Changhee Lee from the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra.
A local of Metro-Atlanta, Katherine has taught clarinet lessons in the Forsyth County area and enjoys arranging classical works for clarinet ensemble in her free time. She is excited to continue her musical journey on the harp and to share her passion for music in all its forms.
Julie Koenig - Harpist-in-Residence, Atlanta Harp Center
According to legend, Julie Koenig was the Atlanta Harp Center's first customer. These days she works part-time at the store filling orders for strings and music, tuning showroom harps, restringing consignments, and recording audio clips.
Julie is an Atlanta-based harpist with repertoire ranging from classical to contemporary music. An Ohio native, she played with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Harp Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. After freelancing in Miami, she moved to Atlanta and became principal harpist with the Georgia Symphony, DeKalb Symphony and Gwinnett Symphony orchestras, and is a regular sub for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Julie has also played harp on European tours in Rome, Italy and Vienna, Austria. She performs with several Atlanta area choral groups and has played for thousands of weddings.
In her spare time, Julie can usually be found attending an Atlanta Braves game or rooting for the Cincinnati Bengals.
David Raaen - Sales Associate, Atlanta Harp Center
A native of Georgia, David began his musical studies on the piano at age 4. He then began playing the harp at age 13, and studied with Calista Koch, Nella Rigell and Ellen Heinicke Foster. In 2002, David spent time in Russia working in orphanages and playing the harp. An avid teacher, David has produced a number of performing harpists over the years from his studio. In addition to solo recitals, he has also performed for numerous weddings, church services and with orchestral ensembles.