Welcome from the Board
Dear SVC AHS members and other friends of the harp,
Thank you for visiting our website. We are a dynamic chapter, consisting of over 80 harp enthusiasts including professionals, teachers, students, amateurs and fans. We were honored to receive the Chapter of the Year Award from the American Harp Society in both 2010 and 2014.
Every season we sponsor many wonderful concerts, details of which can be found on our Upcoming Chapter Events and Recent Chapter Events pages. As a harpist or parent of a harpist, you are invited to everything we do, and your participation is what makes it all worthwhile for us,. If you are a harp enthusiast, please check back frequently to see the high quality performances we sponsor. Our Event Calendar also lists public events where you can hear our member harpists performing.
Congratulations to our Silicon Valley Youth Harp Ensemble for their continued success and outreach. They were selected to perform at the World Harp Congress in Hong Kong in 2017, and at the American Harp Society National Conference in June, 2018.
If you are looking for a harp teacher or to hire a performing harpist for a special event, please view the links at the top of the page for information about our members who teach and perform.
Thank you for visiting our website. We are a dynamic chapter, consisting of over 80 harp enthusiasts including professionals, teachers, students, amateurs and fans. We were honored to receive the Chapter of the Year Award from the American Harp Society in both 2010 and 2014.
Every season we sponsor many wonderful concerts, details of which can be found on our Upcoming Chapter Events and Recent Chapter Events pages. As a harpist or parent of a harpist, you are invited to everything we do, and your participation is what makes it all worthwhile for us,. If you are a harp enthusiast, please check back frequently to see the high quality performances we sponsor. Our Event Calendar also lists public events where you can hear our member harpists performing.
Congratulations to our Silicon Valley Youth Harp Ensemble for their continued success and outreach. They were selected to perform at the World Harp Congress in Hong Kong in 2017, and at the American Harp Society National Conference in June, 2018.
If you are looking for a harp teacher or to hire a performing harpist for a special event, please view the links at the top of the page for information about our members who teach and perform.
To Navigate Website: Click on Tabs at Top of Page, Then Scroll Down Each Page To View More Information
Next Upcoming Event
Graduating Senior Reception - May 20, 2023
Please join us in celebrating our graduating senior, David Lin, at a reception and recital at his home in Sunnyvale at 3 pm on May 20, 2023. David is a very accomplished young harpist, whose passion for the harp has led to numerous accomplishments and awards. He was selected to perform in the Focus on Youth Concert at the 2022 World Harp Congress, and won 2nd prize at the Hong Kong International Harp Competition, and 3rd prize in the 2022 Korea International Harp Competition Youth Division. He won his first awards, the Bronze and the Harpiana Prize at the Yvonne La Mothe Schwager Harp Competition in 2017 and again in 2019. He has also won awards at the Enkor International Music Competition and the United States International Music Competition and has been recognized by many other organizations including CMEA. In 2021, he was a finalist for the American Harp Society National Competition.
David will be attending UC Berkeley this fall, pursuing his interests in business, economics and AI, as well as continuing harp orchestral roles.
David will be attending UC Berkeley this fall, pursuing his interests in business, economics and AI, as well as continuing harp orchestral roles.
Recent Events
Student Education Sessions - April 15 Recital
SVCAHS held our annual Student Education Sessions (SES) Recital, part of the AHS curriculum, at 1:30 pm on Saturday, April 15, 2023. The recital was open to the public and was held at New Community Church, 1100 Middle Ave, Menlo Park, CA. Our 2023 Student Education Sessions included 24 performers. Our Silicon Valley Youth Harp Ensemble YES program also performed three pieces at the recital. Video of those performances can be seen on our SVCAHS Youtube channel.
SES is an annually recurring event, sponsored by the American Harp Society. Participants, from the youngest and newest harp students through advanced pre-college musicians, prepare two harp pieces and perform them for an adjudicator in Session I. The adjudicator gives verbal and written feedback to the student to help them practice and improve. Session II takes place a month or so later, in the form of a public recital with all of the participants.
Our SES sessions have been very well attended, with typically 16-34 performers of various ages and levels. Our adjudicators have been renowned and highly qualified performers and instructors. In 2022 and 2023, we had the honor of having Annabelle Taubl as our adjudicator. Her biography is available here.
SES is an annually recurring event, sponsored by the American Harp Society. Participants, from the youngest and newest harp students through advanced pre-college musicians, prepare two harp pieces and perform them for an adjudicator in Session I. The adjudicator gives verbal and written feedback to the student to help them practice and improve. Session II takes place a month or so later, in the form of a public recital with all of the participants.
Our SES sessions have been very well attended, with typically 16-34 performers of various ages and levels. Our adjudicators have been renowned and highly qualified performers and instructors. In 2022 and 2023, we had the honor of having Annabelle Taubl as our adjudicator. Her biography is available here.
Fall Kickoff - October 2022
Our 2022-23 Fall Kickoff was held at the home of our student member, David Lin. David was the featured speaker, detailing his experience as a performer in the Focus on Youth Concert at the 2022 World Harp Congress in Cardiff, Wales.
You can view David's presentation here. If you have never attended a World Harp Congress, you should find it absolutely fascinating. Lynne Rovin also attended the 2022 WHC and her presentation of her experience as an attendee is here.
You can view David's presentation here. If you have never attended a World Harp Congress, you should find it absolutely fascinating. Lynne Rovin also attended the 2022 WHC and her presentation of her experience as an attendee is here.
New Harp Appointments
Congratulations to Meredith Clark, who has been appointed as solo harpist for the Royal Swedish Opera. Meredith currently resides in San Francisco where she is a solo, chamber and orchestral harpist, and she has taken part in our SVCAHS Harp Extravaganza concerts in the past. You can read more about Meredith's appointment in Harp Column and can find her bio on her website.
In Memoriam - Dr. F. David Rollo
We were very saddened to learn of the passing of Dr. Rollo, the devoted husband of our former president, Linda Wood Rollo, and a longtime supporter of our harp community.
David made huge contributions to the field of nuclear medicine, and will be remembered as an extremely loving and devoted father and husband and well as for his brilliant scientific mind, though he remained remarkably humble. He had a special talent for supporting and encouraging others in their fields, and he especially loved music, dance and fine art.
The USA International Harp Competition has started a fundraiser Facebook page for donations in memory of Dr. Rollo. Dr. Rollo joined the USIHC Board of Directors in 1990, became Chair in 1993 and President in 2021. He was a guiding light and dedicated leader, supporting the USIHC in many ways through eleven successful competitions. He was an inspiration to all who knew him and will be greatly missed by the harp world.
A lovely graveside funeral service was held October 28 at Madronia Cemetery. Dan Levitan provided beautiful harp music for the occasion. A link to David Rollo's remarkable biography from his memorial is here.
Our hearts and our prayers go out to Linda Rollo and their family.
David made huge contributions to the field of nuclear medicine, and will be remembered as an extremely loving and devoted father and husband and well as for his brilliant scientific mind, though he remained remarkably humble. He had a special talent for supporting and encouraging others in their fields, and he especially loved music, dance and fine art.
The USA International Harp Competition has started a fundraiser Facebook page for donations in memory of Dr. Rollo. Dr. Rollo joined the USIHC Board of Directors in 1990, became Chair in 1993 and President in 2021. He was a guiding light and dedicated leader, supporting the USIHC in many ways through eleven successful competitions. He was an inspiration to all who knew him and will be greatly missed by the harp world.
A lovely graveside funeral service was held October 28 at Madronia Cemetery. Dan Levitan provided beautiful harp music for the occasion. A link to David Rollo's remarkable biography from his memorial is here.
Our hearts and our prayers go out to Linda Rollo and their family.
David Lin and Melody Chien are our new AHS Chapter Ambassadors
SVCAHS is excited to have not one, but TWO AHS Chapter Ambassadors for the 2022-2023 season. Both David Lin and Melody Chien have been approved by the AHS to be our chapter ambassadors. We will feature them and their proposed projects in the near future. Ambassadors must maintain active chapter membership, and must engage in and document a volunteer activity of benefit to our chapter, a local harp program, or harpists in our AHS region and/or beyond, before September 30, 2023. Congratulations, David and Melody! We also thank Naomi Sun for being our Chapter Ambassador for 2021-22.
Noël Wan Wins First Prize at USA International Harp Competition!
Congratulations to our longtime SVCAHS chapter member, Noël Wan, who is the 2022 Gold Medalist at the USA International Harp Competition, held in July, 2022 in Bloomington, Indiana.
As the Gold Medalist, Noël's prizes included:
* A Lyon and Healy Concert Grand harp, up to a $55,000 value, sponsored by Lyon
& Healy Harps.
* A Debut Recital sponsored by Lyon &Healy Harps
* International laureate Exchange Prize between the USA International Harp Competition and the International Harp Contest of Israel
* Laureate Recital at the 22nd International Harp Contest of Israel
* $6000 prize - Susann McDonald
In addition, Noël was the winner of the $1000 Mario Falcao Prize for the best performance of the winning competition of the 7th USAIHC Ruth Inglefield Composition Contest - Ariel Sol Bertulfo Schwartz; self
A Youtube video of the final contest stage and the award ceremony can be viewed, as well as videos of earlier stages of the competition.
Photo below from left: Founder and artistic director, Susann McDonald, Noël Wan (1st Prize), Huw Boucher (2nd Prize) and Hyejin Kim (3rd Prize).
As the Gold Medalist, Noël's prizes included:
* A Lyon and Healy Concert Grand harp, up to a $55,000 value, sponsored by Lyon
& Healy Harps.
* A Debut Recital sponsored by Lyon &Healy Harps
* International laureate Exchange Prize between the USA International Harp Competition and the International Harp Contest of Israel
* Laureate Recital at the 22nd International Harp Contest of Israel
* $6000 prize - Susann McDonald
In addition, Noël was the winner of the $1000 Mario Falcao Prize for the best performance of the winning competition of the 7th USAIHC Ruth Inglefield Composition Contest - Ariel Sol Bertulfo Schwartz; self
A Youtube video of the final contest stage and the award ceremony can be viewed, as well as videos of earlier stages of the competition.
Photo below from left: Founder and artistic director, Susann McDonald, Noël Wan (1st Prize), Huw Boucher (2nd Prize) and Hyejin Kim (3rd Prize).
The Silicon Valley Youth Harp Ensemble
The SILICON VALLEY YOUTH HARP ENSEMBLE, sponsored by the Silicon Valley Chapter of the American Harp Society, has gained recognition and become sought after for community performances since its inception in January, 2014. The ensemble has performed in the chapter's String Fever/Harp Extravaganza concerts, numerous local venues and for nonprofit organizations, as well as being invited to play for the 2017 World Harp Congress in Hong Kong, and at the 2018 American Harp Society National Conference. The first piece the ensemble recorded is Christmas Combo, arranged by its director, Sonya Yu. A sample of the Christmas recording may be heard at this link: Jingle bells
The young ensemble members (aged 8-16) not only play the harp well, but also learn the qualities of leadership, management, technology skills, and the discipline to work with professional recording specialists. You can find more information about joining the Silicon Valley Youth Harp Ensemble, and about its future performances at www.harpyes.org
The young ensemble members (aged 8-16) not only play the harp well, but also learn the qualities of leadership, management, technology skills, and the discipline to work with professional recording specialists. You can find more information about joining the Silicon Valley Youth Harp Ensemble, and about its future performances at www.harpyes.org
