PERFORMANCE AND RECORDINGS

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco's Concertino (1937) for Harp is a wonderful addition to the harp solo repertoire. Each of the three movements is based off of Spanish influence and showcases a broad range of idiomatic harp techniques. The textures evoke Castelnuovo-Tedesco's experience as a pianist and extensive body of work for classical guitar. This is a live recording from Margaret Anne's Senior Undergraduate Recital in November 2024 and features pianist Bohao Wang.

In June of 2023, Margaret Anne won first prize in the Advanced Division of the American Harp Society National Competition. Held at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, California, this video shows Margaret Anne performing Every Lover is a Warrior (2006) by Kati Agócs in the final round of the competition. Driven by her love of new music and desire to perform works by living composers, she later chose to perform this piece at the winners recital of the competition. In March 2024, Margaret Anne's performance was awarded a feature spot for the World Harp Congress's new music initiative - Spectrum.

Italian composer Nino Rota, while best known for his film scores, wrote an impressive breadth of works including four solo and chamber pieces for harp. A gem in our chamber repertoire, his Sonata for Flute and Harp (1937) dreamily transports the listener from the most stark and simple melody in the opening of the first movement, to the energetic and intricate final movement, all while showcasing the technique and lyricism of both instruments. This recording is taken from a live performance in UNT's Voertman Hall in October 2023.

In my favorite and most meaningful collaboration to date, I had the opportunity to perform what was once a hammered dulcimer part on the piece Merida (For Leslie) off of Christopher and Janis Deane's 1987 album Transilience. Transcribed by percussionists Raina Liao and Graham Viegut, this is its first known transcription and live performance. This premiere was given at the Global Rhythms Concert in Spring 2023 at Voertman Hall (UNT). 

Sonata for Harp (1953) by Germaine Tailleferre is a staple in the harp repertoire. Composed in 3 musically distinct movements, Tailleferre pleasantly blends together influences from around the world, at times surprising the listener with bold changes in rhythm and color. This recording is taken from a live performance in UNT's Voertman Hall in October 2023. 

Concertstück by Gabriel Pierné is a standard concerto in the harp repertoire. In 2022, Margaret Anne won the Sewanee Summer Music Festival Jacqueline Avent Concerto Competition and UNT’s Concerto Competition, each resulting in a performance of this piece with orchestra. This recording with pianist Mengni Tan was made December 2022 in UNT’s Voertman Hall.

Domenico Scarlatti's sonatas are beautiful examples of baroque keyboard repertoire which have been adopted into the standard harp repertoire via transcription. These sonatas, A Major, K. 209 and F minor, K. 466, were transcribed by Susann McDonald and Linda Wood Rollo. This recording is taken from a live performance in UNT's Voertman Hall in October 2023.

Margaret Anne loves collaborating with composers on new works. Scenes in Giverny by Ryan Fillinger was premiered in March 2023 at a SPECTRUM concert at the University of North Texas. 

One of the joys of Margaret Anne's time at the University of North Texas has been serving as principal harpist for the North Texas Wind Symphony in her sophomore and junior years. Having performed a dozen concerts with them, she was continually inspired by the musicianship of her peers and particularly enjoyed the experience of traveling to perform with them at the 2023 Texas Music Educators Association Conference (TMEA) . This recording of Kevin Day's Concerto for Wind Ensemble is from a live performance in April 2023.