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) since 2020, Anna feels equally at home in the orchestra as she does performing contemporary music. She has appeared as a substitute harpist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Opera, Louisville Orchestra, and Nashville Opera. As a member of the New Downbeat based in Cincinnati, Anna has performed many world premieres of chamber works by up-and-coming composers, including Brian Raphael Nabors, Grace Choi, Meng Weng, and Julien Monick. She also played for the world premiere performances and recording of Teddy Abrams's Piano Concerto with Yuja Wang and the Louisville Orchestra. This past summer, she participated in the National Arts Centre Orchestra (NACO) Mentorship Program under the direction of Alexander Shelley in multiple sold-out performances in Ottawa and as the guest harpist with the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble in their performances and recording of Joseph Schwantner's Sparrows. Recent performance highlights have included playing with Music City Hit Makers in Nashville alongside leading country music songwriters, Brett James and Chris DeStefano; selections from Adolphus Hailstork's works for soprano and harp with Tiffany Bostic-Brown for The Fourth Wall in Huntsville, AL; and as a part of the harp section for Wagner (arr. Maazel), Ring without Words alongside Gillian Benet Sella, Gretchen van Hoesen, and Jackie Davis. 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. Anna was selected as the 2015 Eastman harp studio Concerto Competition winner, a winner of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music harp department Concerto Competitions in 2021 and 2019, and was the 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 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. |