The USA International Harp Competition will return to Bloomington from June 28 to July 9. Contestants from 20 countries will travel to Bloomington to compete in front of a jury of distinguished international judges.
Every three years, contestants from all over the world compete for gold, silver and bronze medals. The gold medalist will receive a Gold Style 23 harp, which was donated by Lyon & Healy Harps and valued at $55,000, as well as a cash prize and concert engagements. The second through eighth prize winners also receive cash prizes.
The competition is open for harpists around the world between the ages of 18 and 32. The competition runs over four rounds: three solo rounds and a final round consisting of a concerto with the Jacobs School of Music summer philharmonic, said Moya Wright, USA International Harp Competition Executive Director. The final round will be at 7 p.m. on July 9 at the Musical Arts Center. The awards ceremony will follow at 9 p.m.
“The purpose behind it is to promote and sustain artistic excellence and appreciation of the harp and its repertoire,” Wright said. “In reality, it actually launches a lot of careers for the young winners.”
The international jury panel consists of jury president Naoko Yoshino from Japan, Anne-Sophie Bertrand from Germany, Shannon Shuen Chieh from Taiwan, Dickie Fleisher from the U.S., Judy Loman from Canada and Isabelle Perrin from France. Full biographies for each judge are available on the USA International Harp Competition website.
Competition performances are free and open to the public. Along with the competition performances, there will be several featured concerts.
One of these featured concerts will be the Laureate Recital at 2 p.m on July 3 at Auer Hall. The concert will feature Mélanie Laurent, 11th USA International Harp Competition gold medalist, and Luke Hsu, 2018 bronze medal winner of the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. The event will be $25 for adults and $15 for students. Tickets will be sold at the MAC Box office and on Ticketmaster.
The Composition Forum featuring IU student Ari Schwartz will be at 3 p.m on July 6 in Ford Hall. Schwartz’s composition, the winner of the USA International Harp Competition’s triennial composition contest for solo harpists, will be performed by all semi-finalists. The concert is free and open to the public.
The Stars of Tomorrow concert will be presented at 7 p.m July 6 in Auer Hall. The Stars of Tomorrow program highlights national and international prize winners under the age of 18. This year, five harpists representing the United States, Canada, South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong will perform. The concert is free and open to the public.
There will be a guest recital featuring jazz harpist Park Stickney and bassist Jeremy Allen at 7:30 p.m. on July 8 at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. Tickets, sold at the BCT Box Office, are $25 for adults and $15 for students.
The USA International Harp Competition was founded by Susann McDonald, Jacobs School of Music Distinguished Professor Emerita of Harp, in 1989. Now in its 12th run, the competition is recognized as one of the most prestigious and lucrative solo harp competitions in the world, according to the press release.
The competition is sponsored by the Jacobs School of Music and Lyon & Healy Harp. Jacobs will provide their performance venues, practice rooms and twelve of their own harps. Lyon & Healy Harp will ship in harps from Chicago as well, according to the press release.
“They will say that Bloomington is the harp heaven because there are so many harps,” Wright said.
Along with these sponsors, The USA International Harp Competition also has private sponsors and a following of long time supporters, Wright said.
“We have one fabulous lady, she's been a supporter for many, many years,” Wright said. “She is flying in from Japan and she's 91 years old. She's determined to come and listen to her favorite competition, and I think that's wonderful.”
More information about the competition, a contestant list and a full schedule is available on the USA International Harp Competition website.
