Concert Artist Program

The winner of the Young Professional division of the National Competition serves as the AHS Concert Artist. 

The Concert Artist program provides resources to assist chapters in sponsoring the Concert Artist in performances, classes and/or workshops that benefit local harp communities.  Contact the Concert Artist program chair Karen Lindquist for further information, or to schedule 2025-2027 Concert Artist Renée Murphy.  

2025-2027 Concert Artist Renée Murphy

Harpist Renée Murphy is the First Prize laureate of the 30th Soka-Nippon International Harp Competition, the American Harp Society’s National Competition Young Professional and Advanced Divisions, and a recipient of the 2024 Lyon & Healy Awards. She currently serves as the 2025–2028 American Harp Society Concert Artist, presenting solo recitals, masterclasses, and workshops for AHS chapters across the country. She received Fifth Prize and the Mario Falcao Prize at the 13th USA International Harp Competition.

As a featured recitalist, Renée has performed on international stages including One Harp World (Canada), the 13th World Harp Congress (Hong Kong), the 60th Soka-Nippon International Music Festival (Japan), the Stars of Tomorrow Concert Series at the 9th and 11th USA International Harp Competitions, and the American Harp Society's 44th National Conference. She is an alumna of the Aspen Music Festival and School, where she served as the 2023–2024 Aspen Chamber Symphony Principal Harp Fellow and won the 2024 Aspen Harp Concerto Competition, as well as the Bowdoin International Music Festival and the Tanglewood Music Center. As a soloist, Renée has appeared with the Aspen Percussion Ensemble and the Yonkers Philharmonic. She has performed with the New York Philharmonic and as guest principal harpist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Renée is committed to expanding the harp repertoire, with a particular focus on music that reflects her Japanese and African American heritage. Her recent collaborations with Japanese composer Ryota Ishikawa include the premiere of Reaching for the Drinking Gourd and Stars (2022) for solo harp at the residence of Consul General Mikio Mori of Japan in New York and the premiere of Ishikawa's solo harp arrangement of Hamabe no Uta (Song of the Seashore, 1916) by Tamezo Narita. In August 2026, Navona Records released Simple Gifts, featuring the premiere recording of Ishikawa's Songs from Japan and America: Suite for Two Saxophones and Harp (2019) with saxophonists Otis Murphy and Masaki Tadenuma.

Renée is a student of Nancy Allen in The Juilliard School's Artist Diploma in Performance program as a Celia Ascher Fellow. She earned Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from Juilliard as a Kovner Fellow and was awarded the 2024 John Erskine Prize, the 2026 William Schuman Prize, and the 2026 Thea Musgrave Commissioning Prize. Her previous teachers include Professor Florence Sitruk, Professor Elżbieta Szmyt, and Dr. Alicia McQuay. A native of Bloomington, Indiana, Renée has collaborated with her large musical family in performances and projects throughout the United States and Japan. She is also a recipient of the Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant.

Upcoming Concert Artist Appearances

Saturday, November 15, 2025, 2 pm
Solo Recital
Dallas Chapter of the American Harp Society:
Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd
11122 Midway Rd, Dallas, TX 75229

Saturday, January 10, 2026, time TBA
Solo Recital
Washington, DC Chapter of the American Harp Society
John Kendall Recital Hall
7711 Eastern Avenue
Takoma Park, MD 20912

Saturday, January 24, 2026, 1:30 pm
Solo Recital
Minnesota Chapter of the American Harp Society
Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd
4801 France Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55410

Saturday, February 21, 2026, time TBA
Masterclass
San Diego Harp Society
Templars Hall
14134 Midland Road
Poway, CA 92064

Sunday, February 22, 2026, time TBA
Solo Recital
San Diego Harp Society
Templars Hall
14134 Midland Road
Poway, CA 92064

Saturday, April 11, 2026, times TBA
Solo Recital, Workshop, Masterclass, Annual Concert
New Orleans Chapter of the American Harp Society
Jefferson Parish—East Bank Regional Library
4747 W Napoleon Ave
Metairie, LA 70001

Past Concert Artists*