Every summer the American Harp Society hosts national gatherings.
The Summer Institute, held in odd-numbered years, focuses on the student harpist with workshops, master classes, and concerts by the best performers and pedagogues in the world. The Summer Institute is held in conjunction with AHS National Competition, where dazzling young harpists compete for awards and scholarships.
The 2025 Summer Institute, co-chaired by Laura Logan Brandenburg and Kela Walton, will incorporate AHS's first Harp Ensemble Festival in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, Texas, in June 12-15, 2025. The Festival's purpose is to encourage musical collaboration, the building of community through harp ensembles, and to inspire harpists of all ages and levels to advance their ensemble performance skills. By hosting a national event during which ensembles perform programs, the AHS Ensemble Festival offers an opportunity for participants to receive valuable feedback and ratings from preeminent harpists and adjudicators.
The AHS Ensemble Festival will be divided into six divisions, five based on age from under twelve through college, and one open division for any age harpists. Ensembles in each Division may participate in one or more categories: duos, trios, quartets, ensembles of five to twelve, and groups over twelve. Repertoire is free choice.
Ensembles will perform once before a panel of adjudicators and live audience in the division and category in which they are registered. Ensembles will receive written comments on their performance as well as ratings, or may elect to opt out of receiving a rating. The Institute and Festival will close with an ensemble concert and awards ceremony.
Visit the Festival web page for more details and a link to the Festival rules and regulations. Please return here often for updates about the Summer Institute and Festival. The Festival announcement is also available for download and sharing.
The National Conference, held in even-numbered years, features concerts by brilliant artists from around the world, workshops on wide-ranging topics, master classes with world-class teachers, and scholarly lectures to feed your intellectual soul, as well as an exhibit hall with a dizzying array of harps and related items. The 2024 National Conference will be in Orlando, FL, June 16-19, 2024. Plan to join us!
Members are invited to take advantage of these incomparable educational and networking opportunities.
