Upcoming Chapter Events
In-Person Harp Socials are resuming in 2026. Address and phone will be posted in our newsletters. All are welcome! This is not a recital - just a place to share your music and love for the harp. Light refreshments will be served. Please RSVP to [email protected]
Sunday, January 25, 2:00 pm. Our student member, Charlotte Trinh, presents her freshman recital, sponsored by the Contra Costa Performing Arts Society. Grace Presbyterian Church, 2100 Tice Valley Blvd., Walnut Creek, CA 94595. No admission. All are welcome. Charlotte will be joined by 2 cellists and a flautist in providing an hour of solo and chamber music, including works from Paradisi, Ravel, Grandjany, Rossini, Massenet, and Pierné. Light refreshments will be served after the concert. Invite your friends, all are welcome! Please contact Charlotte Trinh at [email protected] for any questions.
Program:
Pietro Dominico Paradisi - Toccata
Gabriel Pierné - Impromptu-Caprice
Marcel Grandjany - The Children's Hour
Maurice Ravel - Introduction and Allegro (with piano)
Jules Massenet - Meditation from Thais (with cello)
Gioachino Rossini - Air and Variations (with flute)
Camille Saint-Saëns -The Swan (with cello)
Sunday, May 3, 2026, 2:00 pm. Our Annual Student Education Sessions recital will take place at New Community Church, 1100 Middle Ave, Menlo Park, CA. The recital is free and open to the public. Come and hear the wonderful harpists in our chapter! SES is an annually recurring event, sponsored by the American Harp Society, under the official name of Auditions and Evaluations. Our own Sonya Yu oversees the AHS national program. Participants, from the youngest and newest harp students through advanced pre-college musicians, prepare two harp pieces and perform them, via video submission, 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 two later, in the form of a public recital with all the participants. This year's adjudicator is Katherine Siochi, principal harpist of the San Francisco Symphony and winner of the 10th USA International Harp Competition. Video submissions will be due March 22, 2026. Registration information will be available in January.
Spring, 2026. Our own Naomi Sun, who was the first prize winner of the Advanced Division of the 2025 AHS National Competition, is now a senior at Rice University. We have asked her to present her Senior Recital in the Bay Area this upcoming spring. Date and location TBA.
September 25/26, 2026. Internationally renowned harpist, Alexander Boldachev, will be giving a concert and Master Class for our chapter. We are currently working to finalize venues for him.
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.
Sunday, January 25, 2:00 pm. Our student member, Charlotte Trinh, presents her freshman recital, sponsored by the Contra Costa Performing Arts Society. Grace Presbyterian Church, 2100 Tice Valley Blvd., Walnut Creek, CA 94595. No admission. All are welcome. Charlotte will be joined by 2 cellists and a flautist in providing an hour of solo and chamber music, including works from Paradisi, Ravel, Grandjany, Rossini, Massenet, and Pierné. Light refreshments will be served after the concert. Invite your friends, all are welcome! Please contact Charlotte Trinh at [email protected] for any questions.
Program:
Pietro Dominico Paradisi - Toccata
Gabriel Pierné - Impromptu-Caprice
Marcel Grandjany - The Children's Hour
Maurice Ravel - Introduction and Allegro (with piano)
Jules Massenet - Meditation from Thais (with cello)
Gioachino Rossini - Air and Variations (with flute)
Camille Saint-Saëns -The Swan (with cello)
Sunday, May 3, 2026, 2:00 pm. Our Annual Student Education Sessions recital will take place at New Community Church, 1100 Middle Ave, Menlo Park, CA. The recital is free and open to the public. Come and hear the wonderful harpists in our chapter! SES is an annually recurring event, sponsored by the American Harp Society, under the official name of Auditions and Evaluations. Our own Sonya Yu oversees the AHS national program. Participants, from the youngest and newest harp students through advanced pre-college musicians, prepare two harp pieces and perform them, via video submission, 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 two later, in the form of a public recital with all the participants. This year's adjudicator is Katherine Siochi, principal harpist of the San Francisco Symphony and winner of the 10th USA International Harp Competition. Video submissions will be due March 22, 2026. Registration information will be available in January.
Spring, 2026. Our own Naomi Sun, who was the first prize winner of the Advanced Division of the 2025 AHS National Competition, is now a senior at Rice University. We have asked her to present her Senior Recital in the Bay Area this upcoming spring. Date and location TBA.
September 25/26, 2026. Internationally renowned harpist, Alexander Boldachev, will be giving a concert and Master Class for our chapter. We are currently working to finalize venues for him.
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
Sunday, December 7, 2025, 3:00 pm. Stephanie Janowski will perform with the San Jose Wind Symphony in their "Echoes of Christmas Past" concert. The concert also features brings beloved holiday favorites to life — from Anderson’s A Christmas Festival and Sleigh Ride to Lauridsen’s luminous O Magnum Mysterium. McAfee Performing Arts Center, Saratoga. For information and tickets, see sjws.org.
Saturday, December 13, 7:30 pm. Stephanie Janowski will be playing a flute and harp duet of "Greensleeves Variations", as well as playing in the small orchestra for the Los Altos United Methodist Church's Festival of Carols and Lights. The church is at 655 Magdalena Ave., Los Altos. More information to follow.
Saturday, December 20 – Annual Winter Solstice Ritual at Isis Oasis, Geyserville, CA. 7:00 pm. Celebrate this year's Winter Season with music, poetry, ritual and singalongs and special rituals. Join harpists Diana Stork, Portia Diwa, Laurel North and many more. A perfect event for the whole family! In the Heart of Sonoma County. More info at: https://isisoasissanctuary.org/ Advance tickets, concert info and Dinner Reservations: 707-857-4747
$15 General; $10 Children, Students & Seniors. Gourmet Dinner before the concert 6 pm. $20. Tickets will also be available at the door starting at 6:30.
Sunday, December 21 - Winter Solstice Labyrinth Walk at Community Congregational Church in Tiburon. 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm. Music played by Harpist Diana Stork beside the beautiful indoor labyrinth of sweet-smelling evergreen boughs. Lit by hundreds of white candles. Community Congregational Church, Tiburon - 145 Rock hill Drive, Tiburon, CA 94920. Free—open to the public. Info at: 415-435-9108; www.ccctiburon.org.
Please email svcahs (at) gmail.com with your member news and upcoming events to share!
Saturday, December 13, 7:30 pm. Stephanie Janowski will be playing a flute and harp duet of "Greensleeves Variations", as well as playing in the small orchestra for the Los Altos United Methodist Church's Festival of Carols and Lights. The church is at 655 Magdalena Ave., Los Altos. More information to follow.
Saturday, December 20 – Annual Winter Solstice Ritual at Isis Oasis, Geyserville, CA. 7:00 pm. Celebrate this year's Winter Season with music, poetry, ritual and singalongs and special rituals. Join harpists Diana Stork, Portia Diwa, Laurel North and many more. A perfect event for the whole family! In the Heart of Sonoma County. More info at: https://isisoasissanctuary.org/ Advance tickets, concert info and Dinner Reservations: 707-857-4747
$15 General; $10 Children, Students & Seniors. Gourmet Dinner before the concert 6 pm. $20. Tickets will also be available at the door starting at 6:30.
Sunday, December 21 - Winter Solstice Labyrinth Walk at Community Congregational Church in Tiburon. 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm. Music played by Harpist Diana Stork beside the beautiful indoor labyrinth of sweet-smelling evergreen boughs. Lit by hundreds of white candles. Community Congregational Church, Tiburon - 145 Rock hill Drive, Tiburon, CA 94920. Free—open to the public. Info at: 415-435-9108; www.ccctiburon.org.
Please email svcahs (at) gmail.com with your member news and upcoming events to share!