Harp at Concordia University

"Big opportunities, small university."

There are many opportunities for harpists at Concordia:

Private study with one of Southern California's premiere harpists, Gretchen Kirby.
Practice facilities - The Borland-Manske Center has a harp room with two Lyon and Healy harps. Students may store their personal instruments in this room and will be given special secured access.
Concordia runs a very active orchestra season, encompassing symphonic and wind band repertoire. Harpists are often in demand for our concerts and have regular roles with the orchestras.
Accompaniment opportunities abound! Harpists are involved in choral music, recording session needs, and different small ensemble settings.
The principal harpist is always a featured performer at Concordia's Christmas concerts - two sold-out performances annually at Segerstrom Concert Hall (one of the finest concert halls in the U.S.).
With chapel 4 days per week, there is a lot of need for instrumental solos and accompaniment. This is a great opportunity to perform.
Noon recitals are regular opportunities to perform your latest solo repertoire.
Student recitals are the culmination of dedicated private study on an instrument. At Concordia, many students give a half recital (20-30 minutes of solo repertoire) in their junior year and a full recital (app. 1 hour) in their senior year. These are anticipated events and well attended by friends and family.
Student musicians are regularly used for special events on campus, and harpists with a sizable repertoire can bring music to these events.

Harpists are encouraged to network in the Orange County Chapter of the American Harp Society. Prof. Kirby is a member of this chapter.
There are several outstanding harp technicians in the area who can help maintain your harp. Prof. Kirby can connect you.
Professional orchestras and recitals are very close and they offer many programs throughout the year. Concordia University Irvine is the official education partner of the Pacific Symphony, who performs only 6 miles from campus at Segerstrom Concert Hall, one of the nation's premier concert halls. Concordia's orchestra members can usually attend PSO concerts for free. Also, many of the world's premiere orchestras perform at Segerstrom Hall when they are on tour. Concordia students regularly attend these concerts for a very reasonable price.
Concordia has a close relationship with dozens of local churches, especially those in the Lutheran Church. They contact us often to hire student musicians. From time to time, we provide all of our churches contact information for quality students who they can hire for worship and special events.

The OC Chapter of the American Harp Society offers scholarships to harp students. Application is due in early April.