News & Events

Fall Welcome Gathering


Sunday | October 26th | 2 – 6pm

Please join us at the home of Henry Heines in San Francisco for our first BACAHS event of the 2025-26 season as we formally welcome Katherine Siochi, Principal Harpist of the San Francisco Symphony, and Ellie Kirk, Principal Harpist of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, to the Bay Area! Refreshments will be provided by BACAHS, and Katherine and Ellie will each perform a solo.

RSVP information went out to membership. If you did not receive the link, please email bacahs@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing you there!

Harpist Katherine Siochi is an internationally award-winning soloist and one of the leading orchestral harpists of her generation. She joined the San Francisco Symphony as Principal Harp in the 2023–24 season, appointed by Esa-Pekka Salonen. Katherine previously held positions as Principal Harp of the Minnesota Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, and Sarasota Orchestra. Additionally, she has performed as Guest Principal with the New York Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Equally accomplished as a soloist, Katherine is the Gold Medalist of the 10th USA International Harp Competition, one of the world’s most prestigious harp contests. In 2024 she made her solo debut with the San Francisco Symphony performing Debussy’s Danses, and has performed solo concerts in Hong Kong, China, Israel, and at Lyon & Healy Hall in Chicago. After winning the Young Professional Division of the American Harp Society’s National Competition, Katherine toured for two years as their Concert Artist. In 2021 she released her solo album Nocturne on Lyon & Healy Records. Katherine is on the harp faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the Aspen Music Festival, and coaches harp for the SFS Youth Orchestra. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The Juilliard School as a student of Nancy Allen. 
Praised for her “especially fine contributions” and “standout solo work”, Eleanor Kirk joined the San Francisco Opera Orchestra as Principal Harp in 2025. She previously held principal positions with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra and the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra and served as Acting Principal Harp with the Santa Fe Opera (2024), the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra (2022-2023), and the Detroit Opera (2023-2025). From 2018-2022, she was the Principal Harp of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and regularly performs as a guest with the top orchestras in the country.Highlights of the 2024-2025 season include guest principal appearances with the Chicago Symphony, the Vancouver Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony, and the Baltimore Symphony; chamber music performances on the Artist Series concerts of Sarasota and the Chicago Symphony’s Chamber Music Series, as well as summer engagements performing Walküre with the Santa Fe Opera and with the San Miguel Chamber Music series.A passionate chamber musician, Eleanor recently joined the Chicago Harp Quartet and has appeared on the Rush Hour Concerts and Dame Myra Hess Memorial concerts, both broadcast on Chicago’s classical music radio station, WFMT. She also participated in a world premiere at the 2024 Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. As a soloist, she has performed concertos with the Bach Week Festival Orchestra and the Illinois Symphony Orchestra.Eleanor holds degrees from Columbia University and the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. She has served on the faculties of the People’s Music School and the Young Artist’s Harp Seminar. She is a founding member of the 5th Wave Collective, a Chicago-based ensemble devoted to performing and promoting music by women and non-binary composers.

YLMS 2025 Competition Results

The 2025 Yvonne LaMothe Schwager Harp Competition was held on April 26 at the OFJCC Oshman Family Jewish Community Center in Palo Alto, California. We extend our sincere congratulations to all participants for their hard work, artistry, and commitment.

We are proud to announce the medalists and special prize recipients of the 2025 YLMS Competition for Young Harpists:

Preliminary

Gold – Jane Liu (#15)

Silver – Constance Barlaan (#18)

Bronze – Sophia Jhun (#12)

MusicWorks – Olivia Jiang (#13)

New Music – Jane Liu (#15)

Pop – Haruka Maeda (#17)

Level 1

Gold – Sunnie Yan (#31)

Silver – Vivienne Voorhies (#34)

Bronze – Swara Divya Prithvi (#27)

Harpiana – Milana Rubio (#33)

MusicWorks – Swara Divya Prithvi (#27)

Level 2

Gold – Charlotte Trinh (#3)

Silver – Olivia Nam (#7)

Bronze – Valarie Wang (#9)

Harpiana – Elizabeth O’Shea (#4)

MusicWorks – Brielle Tan (#5)

Level 3

Gold – Danju Kuo (#20)

Silver – Jiarui Wei (#22)

Bronze – Michelle Huang (#19)

Pop – Madeline Moore (#21)

New Music – Michelle Huang (#19)

Level 4

Gold – Ava Yeh (#23)

YLMS 2025 Competition

We are delighted to announce the Yvonne LaMothe Schwager Harp Competition 2025.

Date:
Saturday, April 26, 2025

Location:
OFJCC Oshman Family Jewish Community Center
(3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto, 94303)

APPLY HERE

PAY FEE HERE

Application deadline is April 19th, 2025.

Have Questions?
Please contact:
Amy Ahn – amyahnmusic [at] gmail.com
Vincent Pierce – harpvince [at] gmail.com

Please see below for repertoire, which can also be downloaded here.

  • Participants should choose one selection from their division. Please note that some selections include multiple movements.
  • Participants in the Pop category should prepare their own arrangement of the selected music. A written arrangement is not required.
  • Monetary prizes will be presented to gold, silver, and medalists in each division, as well as for best performance of MusicWorks Editions and Harpiana Publications, as well as for the Pop and Modern works categories.
  • For Division 1, the William Grant Still Mol’e from Folk Suite No. 2 is out of print. It has been replaced with Beige Nocturne from Around the Clock Suite by Pearl Chertok. A lever harp adaptation for this piece is also available.

Taylor Swift Sweepstakes

Exciting news, the AHS is fundraising! The prize, win 2 Taylor Swift concert tickets in Vancouver plus a $2,000 travel stipend. Each chapter has been given a unique promo code and link so that we can easily track the donations that come in from your community. This is important because… [drumroll please]the AHS will write a check to each chapter for 20% of the funds they raise! 

As you may know, Taylor’s Eras Tour is extremely popular and tickets are very expensive. The tickets we’re giving away are for the last weekend of her tour. This prize has mass appeal, and the more people know about it, the more funds we will raise! 

As of this writing, we have raised a grand total of $5,425 in the first week. The sweepstakes runs through November 1st, so we’re doing great! 

Promo Code: BAY20

Enter here!

AHS Concert Artist Kaitlin Miller comes to San Francisco

BACAHS is proud to co-sponsor AHS Concert Artist Kaitlin Miller with Old First Concerts for a recital in San Francisco on Sunday May 19th, 2024 at 4pm.

Kaitlin Miller finds boundless joy in playing the harp and sharing her deep affection for the instrument with her community, and her heart resonates most with romantic French music and the innovative compositions of contemporary artists.

This is a hybrid concert. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here. We look forward to seeing you there !

Parker Ramsay Masterclass

BACAHS is delighted to sponsor a Masterclass given by Parker Ramsay on April 20th, 2024 from 11am-2pm in downtown San Francisco. The exact location will be provided upon registration.

Please use this page to sign up as a participant or observer, and pay the fee ($20 for participant, $10 for observer) linked below. You may also use this link to signup and this link to pay.

Any questions/comments, please email bacahs [at] gmail.com

Registration:

Payment:

BACAHS Annual Potluck 2024

BACAHS ANNUAL POTLUCK IS BACK!

When: Sunday, January 14th, at 3pm
Where: Harps Etc. (1601 N Main St Ste 106, Walnut Creek, Ca)
Don’t miss performances by the BACAHS Chapter Officers harp ensemble and other special guests.

We extend a special thanks to Jessica Siegel at Harps Etc. for providing the space.

RSVP form is in the Newsletter. Please email bacahs [at] gmail for the link.

Redwood Arts Council Showcasing Bay Area Harpists

  WHEN: Sunday, November 4th at 7:00pm! 

Redwood Arts Council is hosting a showcase of Bay Area harpists featuring performances by Destiny Muhammad and her trio, The Destiny Muhammad Trio, recent winners of the Yvonne LaMothe Schwager competition, Aden Barbuta, (Gold, Level III), and Aryana Lall (Gold,Preliminary and Salzedo Prize), and, President, Bay Area Chapter of the American Harp Society, Chloe Tula. The event will take place at The Community Church of Sebastopol, 1000 Gravenstein Hwy N in Sebastopol. A reception with beverages and refreshments will be held in the courtyard following event. This will also function as a fabulous fundraiser for our chapter, so please come out and show your support! For more information, and tickets, please visit www.redwoodarts.org.

2023 YLMS Competition Results

The Yvonne LaMothe Schwager Harp Competition 2023 was held at Crowden Music Center in Berkeley, CA on May 21st. We congratulate all 25 students who made the commitment to prepare for and participate in YLMS 2023. 

We are thrilled to announce the following medalists and special prize winners of the 2023 YLMS Competition for Young Harpists:

Preliminary

Gold: Aryana Lall

Silver: Sunnie Yan

Bronze: Swara Prithvi

MusicWorks Prize: Sunnie Yan

Harpiana Prize: Swara Prithvi

Level 1

Gold: Charlotte Trinh

Silver: Aaditya Amin

Bronze: Loha Jun

MusicWorks Prize: Aaditya Amin

Level 2

Silver (tie): Michelle Huang

Silver (tie): Camille Chu

Bronze: Ileana Gasquy

MusicWorks Prize: Michelle Huang
Harpiana Prize: Ileana Gasquy

Level 3

Gold: Aden Eva Barbuta

Silver: Viviana Alfaro 

Bronze: Rebecca Rudy

Harpiana Prize: Rebecca Rudy

Salzedo Prize: Aryana Lall

A very special thank you to our wonderful judges: Sarah Voynow, Karen Gottlieb, Jessica Siegal, and Janice Ortega

We also congratulate the teachers who supported these students through the competition experience: Sonya Yu, Dominique Piana, Lynn Taffin, Kristal Schwartz, Kristin Lloyd, Linda Rollo, Debbi Ricks, Samantha Mulgrew, Esther Lee, Constance Koo, Jennifer Ellis, and Beverly Wesner-Hoehn

And lastly, thank you to our volunteers who made this all possible: Susie Spiwak, Ryan Conrad, Chloe Tula, Kristin Lloyd, Constance Koo and Jennifer Ellis

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