The American Harp Society Foundation Board of Directors and Competition Committee are proud to announce the winner of the 2020 Grandjany Memorial Competition:
Hannah Cope, student of Prof. Jessica Zhou at New England Conservatory of Music
Rondo on the Trio “Zitti Zitti” from The Barber of Seville by Robert Nicholas Charles Bochsa
Hannah Cope begins her first season as Principal Harp of the Sarasota Orchestra in Fall of 2022. She earned a B.M. from Brigham Young University in Provo, UT and obtained an M.M. and a Graduate Diploma from New England Conservatory, under the tutelage of Jessica Zhou of Boston Symphony Orchestra. While at NEC, Hannah was selected as the school’s featured artist and performed the Mozart Concerto for Flute & Harp with the NEC Symphony in January 2020.
In New England, Hannah has performed with many orchestras and ensembles including Boston
Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops Orchestra, Lexington Symphony, Boston Philharmonic, Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, Cape Ann Symphony, and Plymouth Philharmonic. Highlights of the recent ’21–’22 season include being featured as a guest artist with Boston Chamber Music Society and performing with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Carnegie Hall.
In addition to professional engagements, Hannah is an avid competitor. She has won numerous harp
competitions including the American Harp Society National Competition, the Lyon and Healy Awards,
the Grandjany Memorial Competition, and most recently took 2me Prix at the 2022 Concours
International de Harp Félix Godefroid in Belgium. Hannah has also won fellowship positions at summer
orchestra festivals including Tanglewood Music Center, Marrowstone Music Festival and Brevard Music
Center.
Hannah lives in Boston with her husband Ben and their two cats, Hobbes and Zeus. When she’s not on
her harp bench, she enjoys escaping to the beach, trying new recipes, and playing Mario Kart.
All of the finalists deserve our admiration for their fine performances. We wish them all the best in their future careers and look forward to hearing them often. We also thank all of the teachers, family members, and others who supported our finalists during this pioneer venture of an online competition.
We are very grateful to our dedicated and distinguished adjudication panel, each of whom delivered thoughtful and careful judging results for each competitor: Robert Sutter (Chicago, IL), Andrea Mumm (Charlotte, NC), and Courtney Hershey Bress (Lakewood, CO).
The Grandjany Memorial Competition winner will receive a $5,000 award. This competition was established in 1979 by the American Harp Society Board and was funded by Bernard Grandjany in honor of his father Marcel Grandjany. It was enhanced by bequests from Mary Wheeler and Hermine Herbring to continue performances and appreciation of the works of Marcel Grandjany.
With gratitude to all who helped make this competition possible,
American Harp Society Foundation Board of Directors and Competition Committee,
Frances Duffy, AHSF Competitions Director
Carrie Kourkoumelis, President
Kathleen Bride, Vice President
Holly Avesian, Secretary
Penny Howk Beavers, Treasurer and Donor Relations
Frances Duffy
Kristina Finch
Jaymee Haefner
Elizabeth Huntley
Paula Page
Karen Lindquist Speyer, AHS Liaison