Upcoming Chapter Events
Sunday, September 20th, 4:00PM. Recital by Noël Wan, Old First Church, 1751 Sacramento St, San Francisco, CA 94109
A San Jose native, former SVCAHS member, and one of classical harp’s most distinctive emerging soloists, Noël Wan brings together her unique artistic voice and intellectual imagination in an all-new solo program, Les Fleurs du Mal. Pairing pieces by beloved late Romantic composers with exquisite twenty-first century works, she and her harp conjure a tangled, efflorescent world of decadence, perversion, and beauty.
Music by Rachmaninoff, Jenks, Faure, Callender, Puccini and more.
Click here to purchase tickets.
Master class with Noel Wan:
When: Saturday September 19 from 5-7 pm
Where: Sol Joseph recital hall at SFCM, 50 Oak Street, San Francisco; Open to the Public.
September 27, 2026. Internationally renowned harpist, Alexander Boldachev, will be giving a concert and Master Class for our chapter. The two-hour Master Class will take place from 1-3 pm at New Community Church, and the concert will begin at 4:00 pm. There will be a Fall Kickoff reception with refreshments on the patio between the two events. 8 students are participating in the Master Class, which is open to anyone to attend as an auditor.
Saturday, October 3, 2026. EFFERVESCENCE! Harp and Strings Concert and Workshop with Alfredo Rolando Ortiz
This concert will feature Marina Roznitovsky Oster, harp soloist, with the Bay Philharmonic Strings and Woodwinds performing works by Debussy, Handel, Mendelssohn, and more under the direction of conductor Jane K. Brown. The stirring program will include the world premieres of Iguazu and Una Luz en el Mar by Paraguayan harpist, composer, and renowned soloist Alfredo Rolando Ortiz. The program will feature several of Ortiz’s works, including a world premiere, with Alfredo and his wife traveling from Southern California for the event. Local student harpists, including our Silicon Valley Youth Harp Ensemble, are performing in two of the Ortiz pieces.
The Bay Area and Silicon Valley Chapters of AHS are supporting Alfredo’s visit. There will be a complimentary morning workshop with Alfredo for members and their guests. The harp ensemble will rehearse with the orchestra at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the Castro Valley Center for the Arts, 19501 Redwood Road, Castro Valley, CA 94546. The concert will be at 4:00 p.m. at the same location.
Members interested in joining the orchestra for the harp ensemble pieces should contact conductor Jane Brown.
The harp ensemble will perform Ortiz’s Danza de Luzma and Llano, followed by Ms. Brown’s Celtic arrangement for harps and orchestra, O’Carolan’s Wedding Feast.
Saturday, December 19, 2026. The Silicon Valley Youth Harp Ensemble performs their annual ensemble and solo Holiday concert at the San Jose Museum of Art.
Sunday, January 10, 2027. 1:00 - 5:00 pm. Potluck held jointly with SVCAHS and BACAHS. Hosted by the California Harp Center. Come enjoy a great afternoon with our Bay Area wide harp community! More details to follow.
The first ever AHS Harp Ensemble Festival, will be held in Summer 2027. (The link 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.
Member News and Events
On August 14 and 16, 2026, oboist Kyle Bruckman and harpist Jennifer Ellis played the North American premiere of Hans Werner Henze's Doppio Concerto for Harp and Oboe (photo left). Dr. Ellis will also be premiering Kurt Rhode's new Concertino for Harp at the Ann E Pitzer in Davis, CA on February 28th, 2027.
October 11, 2026, 3:00 pm. Stephanie Janowski performs with the San Jose Wind Symphony. McAfee Performing Arts Center, 20300 Herriman Ave, Saratoga, CA 95070. A Novel Concert: Step into the pages of great literature brought to life through music. The San José Wind Symphony draws from beloved characters and narratives spanning centuries of storytelling, with works connected to Candide, Scheherazade, Rudyard Kipling's The Butterfly That Stamped, Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings, and the epic voyage of Moby-Dick through McBeth's Of Sailors and Whales. Together, the program unfolds like a great book, one musical chapter at a time. Tickets at sjws.org.
December 13, 2026, 3:00 pm. Stephanie Janowski performs with the San Jose Wind Symphony. McAfee Performing Arts Center, 20300 Herriman Ave, Saratoga, CA 95070. Buon Natale with Pasquale Esposito: Celebrate the season with internationally acclaimed tenor Pasquale Esposito and the San José Wind Symphony in an afternoon of music, memory, and holiday tradition. Buon Natale weaves Italian Christmas classics, beloved opera arias, and familiar seasonal favorites into a heartfelt program that honors family, heritage, and the joy of gathering together. The performance also features our tradition of The Night Before Christmas. Whether you're drawn to the passion of Italian song or the warmth of holiday celebration, this concert promises an unforgettable afternoon that will leave you filled with the spirit of the season. sjws.org
The Bay Area Harp Foundation Youth Harp Ensemble is welcoming new harpists for their 2026–2027 season. Led by Kristal Schwartz and open to both lever and pedal harpists, the ensemble rehearses on Sundays. Students participate in a Large Ensemble as well as one of five Small Ensembles based on age and playing level. http://www.bayareaharpfoundation.org/
We are so fortunate that several of our Bay Area harpists have opened a new, centrally located full-service harp store in Hayward. The opening weekend of The California Harp Center was March 28/29, and the store carries a multitude of new Lyon and Healy, Salvi, Camac and Aoyama pedal harps, as well as Dusty Strings, Triplett and Harp-E lever harps, and some rental pedal and lever harps. The spacious showroom is open by appointment. Please visit Californiaharpcenter.com for information and appointments.
After 37 years, Diana Stork is stepping down as founder and director of the Multicultural Music Fellowship (MCMF). The Director “reins" have been passed on to longtime Board member, Alexis Lyon, whose work in MCMF has focused on music, harp education and outreach. MCMF is thrilled to have her on board, and hope our Bay Area community will support her work in the coming years. www.multiculturalmusicfellowship.org.
If you’d like to read about Diana’s years as director of MCMF, Diana’s work was featured in this article in the Folk Harp Journal.
Please email svcahs (at) gmail.com with your member news and upcoming events to share!