Professor
Isabelle Perrin
After having excelled in her harp studies at the Conservatoire de Nice, Isabelle Perrin gave her first recital at the age of seventeen at the Festival Méditerranéen des Jeunes Solistes. She then continued her education at the Juilliard School of Music in New York for three years before joining the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Upon her return to France, she was chosen by the Jeunesses Musicales de France to tour throughout the country giving recitals for three consecutive seasons, thus introducing the harp to a wide audience.
Named co-principal harpist of the Orchestre National de France in 1990, Isabelle Perrin was in the same year honoured to be chosen as a participating soloist by the Menuhin Foundation and selected in 1999 as laureate of the Torneo Internazionale de Musica in Rome, Italy.
An international soloist, Isabelle Perrin is regularly invited to perform with many prestigious ensembles such as the Northwest Sinfonietta (Seattle, USA), the Oshawa-Durham Symphony (Canada), the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra (Ireland), the BBC Wales Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France, the Orchestre National d’Ile de France, the Orchestre National de Lille, the Orchestre National du Capitol de Toulouse, the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, the Ensemble Instrumental de Grenoble, the Sinfonietta de Picardie, the Maîtrise de Radio-France, and the Orchestre National de Lorraine, with which she recently performed the Ginastera concerto during an eight concerts regional tour.
Isabelle Perrin tours regularly in Europe, the United States, Africa (Tunisia, South Africa), Asia (China, Japan, Korea) and Australia. This season, her concerts and masterclasses will take her throughout Europe (France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Switzerland, and The Netherlands), Russia, the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Hong Kong, Japan, etc.
Isabelle Perrin’s personality has been an inspiration for many composers. Pierick Houdy – winner of the Grand Prix of Rome – wrote for her the Concerto Français for harp and orchestra, which she premiered in France with the Orchestre de Bretagne, and in America with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra (Louisiana), and which she also performed at the Rudolfinum Hall in Prague with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. Bernard Andrès, a major composer for harp, dedicated his Danses d’Erzulie for harp, string orchestra and percussion to her as well, which she premiered in Cincinnati (USA) in June of 2000, and later in Amsterdam (the Netherlands) in 2001.
Isabelle Perrin has recorded several CDs under international labels such as Hortensia, Arion, Pavane, Intégral, and FIM, including a recital of works by Bernard Andrès, works for flute, viola and harp by Arnold Bax with the Turner Trio, of which she is the founding member, a world-premier recording of works for harp by F.A. Boieldieu including the famous concerto in C recorded on a period instrument, a recording of works for harp by Pierick Houdy, a SACD of an eclectic compilation of transcriptions and well-known harp repertoire and most recently a CD of the greatest French pieces by Fauré, Caplet, Roussel, Pierné, etc.
The youngest French recipient of the Certificate of Aptitude for harp pedagogy, Isabelle Perrin is the professor at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris and gives master classes worldwide (Europe, United States, Japan, Korea, China, Australia, etc.…). She was invited to be a guest professor for two months at the prestigious Indiana University in Bloomington, USA, and was recently named Visiting Professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London. In August of 2004, as president and artistic director, Isabelle Perrin organized the 6th European Harp Symposium which took place in Lyon, France. She holds the office of vice president of the World Harp Congress, which presents an international exhibition every three years in varying countries.
Isabelle Perrin has of late been knighted by the French Order of Arts and Letters in recognition of her exemplary career and her involvement in the musical word.
For more information, visit Isabelle Perrin's official website.
Guest Artists
Lynne Aspnes - guest lecturer
Harpist Lynne Aspnes began her tenure at Arizona State University in the summer of 2007 as associate dean for the Herberger College of the Arts and professor of music for its School of Music.
Prior to her move to Tempe, Aspnes served as chair of the string department at the University of Michigan-School of Music in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She also served as director of the school’s Center for Career Development. Prior to being appointed chair of the string department, Aspnes served for eight years as associate dean for academic affairs and for six years as chair of the school’s scholarship committee.
An active performer and teacher, Aspnes appears frequently in solo recitals, chamber music collaborations and as orchestral soloist. With VocalEssence (formerly the Plymouth Music Series of Minnesota) Aspnes has recorded on the Collins Classics, CRI, ProArte, RCA Red Seal and Virgin Classics labels, and with organist John Walker and the choir of the Riverside Church, New York, for the Pro Organo label. As a guest artist, Aspnes has appeared as guest soloist and/or clinician for schools of music and music festivals in Colorado, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, New Jersey, Virginia, Washington, and Paris, France.
As a member of the American Harp Society, Aspnes is a past director of the Concert Artist Program, the primary educational outreach effort of the AHS; a past member of the executive committee and the board of directors. She is a frequent contributor to The American Harp Journal, the professional journal for harpists worldwide. Aspnes performs frequently for AHS national conferences and has co-chaired three conferences and chaired the Ann Arbor, Michigan conference. Aspnes presented the opening recital in San Diego conference and appeared under the auspices of the World Harp Congress at concerts in Vienna, Austria, and Seattle, Washington. Aspnes is a past editor of the Harp Forum for the American String Teacher, the official publication of the American String Teacher’s Association, served on the planning board for the 2004 ASTA National Conference, and is a former consultant to the ASTA National Solo Competition.
Aspnes began her training in her native Minnesota with her mother, harpist Frances Miller, and holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Minnesota, a Master of Music degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Manhattan School of Music. Of her solo recital debut in New York’s Carnegie Recital Hall, the New York Times said, "Lynne Aspnes helped the listener recall what a versatile instrument the harp is... Miss Aspnes is clearly an accomplished artist, whose skill is not to be doubted."
Damien Luce - pianist
For several years, Damien Luce has been developing diverse aspects of his art: music, drama, literature. Born in 1978, he pursued his piano studies with Billy Eidi at the Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris and with Herbert Stessin at the Juilliard School of Music in New York. In addition, he studied chamber music with Bruce Brubaker, Harvey Shapiro and Andre Emilianov, conducting with Laurent Petitgirard and orchestration with Alain Louvier.
Damien Luce is prizewinner of numerous competitions in France, including the French Young Musicians Competition (1991), the Leopold Bellan piano competition (1993), and the Claude Kahn piano competition (1994). In June 2000, he was chosen as alternate winner of the Aspen Music Festival concerto competition. In 1999, he was the recipient of the Villecroze Academy Scholarship. In 2001, he was asked to perform for Murray Perahia’s Master Class at the Juilliard School.
As a performer, Mr. Luce has given recitals in France (Chopin Festival, Dinard Festival…), Belgium (Brussels) and the USA (New York, Aspen, Washington). His recital at the Montpellier Music Festival was broadcasted by the French radio and television. In July 2000, he performed Mozart’s piano Concerto no.25 with the Conducting Orchestra in the Aspen Music Festival. In October 2000, he appeared as a chamber musician in Alice Tully Hall (New York, Lincoln Center). As a conductor, Mr. Luce has performed in Paris, including in the prestigious Salle Gaveau.
Mr. Luce likes to explore unknown works of the piano repertoire and to share his discoveries: his programs include Séverac, Liadov, Kirchner and Mompou as well as more well-known composers such as Chopin, Mozart or Schumann. His passion for literature often leads him to use a poetical theme (Nature, Childhood, Mythology…), in order to combine works from various eras and styles, and to emphasize the links between different forms of art.
Damien Luce is also a composer. In may 2006, he performed his Suite Le Baron perché (“The Baron in the Trees”) for the French radio.
As an actor, Mr Luce studied at the Alain De Bock studio, where he worked on authors such as Racine, Claudel, Marivaux and Albee, Ribes. In September 2007, he directed and performed his play Presque trop sérieux (“Almost too serious”) in Paris and in Brittany.
Administrators
Sylvia Norris
Administrator
Marta Power
Administrator
Elizabeth Jaxon
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