The 2022 American Harp Foundation Awards competitions took place on May 24 and 25, 2022. The competitions were conducted virtually due to the ongoing pandemic.
The 2022 Anne Adams Awards winners (listed alphabetically) are:
Kelly Guangyin Hou, student of Prof. Valerie Muzzolini, University of Washington
Rebekah Hou, student of Prof. Yolanda Kondonassis, The Cleveland Institute of Music
Morgan Short, student of Jessica Zhou, New England Conservatory
Kelly Guangyin Hou
Etude de Concert by Felix Godefroid
Kelly Guangyin Hou started playing the piano when she was 6 and began the harp 7 years ago. She studied the harp with Alison Austin when she was 13, and later went on to study with Valerie Muzzolini at the University of Washington in 2020. Prior to college, Kelly played in the Seattle Youth Symphony for 4 years and placed 3rd in the WMEA State Solo and Ensemble contest in 2019. Currently, she is pursuing both a degree in Informatics and Music Performance and is a part of the University of Washington Symphony Orchestra as well as the University of Washington Wind Ensemble.
Rebekah Hou
Danses Sacrée et Profane by Claude Debussy
Rebekah Hou is a recent graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy, where she studied under Joan Holland as a proud recipient of the Orchestral Scholarship and the Fine Arts Award for Harp. Now she is enrolled at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in harp performance as a student of Yolanda Kondonassis.
As an orchestral musician, Rebekah has traveled the world performing with the National Youth Orchestra of the United States (NYO-USA). Their 2019 season took the musicians on a tour of Germany, England, Scotland, and the Netherlands. NYO- USA 2019 was directed by Sir Antonio Pappano and joined by guest artists Joyce DiDonato and Isabelle Leonard.
As a former member of the Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra and the World Youth Symphony Orchestra and a current member of the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra, Rebekah has worked with many acclaimed conductors and teachers from around the world including Michael Francis, Guillermo Figueroa, Larry Rachleff, JoAnn Falletta, Brett Mitchell, Jung-Ho Pak, Carl Topilow, Leslie Dunner, Melissa Brunet, and Andrew Grams.
Morgan Short
Morgan Mackenzie Short is an American Harpist pursuing a Master in Harp Performance at the New England Conservatory as a Dean’s Scholar. She has been awarded top prizes in prominent competitions including First Prize in the 2019 American Harp Society National Competition (Advanced Division), First Prize (Strings) in the 2019 Ronald Sachs International Music Competition, Grand Prize in the 2018 Classics Alive Artist Management Audition in Los Angeles, Grand Prize and Audience Prize in the 2018 Rosen-Schaffel Competition for Emerging Artists, and a recipient of the 2015 U.S. Navy Ambassador Middendorf Award.
She is a gifted soloist having performed fifteen concerti with notable orchestras and festivals such as the North Carolina Symphony, Alexandria Symphony, Eastern Music Festival, Shenandoah Bach Festival, Appalachian Music Festival, and the U.S. Navy Concert Band, amongst many others.
Morgan has a passion for World Music and is a 2022 Laureate Finalist in the upcoming Princess Margaret of the Isles Scottish Harp Competition. She has studied with renowned Celtic harp players Gráinne Hambly and Billy Jackson at the Swannanoa Gathering, along with Kim Robertson and Janet Harbison at the Somerset Folk Harp Festival, as well as Maeve Gilchrist at the Silkroad World Music Festival.
As an orchestral harpist, Morgan actively freelances with numerous orchestras in Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Virginia performing in several operas and over two dozen fully staged Nutcracker performances. She has appeared as a harpist with the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, New England Philharmonic, New River Valley Symphony, Lynchburg Symphony, and the Charlotte Symphony among others.
Presently, Morgan is a 2022 Harp Fellow with the Orchestra Academy of the Americas and will receive a Professional Artist Certificate in Orchestral Studies and Digital Technologies. She is also a recent winner of the New World Symphony substitute harp position for the 2022-2023 season.
Three scholarship awards of $3,000 each will be given to the winners, thanks to the generous support from the Anne and Dr. Burton Adams, Sally Maxwell/Doris Calkins, and the Doris E. Nebergall Funds. Lyon & Healy, an integral sponsor of this competition since its inception, provides a gift certificate to each of the three winners and honors them on a permanent plaque displayed in the Lyon & Healy showroom. Judges for this competition were Sarah Bullen (Chicago Symphony Principal Harp, retired), Elizabeth Richter (Harp Professor, Ball State University, retired), and Janice Weber (former Piano Faculty, The Boston Conservatory).
With gratitude to all who helped make this competition possible,
American Harp Foundation Board of Directors and Competition Committee
Frances Duffy, AHF Competitions Director
Carrie Kourkoumelis, President
Kathleen Bride, Vice President
Holly Avesian, Secretary
Penny Howk Beavers, Treasurer and Donor Relations
Kristina Finch
Jaymee Haefner
Elizabeth Huntley
Paula Page