2026:
Noel Wan in Concert May 15th 2026
Noël Wan will be giving a recital at St. James Community Square, 3214 W 10th Ave, Vancouver, BC on Friday, May 15, 2026 at 7 pm. A masterclass will be held on May 16 in Room 462 starting at 1:00 pm at UBC School of Music, 6361 Memorial Rd., Vancouver. Programme listed below.
Noël's website: https://nywharp.com/bio
WCHS members can find reduced price tickets here until April 30th only. Non-members can use the ticket buttons below:
Student (under age 20) ticket for non-members for Noel Wan concert. (Reduced rate for members is found on the subscription members page)
C$30.00
Programme for May 15, 2026 - Noël Wan, harp
“Did you spring out of heaven or hell, O Beauty?” (Baudelaire)
One of classical harp’s most distinctive emerging soloists, Noël Wan brings together her unique artistic voice and intellectual imagination in an all-new solo program, Les Fleurs du Mal. Pairing pieces by beloved late Romantic composers with exquisite twenty-first century works, she and her harp conjure a tangled, efflorescent world of decadence, perversion, and beauty.
Lilacs, op. 21, no. 5 Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) trans. Wan
Stalk (2008) Gabriel Jenks (b. 1981
Une châtelaine en sa tour…, op. 110 Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)
Arches and Strings (2024-2026) Clifton Callender (b. 1969)
- Cadenza
- Muted Groove
- Bisbigliando
- Ballade
Crisantemi (Chrysanthemums) Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
Isoldes Liebestod Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Bio
Lauded as “a huge talent with hidden power and amazing maturity” (Bart van Oort) and “not [a harpist] to be slept on” (The Globe and Mail), Taiwanese-Canadian-American Noël Wan 萬依慈 commands a remarkably fresh creative voice, bridging charismatic artistry and intellect in her work as an international prize-winning solo harpist and interdisciplinary scholar.
Unparalleled in her musical versatility and technical virtuosity, Noël has garnered top prizes at major competitions, including the Astral Artists National Competition, USA International Harp Competition, Prix Orford Musique, and World Harp Competition. Her solo work spans classical repertoire to jazz transcriptions to experimental improvisation and has been supported by the Chimei Arts Foundation, Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, and Florida State University.
Recent seasons include debut solo recitals in Chicago, Auckland, Hong Kong, China (Fuzhou, Wuxi), and Atlantic Canada; performances of Pull No More, Liliya Ugay’s award-winning solo electroacoustic harp work, at the Chicago Electro-Acoustic Festival, Seoul International Computer Music Festival, and CAMPGround Festival; and the premiere of “The Angel of Death,” an electroacoustic harp-sculpture designed by installation artist Tra Bouscaren. In July 2026, she will make her Elora Festival recital debut and give the world premiere of Jovian and Telluric, op. 54, Caroline Lizotte’s new work for flute and electroacoustic harp at One Harp World in Toronto.
An alumna of the University of Illinois (BM, DMA) and the Yale School of Music (MM), Noël is currently the Assistant Professor of Harp and Entrepreneurship at Florida State University and harp faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music.
Matt Dupont Concert PROGRAMME
Matt Dupont played a wonderful concert March 7, lovely and esciting new music for harp along with son=me great interpretations of some old favourites.
1 Padgett, Eileen: Memories in Water - Living Stream, Weight of Ice, The River Remembers, Waterfall Under Ancient Stars
2 Lizotte, Caroline: Suite Galactique - Exosphere, Hymne au Bon Combat, Scherzo del Pueblo
3 Fauré, Gabriel: Impromptu
4 Murphy, Kelly-Ann: And Then at Night I Paint The Stars
5 Schafer, R. Murray: Dance of The Bull + Ariadne's dream
6 Lizotte, Caroline: Stellar Sonata 1st movement Andare moderato
7 de Séverac, Déodat: Valse Romantique
8 Mozetich, Marjan: Songs of Nymphs - Prelude, Reflection
Encore Hasselmans, Alphonse: La Source
Our three 2025 scholarship winners played the opening,
Alice Han - Salzedo: Tango
Grace Han - Natra: Allegro Moderato (movement III of Sonatina)
Kaitlin Hui - Tournier: Lolita la Danseuse
Harp Day 2025 - Oct 25 orpheum annex
HARP DAY 2025 wAS at the Orpheum Annex, October 25, 2025.
823 Seymour St, Vancouver, BC V6B 3L4
We've been alternating between on-line and in-person events, so this year we were together in Vancouver!! Special thanks to the city of Vancouver event spaces grant!
12 noon - load in harps through front door on Seymour Street, large harps go up elevator, small harps can be carried up the stairs.
12:30 - 1:45pm Harp Day ensemble class
1:45 - 2:45pm sharing gig stories, singing and playing- Lani Krantz, presenter - notes are available
2:45 - 3:45pm Feldenkrais on chairs / mat - Teodora Dimova, presenter
3:45 - 4:30pm rehearsal for Marilyn and Danel on stage, Rhythm panel simultaneously in lobby
4:45 - 5:30pm ensembles soundcheck
5:30 - 6:30pm dinner
6:30 - 6:50pm ensembles soundcheck
7-8:30 pm concert.
Concert - The Harp Day ensemble, several children's ensembles and Duo Camassia, Marilyn Rummel and Danel Cove in a concert of new works for Baroque flute and harp.
June 21, 2025 10:00 am to 12:00 pm online: Free workshop for members! Lisa Tannebaum Phrasing Seminar: Zoom link on Members' page.
This seminar is for music lovers who want to dig deeper into musical expression. In this interactive session, participants will be led through a series of activities that incorporate movement, graphic arts, storytelling, and even their own breath in revealing the purpose and meaning of each phrase. Participants will be guided with interactive phrasing exercises using Bonnie Goodrich’s Small Tunes for Young Harpists. Lisa uses easy pieces to teach the essentials of creative phrasing without the mechanical concerns of pedaling or complicated counterpoint.
During these exercises, Lisa will discuss and perform the following works:
- Toccata by Jean Baptiste Loeillet: The most important concept for Baroque phrasing is identifying the “state of the soul” to be expressed. Ms. Tannebaum will take a modern scenario suggested by the audience and create a story while she plays, demonstrating this state of the soul in real time.
- La Source by Alphonse Hasselmans: Areas of musical conflict/tension and resolution are identified and the purpose/ “narrative” function of each phrase is explored.
- Metamorphosis III by Philip Glass: A series of lines are drawn on paper while listening results in visual evidence of the music’s energy (drive) and musical momentum, important factors shaping musical direction.
- Fantaisie on a theme of Haydn by Marcel Grandjany: By using our own breath and “singing” participants physically feel the arc of the melody as well as important intervals and rhythmic patterns.
- Cours d’eau by Aurelian Hallopeau: While moving through space in response to music, we experience how each musical phrase advances the storyline or changes the emotional impact of the piece.
March 2, 2025 7pm Alexander Boldachev Concert at Vancouver Academy of Music
Brilliant virtuoso harpist ALEXANDER (Sasha) BOLDACHEV came to Vancouver again to teach a master class on March 1, 2025 at the UBC School of Music from 12:45 pm - 6:00 pm, then performed a concert on March 2, 2025 at 7:00 pm at the Vancouver Academy of Music.
Buy Tickets - general tickets $30.
Buy Tickets with members rate - Available now to Feb 23, members' early bird rates are $25 and $20 for under 20. On Feb 24, the rate will be updated to $30, same as general tickets.
|
Bach - Toccata and Fuga
Pärt - Fratres
Vivaldi - Summer and Winter from The Seasons
Rachmaninov - Prelude in C-sharp minor
Tchaikovsky - Sugar-plum Fairy
Shostakovich - Valse n. 2
Boldachev - War and Peace
|
HARP DAY(s) 2024 - October 25, 2024 concert at Unitarian Church 7:00 pm, October 26, 2024 Harp Day online! The Friday concert featured Elisa Thorn, prize-winning students playing solos and duets, and a world première of a movement from Edward Top's harp ensemble composition played by the Senior Harp Ensemble of the Vancouver Academy of Music.
Unitarian Church of Vancouver address: 949 W 49th Ave, Vancouver, BC V5Z 2T1
Online portion free - see your subscriber home page for recordings
Elisa performed original songs from her upcoming album, 13000, which will be released in spring 2025. Using her harp, voice, loop pedal, and other live processing, this music combines elements of experimental music with songwriting to create rich tapestries of sound that intend to be surprising, generous, audacious, and sensitive. See subscriber home page for Elisa's performance.