Dai-An Liu has been appointed Principal Harp of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional del Ecuador (OSNE).
Alumna Noël Wan won Second Prize in the 2021 Orford Music Awards held in Quebec, Canada this August. She also was the semi-finals Audience Award winner. Her program featured her own transcriptions of demanding works by J.S. Bach and Leo Brouwer as well as Alexina Louie’s From the Eastern Gate, chosen "especially to represent shared identities as diasporic Asian women."
Dai-An Liu, an Artist Diploma candidate, won 4th Prize ex aequo in the 5th Hong Kong International Harp Competition in the Professional Pedal Division held in early October.
Due to the worldwide pandemic, the competition had 15 divisions, conducted online or onsite. The Professional Pedal Division attracted participants from throughout the world.
Illinois Harp Studio alumni are garnering teaching positions throughout North America this year, guiding generations of all ages forward now for the future.
Noël Wan is a winner of a 2019 Lyon & Healy Award.
Dr. Charles W. Lynch III joins Arizona State University's Herberger Institute for Design and Arts School of Music faculty this year.
Illinois harp program alumni Charles W. Lynch III and Molly O'Roark are leading and teaching at two of the largest secondary school harp programs in the nation. Dr. Lynch directs the Mesa Public School Harp Program in Arizona with over 240 students at 16 schools, and Ms. O'Roark (ABD) teaches with Angelica Hairston for the Urban Youth Harp Ensemble in partnership Drew Charter School in Georgia with over 75 students.
Mana was also featured during the conference in the workshop "View from the Pit" with Emmanuel Ceysson, Principal Harp of the Metropolitan Opera.
Ms. Happel, DMA student, has been awarded a Scholar Award by the Philanthropic Educational Organization (PEO).
P.E.O. Scholar Awards (PSA) recognize and encourage excellence in higher education by providing partial support for study and research to women who will make significant contributions in their varied fields of endeavor. Ms. Happel was nominated by the Monticello (IL) chapter of PEO for this national award. Priority is given to women who are well established in their programs, study or research.
Chen-Yu Huang (DMA 2014) has been appointed principal harpist with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra in Michigan, following a three-round audition in September. She is currently Assistant Professor of Harp at Michigan State University and on the harp faculty of Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp.
A Krannert Debut Artist, she has also served as principal harpist of the Illinois Symphony since 2012, and tours regularly with her chamber ensemble, the Formosa Trio.
Chen-yu was a student of Prof. Ann Yeung.
