Anya Garipoli
Harp
Making a name for herself as a dynamic young harpist of her generation, Anya Garipoli is committed to bringing the harp into the 21st century by forging a new artistic identity for her instrument. A versatile and multi-skilled musician, Anya is just as comfortable performing solo harp music in a large concert hall as she is playing in an orchestra pit or making electroacoustic pop covers with loop and effects pedals.
An accomplished solo harpist from an early age, Anya has been a winner of several prominent harp competitions across the country. Her accolades include: successfully competing against 53 other harpists to be named winner of the 2019 Lyon and Healy Awards Competition in Chicago, winner of the 2016 Anne Adams Awards Competition of the American Harp Society, after which she was invited to perform at the American Harp Society’s 41st national conference, and First Prize winner of the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Harp Society’s annual competition.
In addition to solo performances, Anya is an avid orchestral player and chamber musician. She has performed in some of the best concert halls in the country, including Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and the Segerstrom Concert Hall. She has performed alongside various national and international orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, the New Jersey Symphony, and numerous Festival orchestras & local orchestras in her area.
Anya currently serves as an associate member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, is the Harp Fellow for the Music Academy of the West Academy Orchestra, is a substitute harpist with the New World Symphony in Miami, and is guest Principal Harpist with the American Youth Symphony in Los Angeles. She is a member of the Colburn Orchestra, and regularly performs with local orchestras in the Los Angeles area. While living in Oberlin, Ohio, Anya was a member of the Oberlin Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonietta, and Contemporary Music Ensemble. As a member of Oberlin’s Contemporary Music Ensemble, Anya performed at the acclaimed “Bang on a Can” new music festival at the Brooklyn Museum in 2017.
Anya has been awarded numerous fellowships to participate in premier classical music festivals across the country. She has attended the Music Academy of the West, the Round Top Music Festival, and the Texas Music Festival all on full scholarships, and has been invited to other premier summer music programs, including the Aspen Music Festival & School.
Anya has studied with some of the best harpists in the country, beginning her studies at the age of eight with Barbara Biggers. She continued her studies with Elizabeth Hainen, Principal Harp of the Philadelphia Orchestra and Professor of Harp at the Curtis Institute of Music, until she moved to Michigan to finish her high school studies at Interlochen Arts Academy, where she was a student of Joan Holland.
Anya is a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory, where she earned her Bachelor of Music studying with acclaimed solo harpist Yolanda Kondonassis. She is currently attending the Colburn School as an Artist Diploma candidate, under the tutelage of JoAnn Turovsky, Hollywood film score harpist and Principal Harp of the LA Opera and LA Chamber Orchestra.
In addition to her classical training, Anya is a passionate electroacoustic harpist. She regularly makes pop, hip-hop, and lofi harp covers that use digital audio workstation software and technology gear such as loop pedals, effects pedals, and amplification in order to extend the harp’s capabilities and sound palette beyond what is traditionally heard. Anya gave her first public electroacoustic performance in 2018, presenting pieces written for live harp and loop pedal, as well as original work for live harp and digital audio software programs to manipulate the harp’s sound in real time. Anya is committed to expanding the sound worlds commonly associated with the harp, and bringing an ancient instrument like harp into the 21st century. She hopes to forge connection with others and create memorable concert experiences by providing immersive multi-media performances in collaboration with artists of other genres.
Anya is a dedicated harp teacher, currently teaching her own private studio locally and online, and teaching as part of Colburn’s Jumpstart for Young Musicians program, a fully funded program which provides free music lessons and instruments to children from low-income families in the greater Los Angeles county.
Anya believes in the importance of using her music to provide outreach, education, and charitable giving through music performances. She has made it a priority to coordinate and participate in numerous benefit concerts in both New York and New Jersey.
Anya currently splits her time between New Jersey and Los Angeles, where she is in graduate school, giving recitals, performing with orchestras, teaching, and taking auditions..