HARP STUDY AT BALL STATE UNIVERSITY
Ball State University School of Music offers a harp performance program with a long tradition of excellence. The program is very selective and enrollment is limited, so that each student receives the personal attention, mentoring and performance opportunities which are essential for development as a musician. Each year there are 4 to 6 undergraduate harp majors and 1 or 2 graduate students. I also teach a limited number of harp minors and pre-college students. One thing that sets BSU apart from many other harp programs is that I am not an adjunct instructor but a full-time professor. I am on campus all the time and often am able to offer each harp major two lessons a week along with a two-hour master class. Undergraduate harp majors are required to take harp literature and pedagogy courses and have the opportunity to gain teaching experience under my supervision. The
BSU harp ensemble performs several times each year.
The School of Music offers exceptional facilities in the new Music Instruction Building, including two concert halls and a large harp studio. Ball State owns 5 Lyon and Healy harps which students may use for practice and ensembles. Harp students may keep their personal instruments in locked practice rooms. State of the art recording studios are available to students who wish to make recordings.
I believe that being both a first-rate soloist and ensemble player is absolutely crucial for success as a harpist. Helping each student develop a beautiful, big sound, highly refined interpretive skills, solid technique and excellent musicianship is the foundation of my teaching. Many of my students have been very successful in national competitions, including prize-winners in the Anne Adams, Glenn Miller, Elizabeth Hobin, Golkin, Pennington and National Alliance for Excellence competitions, as well as in solo and concerto competitions. They have performed with many orchestras including the Baltimore, Indianapolis, Kansas City, and New World Symphonies and Philadelphia Opera Orchestra, as well as the National Symphony Orchestra of Bolivia, and have successfully auditioned for summer festivals such as Tanglewood, Chautauqua, Brevard, Rocky Mountain, Hot Springs, Eastern, Sewanee, and the Texas Music Festival. Three students have been finalists for Fulbright Awards.
BSU offers a wide variety of performance opportunities for harp majors. Every student performs with the orchestra from the freshman year, and with the Wind Ensemble, the Symphony Band and BSU Choirs. There are also two operas every year; a recent production was Madame Butterfly, under the direction of internationally renowned conductor Fiora Contino. The students are also given the opportunity to perform in various chamber music groups. BSU has a very active music composition program and students often play on the New Music Festival and on composers' recitals. There are many performance opportunities for harpists both on and off campus, including weddings, parties and regional orchestras.
I hope that you will schedule a campus visit and lesson, and I look forward to
welcoming you to the Ball State University Harp Studio!
Elizabeth Richter