Information for Performers at the New Zealand Harp Festival 2004

This section presents information for performers at concerts and masterclasses. When the selection process is complete, details of those selected will appear on this page.

Masterclasses

Masterclass places were available to those who are currently students of the harp (both young and adult). The audition tapes have been assessed, and places have been offered to talented students at a variety of levels. Students who have been chosen to perform at one of Elinor Bennett's masterclasses will be charged an extra fee of $20, on the grounds that they will receive a great deal of benefit from their lesson with one of the world's great harpists.

Performers at masterclasses are expected to be able to play the work they offer fluently and at a good standard. They should have reached the stage where they are entirely sure of the notes, and be ready to accept advice on improving the piece to performance level.

The work to be performed at the masterclass does not have to be the work that was submitted on the audition tape.

The following harpists are expected to fill the masterclass places:

Friday

• Tiffany Baker
  • Tiffany Baker will soon be 14 years old, and is a student of Robin Ward in Wellington. This year she has a new 36-string lever harp so that she can continue expanding her repertoire and skills. She enjoys accompanying the other instrumentalists in her family.
• Karyn Lo
  • Karyn Lo is 11 years old, and a student of Robin Ward in Wellington. She plays in her school orchestra, and would like to become an expert harp player.
• Jenny Lin
  • Jenny Lin is 13 years old, and a student of Rebecca Harris in Auckland.

Saturday

• Lisa Lin
  • Lisa Lin is 16, and a student of Rebecca Harris in Auckland. In 2002, she passed ABRSM Grade IV with Distinction, and in 2003, she passed Grade V. She plays in Macleans College Senior Orchestra, and would like to become a harp teacher.
• Susanna Hunter
  • Susanna Hunter is 16, and a student of Helen Webby in Christchurch. She fell in love with the harp when she heard it at school in Japan, and has now been learning for 7 years, first in Japan, and then in NZ. She has passed ABRSM Grade IV with Distinction.
• Ingrid Bauer

• Su Yi
  • Su Yi was born in Qingdao, East China, on the coast about 900 km south east of Beijing. She began studying the piano at the age of 4. In 1993 she became a student at the primary school attached to the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where she began to play the harp. She finished her schooling at the high school there, and played in the Beijing Youth Orchestra. In 1999, she entered the Conservatory. In 2001, she came to Wellington to do a BMus in harp performance with Carolyn Mills. She is Principal Harp with the Wellington Sinfonia, and was a member of the National Youth Orchestra in 2001 and 2002. She has played with the Dunedin Sinfonia, Stroma, and is also an NZSO contract player.

Sunday

• Robin Ward

• Jo-Ying Huang
  • Jo-Ying Huang, who is 21, is a student of Helen Webby in Christchurch. She plays for weddings and other functions, and has a little orchestral experience. She would like to become a harp-teacher, and perhaps combine this with an orchestral role.
• Ruby Chen
  • Ruby Chen is 15, and a student of Rebecca Harris. In 2002, she played a duet in a New Year concert in Auckland's Holy Trinity Cathedral. In 2003, she was selected to play Harp II in the Auckland University School of Music's graduation concert. That year, she was Principal Harp for the New Zealand Secondary Schools Orchestra, and was also placed third in a talent quest at Epsom Girls' Grammar School.
• Elizabeth Botkin
  • Elizabeth Botkin is 16 years old, and a pedal harp student of Helen Webby's in Christchurch. She lives in Lincoln, Canterbury, and has been learning the harp for about 3 years. She enjoys arranging her own repertoire for harp duets or solos.

Gala Concert

The performers at the Gala Concert will be those who can be relied upon to produce polished performances at the most advanced level, since the public will be paying to come and hear them. Only the first half of the concert is available to local harpists, as Elinor Bennett will provide the second half of the programme.

The audition tapes have been assessed by members of the Festival Committee, along with applications for places from those who were not required to audition. The process of allocating places and drawing up an interesting programme is in progress.

The Committee reserves the right to invite harpists who meet the requirements above to perform.

While the programme for the Gala Concert is still being developed, the following performers are expected to appear:

• Celia Briar
• Helen Webby
• Robin Ward/Asni
• Su Yi (see above)/Ingrid Bauer
• Carolyn Mills
• Natalia Mann with Sunga

In-house Concerts

The performers at the two in-house concerts will be expected to produce polished performances at whatever level they have reached. We hope to have some children amongst the performers at these concerts.

The audition tapes have been assessed by members of the Festival Committee, and the process of allocating places is in progress. For those who are offered places, the work to be performed does not have to be the one on the audition tape.

The Committee reserves the right to invite harpists who meet the requirements above to perform at the in-house concerts.

The programme for the in-house concerts is still being developed, but performers are expected to include:

Friday

• Ruby Chen (see above)
• Karen Heathcote
• Annemieke Harmonie
• Jo Ying Huang (see above)
• Yi Jin
• Andy Rigby

Saturday

• Katherine Mowbray
  • Katherine Mowbray has been playing the harp for 12 years. She enjoys playing at galleries, exhibitions, weddings, etc, and mostly performs her own music, which she composes to accompany ancient Celtic legends of the Bardic traditions.
• Rebecca Mogridge
  • Rebecca Mogridge is a student of Helen Webby. She has passed Trinity College Grade V on a lever harp with Merit, and performed as a member of a Bohemian Ensemble in a lunchtime concert as part of the NZ 2000 Fringe Festival.
• Anna Dunwoodie
• Elizabeth Botkin (see above)
• Anna Botkin
  • Anna Botkin lives in Lincoln, Canterbury, and has been learning the concert harp from Helen Webby for about 2 years. She enjoys arranging her own repertoire for harp duets or solos.

Many of the performers are also tutors, and their bios can be found on the Tutors page. Brief bios of the other performers will be added as they become available.

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