Harp Day: The Harp & Technology

Harp Day 2020 is going virtual! Join us for a concert by Abigail Kent and a pre-concert discussion with Angelica Hairston. The Zoom information is below: 

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/901111428?pwd=QWpESjN0Y2dIM1c1clN6ZHIycWhWdz09

Meeting ID: 901 111 428

Passcode: harpmeet

Although Harp Day 2020 is free, we appreciate donations to cover the costs of bringing these two brilliant harpists to you. Donations can be made by clicking the "Donate" button on the bottom right corner of the Home page or by buying a $20 "Suggested Donation" ticket at the bottom of this event page. 

HARP DAY 2020 SCHEDULE 

THE HARP & TECHNOLOGY: HOW TO FUNCTION IN THE 21ST CENTURY  

3:00-3:45 p.m.

Angelica Hairston will guide you through living and working in the Digital Age! She will answer your questions about how to give an online concert, play from an iPad, mic your harp, teach online, and more!

Learn more about Angelica's work on her website: http://www.angelicahairston.com/about

ABIGAIL KENT IN A SOLO HARP RECITAL

4:00-5:00 p.m.

Abigail Kent will present a stunning recital with works by Spohr, Patterson, Renie, and more. Abigail is "one of the brightest new stars of the harp" and was the 2017-2019 AHS Concert Artist.

Read more about Abigail's harp career here: https://www.abigailkentharp.com/

ABIGAIL KENT

One of the brightest new stars of the harp, Abigail Kent is an international award-winning harpist. Hailed as “superb” by the South Florida Classical Review, she was the February 2018 “New Artist” for Musical America International Magazine as well as the touring Harp Ambassador as “Concert Artist” for the American Harp Society 2017-19. With this prize, she presented 25 solo recitals and taught 18 masterclasses throughout the US.

She was also a featured harp soloist for the 2017 World Harp Congress in Hong Kong, a Laureate Finalist at the 2017 Classics Alive management search in Los Angeles, and most recently was awarded the 2019 Silver Medal at the Medallion International Concerto Competition.

Her earlier awards include Finalist for 2016 International Harp Competition in Hungary, Winner of 2015 American Strings Teachers Association Senior Harp National Solo Competition, and Winner of “Play With Pros” Concerto Competition, performing with members of the Philadelphia Orchestra at the 2013 Saratoga Harp Colony. 

Ms. Kent is a sought-after concert soloist, harp educator, and harpist for symphony orchestras. She is Guest Principal Harpist for the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Principal Harpist for “Symphony in C” in New Jersey, and plays often with the New World Symphony. Additionally, she has performed at summer music festivals around the world including Spoleto Festival USA, Pacific Music Festival (Sapporo, Japan), and the Aspen Music Festival. She has performed internationally in venues that include Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Jordan Hall in Boston, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Southwark Cathedral in London, and Konzerthaus in Berlin, and has performed under the batons of Valery Gergiev, Michael Tilson Thomas, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Osmo Vänskä, Vladimir Jurowski, and Ken Lam.

An avid proponent of new music, she has premiered commissioned works and solos written for her including dahlianum by Andrew Hsu, The Star at Night and The Angel at Dawn by Ben Yee-Paulson, and The Tolstoy Trio by Nicholas Bentz. 

A multi-instrumentalist, Ms. Kent has won numerous prizes on the Celtic harp through the Scottish Harp Society of America and studied classical piano, cello, mandolin, as well as the tenor banjo. She began her classical pedal harp studies in 2010 with Judy McCoy and has also studied with Jacquelyn Bartlett, Susann McDonald, Jana Bouskova, Maria Luisa Rayan, Anneleen Lenaerts, Catrin Finch, Ina Zdorovetchi, Karen Vaughan, Chantal Mathieu, and Isabelle Moretti. In 2014, she completed a Jazz harp course with the legendary Park Stickney. 

Ms. Kent studied for a year in the BMus program at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Catherine White. She was then selected as the Maryjane Mayhew Barton Fellow at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she earned her Bachelor of Music degree under Elizabeth Hainen, Principal Harpist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, graduating with the Landis Award for Excellence in Academics. Ms. Kent went on to obtain her Master of Music degree as a Presidential Scholar at the Mannes School of Music in New York City, studying with Emmanuel Ceysson, Principal Harpist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. She is currently pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree as a C.V. Starr Fellow at The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Nancy Allen, Principal Harpist of the New York Philharmonic.

ANGELICA HAIRSTON 

Harpist 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, a concert series dedicated to empowering artists of color, and sparking dialogue about diversity, inclusion, and equity, both on and off the concert stage.

In addition to her work with CTS, Angelica currently serves as the Artistic Director of the Urban Youth Harp Ensemble where she provides free harp instruction to over 90 students at Drew Charter School in Atlanta, GA. She was recently celebrated as one of the youngest recipients of the 2019 Governor’s Awards for the Arts & Humanities, an award recognizing individuals who have made significant contributions to the state of Georgia’s civic and cultural vitality through excellence and service.

Angelica is a current member of the Sphinx Organization's SphinxLEAD cohort and serves as a Specialist in the area of Education and Equity for NPR’s From the Top and Boston University Tanglewood Institute. She was a keynote speaker at the Woodruff Arts Center Educator Conference, was a member of the League of American Orchestras’ Essentials of Orchestra Management, and a panel moderator for SphinxConnect. Angelica holds a Master of Music Industry Leadership from Northeastern University as a 2015 MLK Fellow and a Bachelor of Music from The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Canada where she studied with world-renowned harpist Judy Loman.