Elizabeth Hainen - Director of Program; Principal Harp of The Philadelphia Orchestra; Faculty, The Curtis Institute and Temple University.

Elizabeth Hainen has won international acclaim as one of today's foremost virtuoso harpists. She has charmed audiences as a recitalist and concerto soloist throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia and South America. Solo engagements have included the Anchorage Symphony, the Chicago Civic Orchestra, the Dance Theater of Harlem, the New World Symphony, the Paris Opera Ballet and the Vienna Boys Choir in addition to numerous performances with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Ms. Hainen has appeared as a soloist on the stages of Carnegie Hall, the John F. Kennedy Center, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Hall. An active chamber musician, Ms. Hainen has performed at the Festivals of Grand Tetons, Kingston and Marlboro. Her current season includes recitals and masterclasses in Seoul, Tokyo, Oklahoma City and concerto appearances throughout Mexico. Ms. Hainen recently performed the opening recital for the 2004 American Harp Society's National Convention and recently released recordings on the Naxos and Eagen labels. Elizabeth Hainen is the Principal Harpist for the Philadelphia Orchestra and teaches on the faculties of the Curtis Institute of Music and the Esther Boyer College of Music at Temple University.

Maria Luisa Rayan-Forero - Co-Director of Program, Solo Harpist, Pedagogue and Arranger.

Internationally renowned harpist, María Luisa Rayan-Forero has performed to critical acclaim in the USA, Europe, Latin America, China and Japan. Described by the New York Concert Review as “Clearly an extremely talented, accomplished, experienced performer who can keep an audience listening with rapt attention”, Ms. Rayan-Forero has been performing all over the globe for the past twenty years, bringing to audiences a sense of musicianship and poetry in her playing.

Since making her first international appearance at the age of eleven in a concert organized by UNICEF at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Ms. Rayan-Forero has come to be recognized as one of today’s highly sought-after harpists as a recitalist, chamber musician, soloist with orchestra, teacher and arranger of music for the harp.

Ms. Rayan-Forero has performed in major venues around the world, including Musikgebouw in Amsterdam, National Concert Hall in Dublin, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Carnegie Hall in New York, Libby Gardner Hall in Utah and Geary Theatre in San Francisco. Her performances with orchestra include the National Symphony Orchestra of Buenos Aires, Entre Ríos Symphony, Córdoba Symphony, Puerto Rico Symphony, Houston Symphony and other orchestras in the USA. Highlights of her chamber music performances include the Tanglewood Music Center of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Brevard Music Festival in North Carolina, where she served on the faculty, the University of Chicago and the Cartagena Music Festival.

A consistent prizewinner at competitions internationally, Ms. Rayan-Forero was awarded the Silver Medal at the USA International Harp Competition in 1998 and 2001. Her long list of national and international distinctions include first prize in the Young Professional Division at the 13th American Harp Society Conference and the Anne Adams Scholarship Awards, as well as awards from the WAMSO Competition in Minneapolis and the Ima Hogg Competition in Houston.

Having performed most of the harp literature, Ms. Rayan-Forero’s keen interest in expanding the repertoire for the harp has taken her to research and transcribe music. Her publications include arrangements for solo harp of Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas, Serie del Angel and Libertango by Astor Piazzolla, Partitas BWV 825-827 by J.S. Bach, Sonata in F K332 by W.A. Mozart and Prelude from Bachianas Brasileiras No.4 by Heitor Villa-Lobos.

Ms. Rayan-Forero was born in Concepción del Uruguay, Argentina, where she began studying the harp at age six with Elena Carfi. She completed her education at Indiana University, where she received her Master’s, Artist Diploma and Doctorate degrees as a student of Susann McDonald. She also served as an Associate Instructor for four years at Indiana University.

Ms. Rayan-Forero has recorded her debut CD Latin Fire for the Egan Records label. For more information on María Luisa Rayan-Forero, visit her website at www.rayanforero.com

Nancy Lendrim - Principal Harp, Toledo Symphony Orchestra; Faculty, University of Toledo and Heidelberg College.

Nancy Lendrim has been Principal Harpist of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra   since 1980. A graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music, Nancy was a student of renowned harpist Alice Chalifoux.   Her studies included twelve summers with Chalifoux at the Salzedo School in Camden, Maine.

A native of Williamsburg, Virginia, Nancy has participated in several summer music festivals, including those in Breckenridge and Evergreen, Colorado; Madison, Wisconsin and Graz, Austria. She has appeared frequently as a soloist with The Toledo Symphony on their Chamber, Mainly Mozart and Neighborhood Concert series. Recent appearances include a solo performance with the Akron Symphony, in a performance described as bringing "... a proficiency and professionalism to Debussy's Sacred and Profane Dances and to Ravel's Introduction and Allegro. (Lendrim) raised the level of playing with her performance." She has also performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Chamber performances across the United States have been highlighted by numerous world premiere performances. As a member of the Salzedo Harp Duo with Jody Guinn, she released in 2004 a CD of Salzedo's music.

Offstage, Nancy maintains an active roster of private students, is President of the Northwest Ohio Chapter of the American Harp Society, and is a regular contributor to The Harp Column magazine. She lives in Sylvania, Ohio with husband Roger Greive and sons Elliot and Oliver.