Honors and Awards
We are so proud of our many extremely talented SVCAHS members. Please let us know if you would like to publicize any honors and awards for chapter members, at [email protected].
2023-2024
Two of our student members; Liliana Abraham and Charlotte Trinh, have been selected as finalists in the 2023 American Harp Society National Competition, in the 12 and under division. The competition will be held May 31 - June 4 at the Colburn School in Los Angeles.
2021-2022
Our own Naomi Sun was one of five featured international performers in the June, 2022 Stars of Tomorrow concert, given as part of the USA International Harp Competition. The criteria for being selected included being a previous winner of national or international competitions. This wonderful concert, including opening remarks by our own Linda Wood Rollo (Assistant Artistic Director of the competition) and solos by the five performers, can be viewed on Youtube.
Naomi also served as our 2021-22 Chapter Ambassador.
David Lin, 17, was selected as one of six international harpists, ages 21 and younger, to perform in the Focus on Youth Concert at the World Harp Congress in Cardiff, Wales in July 2022. A biography on David, from a competition the previous year, can be found here. David was our featured speaker at our 2022 Fall Kickoff event, speaking about his experience at the World Harp Congress.
David Lin was the 3rd place winner of the Youth Division of the 2022 Korea International Harp Competition. He was also a Platinum winner of the Collegiate Division in the 2022 Grand Metropolitan International Music Competition.
2019-2020
Naomi Sun, age 16, won the audition for Principal Harpist of the San Francisco Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Naomi Sun will be the featured soloist with the Saratoga Symphony Orchestra in Fantaisie for Harp and Orchestra by Theodore Dubois. The concert will take place on January 26, 2020 at McAfee Center, Saratoga High School, 3:00 pm.
Isabelle Lee, harpist of the Saratoga High School orchestra, won the 2019 Concerto Competition and will be featured in the Handel Concerto in Bb on December 13, 7:00 pm at McAfee Center, Saratoga High School.
Out of a record number of proposals submitted, Katherine Healzer has been invited to present at the World Harp Congress 2020 in Wales. Her lecture will be entitled, "Can Music Harmonize a Discordant World?" And will explore the intersection of music, empathy and neuroscience.
2018 - 2019
Naomi Sun, age 15, has been selected, for the second time, as a "Grand Winner" of the National League of Performing Arts Young Artists Competition. As a Grand Winner, she performed Concert Etude (Au Matin) by Marcel Tournier at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall on April 28, 2019.
Naomi also won the US Navy Band's Ambassador Middendorf $1000 Grand Prize in March, 2019. She will be the featured soloist in the Handel Harp Concerto with the US Navy Band at Schlesinger Concert Hall in Alexandria, VA on Saturday, May 4, 2019. (The concerto competition was open to all instruments, so it is a rare honor for a harpist to win.)
Naomi is principal harpist with the Golden State Youth Orchestra, a member of the Silicon Valley Youth Harp Ensemble and a student of Linda Rollo. Congratulations on all of your achievements, Naomi!
Tiffany Wong was one of only two freshmen harpists accepted to The Juilliard School as a student of Nancy Allen for Fall 2019. Congratulations, Tiffany!
The United States International Music Competition was held August 18-19, 2018 at Stanford University, and was co-sponsored by the Silicon Valley Chapter of the AHS. This year's award-winners included many of our young chapter members:
Celtic Harp A: First place - Sahyii Lozano
Harp A: First place - Hannah Chen / Second place - Sophia Shan / Third place - Melody Chien
Harp B: First place - Judy Liu / Second place - Naomi Sun / Third place - Katherine Healzer / Hon. Mention - Kartika Santoso
Chinese Music Award - Harp B: First place - Judy Liu / Second Place - Kartika Santoso / Honorable Mention - Haley Park
Special Theme Award (Johann Sebastian Bach) - Harp B: First Place - Judy Liu
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2017-2018
Former SVCAHS member, Madeline Olson, was the first prize winner of the 29th Nippon Harp Competition in Japan. The three-round competition took place from November 15-19, 2017. Olson is currently living in New York City. She recently completed her bachelor's degree at The Juilliard School, where she was a student of Nancy Allen, principal harpist with the New York Philharmonic.
Tiffany Wong won 2nd prize in the Intermediate Level at the Korean International Harp Competition in Seoul, South Korea March 25-31, 2018. There were 17 harpists in the Intermediate division and the level of playing was very high. Tiffany performed Gabriel Pierné's Impromptu-Caprice and Elizabeth Hainen's arrangement of Hugo Reinhold's Impromptu in C-Sharp Minor. Tiffany is currently a high school junior at the Harker School in San Jose.
Danielle Nam won 4th prize in the highest ("Emerging Artist" division of the Young Artists Competition in Ohio in July. She also won 2nd prize in the 2018 Mondavi Center National Young Artists Competition on April 28, 2018. A youtube video of her final performance is available. Ion addition, she tied for the First Place prize in the James Ramos International Video Competition in October, 2017, co-hosted by the California Association of Professional Music Teachers. She shares the scholarship award with a pianist in Category C for ages 13-15. Danielle was also a Merit Winner in the 2018 National YoungArts Competition (sponsored by the National YoungArts Foundation. Danielle is a member of the California All-State Ensemble (Wind Symphony 2018) for the third year.
Naomi Sun was a Grand Prize winner at the National Young Musicians Showcase Competition in New York, and performed with the other winners at Carnegie Hall on April 22, 2018. She played Impromptu-Caprice by Pierné.
Katherine Healzer performed the Handel Harp Concerto with the Blach Honor Orchestra at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco on April 9, 2018, as part of the Festival of Gold adjudicated competition. They won first prize at the competition and repeated the performance in Anaheim, California, where Katherine won the Maestro Award for her performance. Katherine also represented our chapter and delivered a superb performance-lecture for the San Jose Noon Arts and Lectures on April 13.
Kartika Santoso was an Honorable Mention winner in the James Ramos International Video Competition in October 2017, for Category C; ages 13-15.
In July 2017, Danielle Nam and Tiffany Wong were two of only five harpists from the United States chosen to perform in the Focus On Youth concerts at the World Harp Congress in Hong Kong, In addition to their performances in Hong Kong, both harpists were chosen as finalists in the American Harp Society's 22nd National Competition in Northfield, Minnesota. They each played exceptionally well and were prize winners in their respective divisions. Danielle Nam was the Second Place Winner in the 18 and Under division. We are extremely proud of both of these young musicians, who are also members of our Silicon Valley Youth Harp Ensemble.
In 2016, Naomi Sun won 2nd place in the San Jose Youth Concert Orchestra concerto auditions. She performed the Dittersdorf Concerto for Harp and Orchestra with the SJYS Concert Orchestra in Fall, 2016.
Tiffany Wong and Danielle Nam were accepted to the Young Artists Harp Seminar and Competition in Rabun Gap, Georgia in July/August 2016.
Danielle Nam performed the Debussy Danses in Carnegie Hall in April, 2016 with the Mountain View Chamber Orchestra.
Katherine Healzer was honored in 2016 to perform at the Los Altos Hills 60th Anniversary Gala celebration with the mayor of Los Altos Hills in attendance. Her upcoming performances include Loyola School's annual Greek Banquet in June and the annual Ovarian Cancer Treatment fundraiser, Toasting for Teal, in August.
____________________________________________
The BACAHS third bi-annual Yvonne LaMothe Schwager Harp Competition took place Sunday, May 24, 2015 at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Twenty-two harp students, from seven different teachers, performed beautiful and challenging repertoire in order to hone their performance skills and receive valuable feedback from a panel of judges, comprised of top harp professionals in California. Cash prizes and an opportunity to perform in the winners recital on June 7, were awarded to the following students:
Preliminary level: Gold (and winner of the MusicWorks-Harp Editions Prize): Charis Woo, student of Doug Rioth and Jessica Siegel / Silver: Hannah Chen, student of Jessica Siegel / Bronze: Hailey Tan, student of Kristal Schwartz Barlaan.
Level 1: Gold (and winner of the MusicWorks-Harp Editions Prize): Naomi Sun, student of Linda Wood Rollo / Silver (and winner of the Harpiana Prize): Hannah Ewell, student of Kristal Barlaan Schwartz / Bronze: Phoebe Lin, student of Sonya Yu.
Level 2: Gold (and winner of the MusicWorks-Harp Editions Prize): Tiffany Wong, student of Linda Wood Rollo / Silver: Danielle Nam, student of Sonya Yu / Harpiana Prize: Shannon Zheng, student of Dominique Piana.
The judges were Alexandra Perdew, Claudia Valsi, and Celia Chan Valerio
_____________________________________________
2014-2015
Tiffany Wong was a winner in the San Jose Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition and will perform the Concerto for Harp and Orchestra by A. Boieldieu during the next season. Tiffany was also accepted to the Professional Division of Harp Masters Summer Academy in Basel, Switzerland, for July and August.
Sunny Wu received early acceptance to Stanford University and is excited to begin her freshman year at Stanford in Fall 2015.
Seika Dong will spend her Fall semester abroad in Vienna, Austria, in a program sponsored by Indiana University. She will study harp with Annaleen Lenaerts, principal harpist of the Vienna Philharmonic.
Hannah Ewell, student of Kristal Barlaan Schwartz, was the 3rd place winner of the ASTA San Francisco Solo Competition for Stringed Instruments on May 10, 2015. Hannah was also recommended by the judges for the next California ASTA State Solo Competition in October, 2016.
______________________________________________
2012-2014
On May 31, 2014, the Grand Prize of the Carmel Music Society's 38th Annual Music Competition was awarded to 20-year-old harpist, Noël Wan, a native of San Jose, California, who will be attending Yale University's School of Music in the fall of 2014 as a DMA candidate. The Grand Prize included a cash award of $5000, and an opportunity to perform in 2015 as part of the Carmel Music Society's subscription series. The competition was open to instrumentalists between the ages of 18-30, who were born, live or study in California, Oregon and Washington. Noël is a longtime member of the SVCAHS, who has just graduated from University of Illinois-Urbana Champagne, with highest honors.
Recent SVCAHS Scholarship Recipient, Nicole Robinson, used her award to compete in the Ms. Elite United States of American Woman of Achievement (WOA) Pageant in November, 2013. She played harp for the talent portion of the competition and was crowned Ms. Elited United States WOA 2014. Congratulations, Nicole!
Sunny Wu won 2nd prize in the Advanced Division of the Young Artists Competition in Ravun Gap, Georgia in August 2012.
Vivian and Wesley Hsu toured Europe with the San Francisco Youth Orchestra in June 2012. Vivian is a double major in Harp and Psychology at UCLA and will study with Louanne Neill, principal harpist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.
Seika Dong received a full scholarship to Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music as a Harp major and student of Susann McDonald.
Madeline Olson won the principal harp position with the San Francisco Youth Orchestra. Madeline was also accepted to the Saratoga Harp Colony in New York for summer study in August, 2013.
We are so proud of our many extremely talented SVCAHS members. Please let us know if you would like to publicize any honors and awards for chapter members, at [email protected].
2023-2024
Two of our student members; Liliana Abraham and Charlotte Trinh, have been selected as finalists in the 2023 American Harp Society National Competition, in the 12 and under division. The competition will be held May 31 - June 4 at the Colburn School in Los Angeles.
2021-2022
Our own Naomi Sun was one of five featured international performers in the June, 2022 Stars of Tomorrow concert, given as part of the USA International Harp Competition. The criteria for being selected included being a previous winner of national or international competitions. This wonderful concert, including opening remarks by our own Linda Wood Rollo (Assistant Artistic Director of the competition) and solos by the five performers, can be viewed on Youtube.
Naomi also served as our 2021-22 Chapter Ambassador.
David Lin, 17, was selected as one of six international harpists, ages 21 and younger, to perform in the Focus on Youth Concert at the World Harp Congress in Cardiff, Wales in July 2022. A biography on David, from a competition the previous year, can be found here. David was our featured speaker at our 2022 Fall Kickoff event, speaking about his experience at the World Harp Congress.
David Lin was the 3rd place winner of the Youth Division of the 2022 Korea International Harp Competition. He was also a Platinum winner of the Collegiate Division in the 2022 Grand Metropolitan International Music Competition.
2019-2020
Naomi Sun, age 16, won the audition for Principal Harpist of the San Francisco Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Naomi Sun will be the featured soloist with the Saratoga Symphony Orchestra in Fantaisie for Harp and Orchestra by Theodore Dubois. The concert will take place on January 26, 2020 at McAfee Center, Saratoga High School, 3:00 pm.
Isabelle Lee, harpist of the Saratoga High School orchestra, won the 2019 Concerto Competition and will be featured in the Handel Concerto in Bb on December 13, 7:00 pm at McAfee Center, Saratoga High School.
Out of a record number of proposals submitted, Katherine Healzer has been invited to present at the World Harp Congress 2020 in Wales. Her lecture will be entitled, "Can Music Harmonize a Discordant World?" And will explore the intersection of music, empathy and neuroscience.
2018 - 2019
Naomi Sun, age 15, has been selected, for the second time, as a "Grand Winner" of the National League of Performing Arts Young Artists Competition. As a Grand Winner, she performed Concert Etude (Au Matin) by Marcel Tournier at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall on April 28, 2019.
Naomi also won the US Navy Band's Ambassador Middendorf $1000 Grand Prize in March, 2019. She will be the featured soloist in the Handel Harp Concerto with the US Navy Band at Schlesinger Concert Hall in Alexandria, VA on Saturday, May 4, 2019. (The concerto competition was open to all instruments, so it is a rare honor for a harpist to win.)
Naomi is principal harpist with the Golden State Youth Orchestra, a member of the Silicon Valley Youth Harp Ensemble and a student of Linda Rollo. Congratulations on all of your achievements, Naomi!
Tiffany Wong was one of only two freshmen harpists accepted to The Juilliard School as a student of Nancy Allen for Fall 2019. Congratulations, Tiffany!
The United States International Music Competition was held August 18-19, 2018 at Stanford University, and was co-sponsored by the Silicon Valley Chapter of the AHS. This year's award-winners included many of our young chapter members:
Celtic Harp A: First place - Sahyii Lozano
Harp A: First place - Hannah Chen / Second place - Sophia Shan / Third place - Melody Chien
Harp B: First place - Judy Liu / Second place - Naomi Sun / Third place - Katherine Healzer / Hon. Mention - Kartika Santoso
Chinese Music Award - Harp B: First place - Judy Liu / Second Place - Kartika Santoso / Honorable Mention - Haley Park
Special Theme Award (Johann Sebastian Bach) - Harp B: First Place - Judy Liu
____________________________________________
2017-2018
Former SVCAHS member, Madeline Olson, was the first prize winner of the 29th Nippon Harp Competition in Japan. The three-round competition took place from November 15-19, 2017. Olson is currently living in New York City. She recently completed her bachelor's degree at The Juilliard School, where she was a student of Nancy Allen, principal harpist with the New York Philharmonic.
Tiffany Wong won 2nd prize in the Intermediate Level at the Korean International Harp Competition in Seoul, South Korea March 25-31, 2018. There were 17 harpists in the Intermediate division and the level of playing was very high. Tiffany performed Gabriel Pierné's Impromptu-Caprice and Elizabeth Hainen's arrangement of Hugo Reinhold's Impromptu in C-Sharp Minor. Tiffany is currently a high school junior at the Harker School in San Jose.
Danielle Nam won 4th prize in the highest ("Emerging Artist" division of the Young Artists Competition in Ohio in July. She also won 2nd prize in the 2018 Mondavi Center National Young Artists Competition on April 28, 2018. A youtube video of her final performance is available. Ion addition, she tied for the First Place prize in the James Ramos International Video Competition in October, 2017, co-hosted by the California Association of Professional Music Teachers. She shares the scholarship award with a pianist in Category C for ages 13-15. Danielle was also a Merit Winner in the 2018 National YoungArts Competition (sponsored by the National YoungArts Foundation. Danielle is a member of the California All-State Ensemble (Wind Symphony 2018) for the third year.
Naomi Sun was a Grand Prize winner at the National Young Musicians Showcase Competition in New York, and performed with the other winners at Carnegie Hall on April 22, 2018. She played Impromptu-Caprice by Pierné.
Katherine Healzer performed the Handel Harp Concerto with the Blach Honor Orchestra at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco on April 9, 2018, as part of the Festival of Gold adjudicated competition. They won first prize at the competition and repeated the performance in Anaheim, California, where Katherine won the Maestro Award for her performance. Katherine also represented our chapter and delivered a superb performance-lecture for the San Jose Noon Arts and Lectures on April 13.
Kartika Santoso was an Honorable Mention winner in the James Ramos International Video Competition in October 2017, for Category C; ages 13-15.
In July 2017, Danielle Nam and Tiffany Wong were two of only five harpists from the United States chosen to perform in the Focus On Youth concerts at the World Harp Congress in Hong Kong, In addition to their performances in Hong Kong, both harpists were chosen as finalists in the American Harp Society's 22nd National Competition in Northfield, Minnesota. They each played exceptionally well and were prize winners in their respective divisions. Danielle Nam was the Second Place Winner in the 18 and Under division. We are extremely proud of both of these young musicians, who are also members of our Silicon Valley Youth Harp Ensemble.
In 2016, Naomi Sun won 2nd place in the San Jose Youth Concert Orchestra concerto auditions. She performed the Dittersdorf Concerto for Harp and Orchestra with the SJYS Concert Orchestra in Fall, 2016.
Tiffany Wong and Danielle Nam were accepted to the Young Artists Harp Seminar and Competition in Rabun Gap, Georgia in July/August 2016.
Danielle Nam performed the Debussy Danses in Carnegie Hall in April, 2016 with the Mountain View Chamber Orchestra.
Katherine Healzer was honored in 2016 to perform at the Los Altos Hills 60th Anniversary Gala celebration with the mayor of Los Altos Hills in attendance. Her upcoming performances include Loyola School's annual Greek Banquet in June and the annual Ovarian Cancer Treatment fundraiser, Toasting for Teal, in August.
____________________________________________
The BACAHS third bi-annual Yvonne LaMothe Schwager Harp Competition took place Sunday, May 24, 2015 at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Twenty-two harp students, from seven different teachers, performed beautiful and challenging repertoire in order to hone their performance skills and receive valuable feedback from a panel of judges, comprised of top harp professionals in California. Cash prizes and an opportunity to perform in the winners recital on June 7, were awarded to the following students:
Preliminary level: Gold (and winner of the MusicWorks-Harp Editions Prize): Charis Woo, student of Doug Rioth and Jessica Siegel / Silver: Hannah Chen, student of Jessica Siegel / Bronze: Hailey Tan, student of Kristal Schwartz Barlaan.
Level 1: Gold (and winner of the MusicWorks-Harp Editions Prize): Naomi Sun, student of Linda Wood Rollo / Silver (and winner of the Harpiana Prize): Hannah Ewell, student of Kristal Barlaan Schwartz / Bronze: Phoebe Lin, student of Sonya Yu.
Level 2: Gold (and winner of the MusicWorks-Harp Editions Prize): Tiffany Wong, student of Linda Wood Rollo / Silver: Danielle Nam, student of Sonya Yu / Harpiana Prize: Shannon Zheng, student of Dominique Piana.
The judges were Alexandra Perdew, Claudia Valsi, and Celia Chan Valerio
_____________________________________________
2014-2015
Tiffany Wong was a winner in the San Jose Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition and will perform the Concerto for Harp and Orchestra by A. Boieldieu during the next season. Tiffany was also accepted to the Professional Division of Harp Masters Summer Academy in Basel, Switzerland, for July and August.
Sunny Wu received early acceptance to Stanford University and is excited to begin her freshman year at Stanford in Fall 2015.
Seika Dong will spend her Fall semester abroad in Vienna, Austria, in a program sponsored by Indiana University. She will study harp with Annaleen Lenaerts, principal harpist of the Vienna Philharmonic.
Hannah Ewell, student of Kristal Barlaan Schwartz, was the 3rd place winner of the ASTA San Francisco Solo Competition for Stringed Instruments on May 10, 2015. Hannah was also recommended by the judges for the next California ASTA State Solo Competition in October, 2016.
______________________________________________
2012-2014
On May 31, 2014, the Grand Prize of the Carmel Music Society's 38th Annual Music Competition was awarded to 20-year-old harpist, Noël Wan, a native of San Jose, California, who will be attending Yale University's School of Music in the fall of 2014 as a DMA candidate. The Grand Prize included a cash award of $5000, and an opportunity to perform in 2015 as part of the Carmel Music Society's subscription series. The competition was open to instrumentalists between the ages of 18-30, who were born, live or study in California, Oregon and Washington. Noël is a longtime member of the SVCAHS, who has just graduated from University of Illinois-Urbana Champagne, with highest honors.
Recent SVCAHS Scholarship Recipient, Nicole Robinson, used her award to compete in the Ms. Elite United States of American Woman of Achievement (WOA) Pageant in November, 2013. She played harp for the talent portion of the competition and was crowned Ms. Elited United States WOA 2014. Congratulations, Nicole!
Sunny Wu won 2nd prize in the Advanced Division of the Young Artists Competition in Ravun Gap, Georgia in August 2012.
Vivian and Wesley Hsu toured Europe with the San Francisco Youth Orchestra in June 2012. Vivian is a double major in Harp and Psychology at UCLA and will study with Louanne Neill, principal harpist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.
Seika Dong received a full scholarship to Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music as a Harp major and student of Susann McDonald.
Madeline Olson won the principal harp position with the San Francisco Youth Orchestra. Madeline was also accepted to the Saratoga Harp Colony in New York for summer study in August, 2013.