BIO

Described by critics as an artist possessing “poise under pressure", Anna Dunlap’s music making continues to inspire listeners with her craft, grace, and power.

Principal harpist with the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra (AL) and winner of the 2016 American Harp Society’s Grandjany Memorial Competition, Anna has also been the recipient of the Robert Wayne Barlow Excellence in Harp Performance Award at the Eastman School of Music. She has appeared as a substitute harpist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Opera, Louisville Orchestra, and Nashville Opera. Harpist with New Downbeat, an all-female identifying chamber music collective, Anna has performed multiple world premieres including works by Brian Raphael Nabors, Julien Monick, and Grace Choi. Selected as the 2015 Eastman harp studio Concerto Competition winner, she was a second laureate of the United States Navy Band Concerto Competition, a winner of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music harp department Concerto Competition in 2021 and 2019, and runner-up of the 2018 Anne Adams Awards Competition. As a recipient of the Performer's Certificate at Eastman, Anna was featured on Rochester, NY's classical music station WXXI's Backstage Pass in February 2018. She has also previously attended Orford Musique (Canada) where she participated in masterclasses, lessons, and coachings with harpist and composer, Caroline Lizotte; Jennifer Swartz, principal harpist of Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal; and leading contemporary conductor, Veronique Lacroix, on a world premiere performance in 2019 through the Contemporary Music Workshop.

​Currently studying at the University of Cincinnati's College Conservatory of Music with Dr. Gillian Benet Sella, Anna graduated from the Eastman School of Music in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Harp Performance with highest distinction and in May of 2020 from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music with a Master's Degree in Harp Performance. Anna also received a Graduate Artist's Certificate in Orchestral Studies and Digital Creation from OAcademy (Orchestra of the Americas) in the studio of Jennifer Swartz in 2021. She is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, a National Music Honors Society, and Sigma Alpha Iota, a women's music fraternity.  Anna made her solo debut at the Eastman Theater with Kevin Kaska’s Concerto for Harp.