Chapter student member, Viviana Alfaro, pictured on right, was featured on NPR's From the Top on April 21, 2024 in honor of Earth Day. You can hear her wonderful performance and interview here.
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Welcome from the SVCAHS BoardDear 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. 
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Chapter News
We are pleased to announce that our SVCAHS membership voted to pass our recent Bylaws revisions. The updated Bylaws can be viewed here. Our new membership year will be from January 1 - December 31. Current members will receive four extra months free (September - December 2024), and dues renewal notices will be sent out in the fall for the 2025 calendar year.
The AHS approved three Student Ambassadors for our chapter for 2024. They are Camille Chu, Bianca Gao and Viviana Alfaro. Each of the Ambassadors designed a project relating to the harp, and presented it at the recent AHS Conference in Orlando, Florida.
The Chapter Ambassadors program promotes student engagement at the chapter and national levels, creating service and community building opportunities for students. The program strives to build partnerships that increase access to the harp, strengthen connections to chapters, encourage student mentoring at the chapter level, and foster future leadership potential for the Society.
The ambassadors are shown at left in Orlando, with their certificates from the AHS. From left, Camille Chu, Viviana Alfaro and Bianca Gao.
We are pleased to announce that our SVCAHS membership voted to pass our recent Bylaws revisions. The updated Bylaws can be viewed here. Our new membership year will be from January 1 - December 31. Current members will receive four extra months free (September - December 2024), and dues renewal notices will be sent out in the fall for the 2025 calendar year.
The AHS approved three Student Ambassadors for our chapter for 2024. They are Camille Chu, Bianca Gao and Viviana Alfaro. Each of the Ambassadors designed a project relating to the harp, and presented it at the recent AHS Conference in Orlando, Florida.
The Chapter Ambassadors program promotes student engagement at the chapter and national levels, creating service and community building opportunities for students. The program strives to build partnerships that increase access to the harp, strengthen connections to chapters, encourage student mentoring at the chapter level, and foster future leadership potential for the Society.
The ambassadors are shown at left in Orlando, with their certificates from the AHS. From left, Camille Chu, Viviana Alfaro and Bianca Gao.
2024 AHS National Conference report by Debbi Ricks.
Our Silicon Valley Chapter of the American Harp Society was well represented at the recent 45th National Conference of the American Harp Society, Inc. held in Orlando, Florida. Three of our student members, Camille Chu, Viviana Alfaro and Bianca Gao, pictured above, represented us as Ambassadors for the American Harp Society. Our SVCAHS chapter is pleased to have several members on the national AHS Board of Directors including Jennifer Ellis, Pacific Regional Director, Karen Gottlieb, Director-at-Large, Amelia Romano, Director-at-Large, and Susan Spiwak, Secretary, Director-at-Large.Chapter member, Sonya Yu, is the Music Education Auditions and Evaluations Program Chair.
SVCAHS chapter members attending the Conference included (from left): Amelia Romano, Karen Gottlieb, Dominique Piana, Susan Spiwak, Debbi Ricks, , , Viviana Alfaro and Liliana Abraham. Attendees not pictured: Camille Chu, Bianca Gao and Jennifer Ellis.
Our Silicon Valley Chapter of the American Harp Society was well represented at the recent 45th National Conference of the American Harp Society, Inc. held in Orlando, Florida. Three of our student members, Camille Chu, Viviana Alfaro and Bianca Gao, pictured above, represented us as Ambassadors for the American Harp Society. Our SVCAHS chapter is pleased to have several members on the national AHS Board of Directors including Jennifer Ellis, Pacific Regional Director, Karen Gottlieb, Director-at-Large, Amelia Romano, Director-at-Large, and Susan Spiwak, Secretary, Director-at-Large.Chapter member, Sonya Yu, is the Music Education Auditions and Evaluations Program Chair.
SVCAHS chapter members attending the Conference included (from left): Amelia Romano, Karen Gottlieb, Dominique Piana, Susan Spiwak, Debbi Ricks, , , Viviana Alfaro and Liliana Abraham. Attendees not pictured: Camille Chu, Bianca Gao and Jennifer Ellis.
Join us on Facebook to learn about harp happenings in the Silicon Valley and Greater SanFrancisco Bay Area. Feel free to send your upcoming events to our Communications Chair, Tamara Mead at [email protected]. https://www.facebook.com/SVCAHS
We want to send out a huge THANK YOU! to Janet Hamm, who generously donated her Venus Model 75 (Premier) 46-string semi-grand pedal harp to the Silicon Valley Chapter of the AHS for use with the Silicon Valley Youth Harp Ensemble.
We want to send out a huge THANK YOU! to Janet Hamm, who generously donated her Venus Model 75 (Premier) 46-string semi-grand pedal harp to the Silicon Valley Chapter of the AHS for use with the Silicon Valley Youth Harp Ensemble.
Upcoming Events
Monthly on the third Friday afternoon of the month, Virtual Harp Live continues to meet via Zoom. All are welcome to join in to chat, pick up harp tips, play a piece you are working on, or just listen in and enjoy the company of other harpists. Contact Sue Dinwiddie at s.dinwiddie@icloud.com for more information and the Zoom link. (Virtual Harp Live is on Hiatus until September 20, 2024.)
Lynne Rovin is organizing in-person "Harp Socials", where harpists may come and enjoy each other's company and perform a musical selection, or just listen to others. The first enjoyable gathering took place at the home of Tzipora Henig. Stayed tuned for details of upcoming Harp Socials.
STANFORD LIVE is featuring the Harp in their 2024-25 Concert series, and is bringing 4 different wonderful harpists to perform. Read More About the Series.
November 10, 2024 - World-renowned harpist, Xavier de Maistre, will be featured in a classical concert at Stanford's Bing Concert Hall, 2:30 pm. Xavier was the Gold Medalist of the 1998 USA International Harp Competition, among many other awards. Concert information and tickets.
Wednesday, February 26, 2025 - Stanford Live presents Columbian harpist and composer, Edmar Castañeda with his blend of folk, jazz and Latin music. 7:30 pm. Concert information and tickets.
March 15, 2025 - Stanford Live presents harpist Lavinia Meijer in concert at The Studio at 7:00 pm. Lavinia was the 2004 USA International Harp Competition bronze medalist and has made an amazing career in contemporary music, with three consecutive albums hitting the Top 10 Dutch rock charts. Concert information and tickets.
Thursday, April 3, 2025 - Brandee Younger performs on harp with Sona Jabarteh on kora in a concert titled, Strings of Hope: A Song For Tomorrow, 7:30 pm. Concert information and tickets.
The first ever AHS Harp Ensemble Festival, which was scheduled to be part of the 2025 AHS Summer Institute, has been postponed until 2027, in order to give schools and other organizations more time to prepare and raise funds to attend. (The link above provides all the information about ages, divisions and rules.) SVCAHS is planning to send TWO youth harp ensembles to the festival, thanks to a very generous $3000 matching grant from Karen Gottlieb: The Silicon Valley Youth Harp Ensemble (YES), led by Sonya Yu ([email protected]), and the San Jose Youth Symphony Harp Ensemble, led by Kristal Schwartz ([email protected]). Please contact Sonya or Kristal for information about joining these two established ensembles. Additionally, harpists can enter as duets, trios or quartets, or form their own ensembles.
Keep scrolling for more news!
Lynne Rovin is organizing in-person "Harp Socials", where harpists may come and enjoy each other's company and perform a musical selection, or just listen to others. The first enjoyable gathering took place at the home of Tzipora Henig. Stayed tuned for details of upcoming Harp Socials.
STANFORD LIVE is featuring the Harp in their 2024-25 Concert series, and is bringing 4 different wonderful harpists to perform. Read More About the Series.
November 10, 2024 - World-renowned harpist, Xavier de Maistre, will be featured in a classical concert at Stanford's Bing Concert Hall, 2:30 pm. Xavier was the Gold Medalist of the 1998 USA International Harp Competition, among many other awards. Concert information and tickets.
Wednesday, February 26, 2025 - Stanford Live presents Columbian harpist and composer, Edmar Castañeda with his blend of folk, jazz and Latin music. 7:30 pm. Concert information and tickets.
March 15, 2025 - Stanford Live presents harpist Lavinia Meijer in concert at The Studio at 7:00 pm. Lavinia was the 2004 USA International Harp Competition bronze medalist and has made an amazing career in contemporary music, with three consecutive albums hitting the Top 10 Dutch rock charts. Concert information and tickets.
Thursday, April 3, 2025 - Brandee Younger performs on harp with Sona Jabarteh on kora in a concert titled, Strings of Hope: A Song For Tomorrow, 7:30 pm. Concert information and tickets.
The first ever AHS Harp Ensemble Festival, which was scheduled to be part of the 2025 AHS Summer Institute, has been postponed until 2027, in order to give schools and other organizations more time to prepare and raise funds to attend. (The link above provides all the information about ages, divisions and rules.) SVCAHS is planning to send TWO youth harp ensembles to the festival, thanks to a very generous $3000 matching grant from Karen Gottlieb: The Silicon Valley Youth Harp Ensemble (YES), led by Sonya Yu ([email protected]), and the San Jose Youth Symphony Harp Ensemble, led by Kristal Schwartz ([email protected]). Please contact Sonya or Kristal for information about joining these two established ensembles. Additionally, harpists can enter as duets, trios or quartets, or form their own ensembles.
Keep scrolling for more news!
Student Education SessionsSES 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. We are so grateful to our director, Sonya Yu, who has made our chapter's SES program so successful, she is now leading the program for the entire American Harp Society. |
Most Recent Events
Reception and Recital Honoring our Graduating Seniors
On Sunday, June 2, 2024, we hosted a special day honoring the graduating seniors in our chapter. The event took place at the Palo Alto home of Tamara Mead. There were beautiful performances by Viviana Alfaro and Hannah Chen (high school seniors), plenty of food and time to enjoy re-connecting with other harpists. Viviana is heading off to study at Eastman School of music this fall, and Hannah is going to be studying at the Curtis Institute. We wish them both success and and a wonderful experience in college.
Our annual Student Education Sessions (SES) Recital was held March 3, 2024 at New Community Church in Menlo Park. Eighteen student members participated in the recital. SES is part of the American Harp Society, Inc.'s Music Education Auditions and Evaluations Program. Each student records two varying pieces that are evaluated by an adjudicator. After a month of practicing and using the comments to improve, the participants perform in a recital. This is a wonderful opportunity for the students to play their pieces and to hear the other students play. We are very proud of their progress. This year's adjudicator was Dr. Jennifer Ellis (D.M.A. University of Michigan, M.M. Cleveland Institute of Music, B.M. Oberlin. harpellis.com). SES was coordinated by Sonya Yu, our chapter SES Director and Youth Ensemble Director. Special thanks to our chapter teachers Esther Lee, Dominique Piana, Janice Ortega, Linda Rollo, Sonya Yu, and Dan Levitan for encouraging their students to participate.
A recital program with photo can be viewed 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.
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.
Silicon Valley Youth Harp Ensemble (YES)
The SILICON VALLEY YOUTH HARP ENSEMBLE (also known as Youth Ensemble Success, or Y.E.S), is 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.
Student Scholarship Program
The Silicon Valley Harp Society is devoted to helping harp students with special financial needs. If you are a harp student with a special financial need and would like to apply for scholarship funding, please provide the following information: 1) Name, 2) Address, 3) Telephone, 4) Email Address, 5) A description of your financial need, your family support, and for what purpose the funds would be used. Please tell us why you would like scholarship assistance and what your goals are as a harpist.
Send this information to Lynne Rovin, Scholarship Committee Chair, at [email protected]
The Silicon Valley Harp Society is devoted to helping harp students with special financial needs. If you are a harp student with a special financial need and would like to apply for scholarship funding, please provide the following information: 1) Name, 2) Address, 3) Telephone, 4) Email Address, 5) A description of your financial need, your family support, and for what purpose the funds would be used. Please tell us why you would like scholarship assistance and what your goals are as a harpist.
Send this information to Lynne Rovin, Scholarship Committee Chair, at [email protected]
About Us
The Silicon Valley Chapter of the American Harp Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.