Month: May 2013

Left to right, back row: Sunny Wu, David Ren, Arielle Herman, Eileen Gao, Emily Mader, Jenny Vo-Phamhi, Elizabeth Vo-Phamhi
Middle center: Charis Woo, Carter Williams
Front row: Tiffany Wong; Erin Kim; Aria Delgado; Hannah Ewell; Danielle Nam
Therese Nguyen is not shown.

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On Sunday May 26, 25 young harpists competed in the Yvonne La Mothe Schwager Harp Competition, held at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. The competition has five categories ranging from Preliminary to Level 4.

The winners are:

PRELIMINARY

• Gold: Charis Woo – student of Jessica Siegel
• Silver: Carter Williams – student of Laura Porter
• Bronze: Aria Delgado – student of Laura Porter
• MusicWorks Prize: Charis Woo

LEVEL I

• Gold: Tiffany Wong – student of Linda Rollo
• Silver: Danielle Nam – student of Sonya Yu
• Bronze: Therese Nguyen – student of Kristal Barlaan
• Harpiana Prize: Hannah Ewell – student of Kristal Barlaan

LEVEL II

• Gold: Elizabeth Vo-Phamhi – student of Doug Rioth
• Silver: Erin Kim – student of Laura Porter
• Bronze: Eileen Gao – student of Kristal Barlaan

LEVEL III

• Gold: Jenny Vo-Phamhi – student of Doug Rioth
• Silver: Sunny Wu – student of Linda Rollo
• Bronze: Arielle Herman – student of Dominique Piana
• Harpiana Prize: Arielle Herman

LEVEL IV

• Gold: David Ren – student of Sonya Yu
• Silver: Emily Mader – student of Beverly Wesner-Hoehn

The judges were Cheryl Ann Fulton from Oakland, Jacquelyn Venter from Folsom and Celia Chan Valerio from Loma Linda, all three of whom hold doctorates.

We had many volunteers who devoted their whole day to the cause, ran an efficient and smooth operation, and whom we wish to thank from the bottom of our hearts: Meredith Clark, Daphanie Lin, Joan Mapou, Doug Rioth, Brian Roberts, Jim Ward and Sonya Yu.

You are all invited to the Winners’ Recital at the Firehouse Arts Center in Pleasanton on June 2 at 2pm. Special guest recitalist Seika Dong will be featured in the second half. Come for good cheer and meet the performers at the reception following in the Firehouse lobby.

Musically yours,

The BACAHS Board:
Dominique Piana, President
Mitch Landy, Vice President
Alice Yothers, Secretary
Susie Spiwak, Treasurer

What:  Yvonne La Mothe Schwager Harp Competition Winners’ Recital

When:  Sunday June 2, 2013 at 2:00pm

Where:  Firehouse Arts Center, 444 Railroad Ave., Pleasanton, CA

Tickets:  $12 – 20

 We are excited to announce that Seika Dong will be the guest artist at the Yvonne La Mothe Schwager Harp Competition Winners’ Recital, sponsored by the Bay Area Chapter of the American Harp Society.  The 19-year-old is currently a freshman pursuing a Bachelors of Harp Performance at Indiana University with full merit scholarship under the tutelage of distinguished professor Susann McDonald. A native of California, she started the harp at age four with renowned teacher Linda Wood Rollo while attending public schools. She also began her piano studies at age six. Seika’s awards include: First Place in the Japan International Harp Competition in the Junior Division in 2006 and First Prize again in the Advanced Division in 2008; First Prize in the American Harp Society National Competition (Intermediate Division) in 2007; Second Prize in the American Harp Society National Competition (Junior Division) in 2006; top three finalist in the American String Teachers Association National Competition in 2007; and First Prize in the San Francisco Bay Area’s Inez Stafford Harp Competition in both 2004 and 2005, precursor of our present competition (The Yvonne La Mothe Schwager Harp Competition). .

In 2011, Seika was an invited performer in the “Young Talents” concert in the Vancouver World Harp Congress. She was also a featured artist in the “Stars of Tomorrow” concert in San Francisco in 2006 and again in the “Stars of Tomorrow” concert at Indiana University during the 2007 USA International Competition. Seika was also a soloist at the San Francisco Opera House in 2007 and the same in New York, 2008.

The Firehouse Arts Center is dedicated to inspiring passion through the arts.  The center is comprised of the 227-seat Firehouse Theater, the 2000 square foot Harrington Gallery, classrooms and rehearsal space, the grand atrium lobby, and the famous interior glass bridge.  With world-class performing and visual arts, exciting interactive programs for all ages, and a state-of-the-art venue which opened in 2010, we combine the sophistication of the culturally rich Bay Area arts landscape with the hospitality and intimacy of our own home town.  The Firehouse Arts Center is located at 4444 Railroad Avenue in downtown Pleasanton.  Media:  Jane Onojafe, jonojafe@cityofpleasantonca.gov, or 925-931-4855

The Firehouse Arts Center will present the winners of the Northern California Harp competition on June 2, 2013 at 2pm. This competition is named after Yvonne La Mothe Schwager, whose bequest to the Bay Area Chapter of the American Harp Society will fund this bi-annual event for many years to come.

This year, the competition will be held at the San Francisco Conservatory on May 26, with about 30 competitors signed up to audition. There are five categories with different repertoire requirements, ranging from below age 9 to age 22.

Yvonne La Mothe Schwager was a Berkeley harpist who quietly made things happen on an international level between 1950 and 1966. Under her stewardship, the Northern California Harpists’ Association, a precursor of the American Harp Society, gave awards to many composers for new pieces for the harp, or for harp with ensemble, some of which became instant hits. Recognizable composers with whom she worked were Marius Flothuis from the Netherlands, the New York critic Virgil Thomson, Josef Tal from Israel or Gerardo Gombau from Spain. The most performed winning work ever must be English harpist David Watkins’ Petite Suite, which includes the famous Fire Dance.

For the youngest harpists, the repertoire consists mainly of works written by well-known harp pedagogues, including Linda Wood Rollo and Nancy Gustavson from the South Bay, and French harp composer Bernard Andres. Salzedo’s arrangement of a Haydn Theme and Variations and Quest by flutist-composer Gary Schocker also figure prominently among pieces selected, as they are works required for the national competition.

In the medium and advanced categories, Eolian Harp by Godefroid, Impromptu by Glière, The Colorado Trail by Grandjany,  Russian Toccata by Slonimsky (the author of the Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians) and the Fauré Impromptu were chosen more prominently by the competitors.

So, if you love harp music, be prepared to hear many gorgeous strains from this entrancing instrument both modern and ancient, simple and complex. There are harps in every world culture, from Antiquity to the present time, from the Near East to Africa and Latin America. yet it is in Europe, at the beginning of the 19th century that Erard, the inventor who perfected the piano also gave the harp its greatest gift, the ability to play in all keys. This allowed the harp to become an established member of the symphony orchestra, and to serve as a unique conduit for solo performance, with an expressive ability surpassing that of the ubiquitous piano.

For more musical information, please contact dominiquepiana@comcast.net.
Additional competition and recital information