Harp Festival

Known as the world’s most ancient stringed instrument, the harp has inspired audiences all over the globe for thousands of years. Santa Cruz Harp Festival celebrates the many forms of the harp and its musical traditions, with a matinee concert featuring soloists Jennifer Cass - premier Classical harpist of the Monterey Bay Area - and a Harp Quartet of her pedal harp students; Shelley Phillips - celebrated multi-instrumentalist, music educator and Celtic harpist, performing Celtic harp with live looping; Jesse Autumn - Harp Fest director, singer/songwriter, and one of the foremost performers of the Double-strung harp, a unique harp with two rows of strings; and the all-ages Community Music School Harp Orchestra, playing music from Cuba, the Isle of Man, and local composer Fox Pettinotti. There will also be an instrument “petting zoo” at intermission for the harp-curious!