3:00 p.m., March 9, 2021
Watch the virtual performance on our YouTube Channel. Click here.
Hope Cowan will perform “Harp Favorites: Old and New,” a mesmerizing performance of solo harp music. Musical selections for the concert program include Celtic, classical, jazz, and contemporary popular music all spun with magic.
Concert Program
Celtic
Down by the Salley Gardens – Traditional Irish, arr. Sunita Staneslow
Bridget Cruise Third Air – Turlough O’Carolan, arr. Sunita Staneslow
Classical
Vers la source dans le bois – Marcel Tournier
La Desirade – Carlos Salzedo
Jazz
Our Love Is Here to Stay – George Gershwin, arr. Ray Pool
Embraceable You – George Gershwin, arr. Ray Pool
Premier of New Composition
Harpo, Between Acts from “Quarantine Miniatures” – Mark Buller
Popular
Make You Feel My Love – Bob Dylan, arr. Michelle Whitson Stone (3min)
Hallelujah – Leonard Cohen, arr. Michelle Whitson Stone (3min)
Hope Cowan
Originally from La Crosse, Wisconsin, Ms. Cowan relocated to Houston, Texas in 2009 to pursue her music education. She has a Master’s of Music degree from Rice University and a Bachelor’s of Music from the University of Houston, both under the instruction of Paula Page.
As an orchestral musician, Ms. Cowan is the principal harpist of the Symphony of Southeast Texasand the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra. Formerly, she was the principal harpist of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra. She has served as a guest musician with various symphonies including the Milwaukee, Victoria, San Antonio, Brazos Valley, Lake Charles, and Corpus Christi Symphonies. She has also been a guest musician with the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, Opera in the Heights, and Mercury Chamber Orchestra.
An avid chamber musician, Ms. Cowan is a founding member of both the Deciduous Trio and the Lynx Trio. Chamber music performances include appearances at the National Flute Association Convention and the American Harp Society Summer Institute. She has appeared as a guest artist on faculty recitals at Sul Ross State University, University of Texas El Paso, and San Angelo State University. An advocate for contemporary chamber music, she has also appeared with SYZGY: New Music at Rice, The Foundation for Modern Music, AURA, and MUSIQA.
A committed and passionate teacher, Ms. Cowan teaches private lessons in her home in Katy, TX. She is a teaching artist for Young Audiences of Houston and an alumna of the Da Camera Young Artist Program. She frequently runs clinics and workshops in school districts all over the Houston area. She is faculty for the Houston Summer Harp Festival, a summer camp for middle school and high school harpists held at Houston Baptist University (http://houstonsummerharpfestival.com/). Ms. Cowan is committed to building and supporting the harp community in Houston, and currently serves as the President for the Greater Houston Chapter of the American Harp Society.