<p>I realize this is a topic that will be of little interest to 99% of you, but I was wondering if anyone can recommend a small (<3000), liberal arts school that has a harp instructor and a school harp on campus. My D is a harpist and would like to continue studying the instrument in college, but not as a music major. So far on her list are St Olaf and Ill Wesleyan. We will be visiting Willamette, Puget Sound, and Lewis & Clark over spring break. Any midwest or east coast options anyone can recommend? This is not something that is easily gleaned from a google search.</p>
<p>Oh, yes, Oberlin.... I wish. But D is not interested. I'm guessing she would be intimidated by the seriously interested and seriously gifted music students. She does not want to major in music, and just wants to take harp as an elective, hence Berklee in Boston (if you mean the music school) is not an option.</p>
<p>I remember seeing a harp at DePauw University, Greencaslte, IN. Total enrollment around 2400.</p>
<p>They do have a professor/harpist and you can take music instructions as a non-music major. I do not know if the harp is one of the instruments that is offered.</p>
<p>DePauw</a> University</p>
<p>Thanks for the DePauw tip - I just shot an e-mail in their direction.</p>
<p>I do not know a thing about colleges with harp instruction. But if I may, if your daughter ever has the time to volunteer and share her gift, suggest she call any local hospital. The oncology floor where I used to work had harpists playing in the halls several hours a week. The patients, families and staff LOVED the beautiful music. It lowered the commotion and staff noise on the floor, and was really appreciated by everyone.</p>
<p>I don't know if Swarthmore has a harp on campus, but the students take lessons from private teachers in Philadelphia (the college pays some/all tuition based on auditions), so I am pretty sure an instructor would be possible to find.</p>
<p>This is similar to nngmm's suggestion--the Boston area has any number of great colleges and universities in addition to the Boston Conservatory--which I know has harp instruction. My neighbor's dd is at the Conservatory and she is a harpist.</p>
<p>Chisquare
if you haven't already,shoot your question over on the music major discussion area. There are some extremely knowledgable music parents over there who can probably help you out.</p>
<p>I thought Grinnell might. I googled it and they have 5 harps for student use, 3 courses and a harp ensemble.</p>
<p>ChiSquare- I'd look here first <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/6280-suggestions-colleges-music-majors.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/6280-suggestions-colleges-music-majors.html</a>.</p>
<p>Harp is both a competitive instrument (for performance majors) and a I would assume a very desireable instrument for smaller music programs.</p>
<p>You may not find a harp instructor on faculty at schools that don't offer a performance degree in the instrument. Also, some programs will provide or subsidize an off- campus private instructor, some won't.</p>
<p>If you identify some schools and look deeply at the music school webpages, you'll find specific policies, ensemble opportunities for non-majors and lessons for non-majors.</p>
<p>St. Olaf is a very good music program. The poster lgreen has a harpist d studying performance at Vanderbilt. You may want to PM her for insights.</p>
<p>Like cathymee said, you can also post your question in the Music Major forum.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>I took up the folk harp last year and love it!</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Wake Forest is a little bigger (4100 students) but does offer individual harp instruction. I would assume that that means that they have a harp for use...</p>
<p>I know you're looking for a small school, but Princeton has a pretty good harp program. The harpist, Elaine Christie, is very accomplished and is very amiable. If you're willing to have a slightly larger school I'm sure your D will have a great time.</p>
<p>Otherwise you could try Barnard in NYC since it's right across from the Manhattan School of Music which also has a harp.</p>
<p>ChiSquare, Williams has an excellent music department, including an instructor who specializes in harp. Elizabeth</a> Morse | Williams College Music</p>
<p>There are many performance opportunities for non-majors and of course, the acdemics are very good.</p>
<p>Wow, I'm overwhelmed by the response for what I presumed would be an esoteric question. Thanks so much, everyone. And as a brand new member, I had not realized that there was a discussion board here devoted to music - I'll try to find my way to it.</p>
<p>I just told my D that some of you have mentioned Grinnell - a wonderful school, to be sure, and just a couple hours south of us. Her response: "But Mom, it's in Iowa!" </p>
<p>Sigh.</p>
<p>ChiSquare, the direct link is <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/</a>.</p>
<p>Many posters there are music performance majors, but a number also have children not pursuing performance, but have strong backgrounds and desires in pursuing some music related activities in college.</p>
<p>Try to get her to visit Grinnell when students are on campus and activities are going on--maybe when the harp ensemble is giving a concert. The facilities are just amazing and the kids are great.</p>
<p>Finding a small school with a harp teacher on faculty is asking too much, in my opinion. Any college in a city or large town should have a reasonable selection of teachers, though. How serious of a harpist is she? I realize she does not want to be a performance major, but what is her level currently? What are her music goals for college? If she's already quite advanced or wants to study seriously in college, even as a non-major, I would strongly suggest looking very carefully into teachers. If she is advanced, she may not find a suitable teacher even in a good-sized town. What style does she play? Any strict Salzedo student absolutely needs a Salzedo teacher, and a French harpist would feel lost, confused, and overwhelmed if thrown in with an instructor who follows the Salzedo method. It's a very poor idea to switch methods at this stage in the game, so ask any potential teacher which method they follow. At the very least make sure any teacher will allow, encourage, and support your daughter in whichever method she has been trained in. If your daughter is serious about this, she should meet with prospective teachers while visiting schools. Just meeting and chatting should be free, but a trial lesson may require a small payment. Your daughter should also ask her current teacher for suggestions on teachers. The harp community is small and quite connected, so if she has a good teacher now she should ask him for teacher recommendations in the areas she's looking at.</p>
<p>Finding a non-music school with a harp is also quite difficult. I'm assuming she plays the pedal harp. Does she play gigs? If so, she almost certainly wouldn't be able to use a school harp except for on campus performances. (She would also need to bring a large car to campus, of course, which many schools do not allow for freshman.) On campus harps may be in so-so condition, too. If it's a small school and there aren't any practicing harpists for a few years, the harp may not get tuned for those years, which can warp the sound board. Anyway, I'd be wary and make an appointment to look at the harp and have your daughter fool around on it for a few minutes to make sure it's in good condition. Have you considered whether she could bring her harp to college? The music department may be able to provide a locked practice room to keep it in, and if she's looking mainly at colleges within driving distance, this may make the most sense. Have you looked into renting a harp? You can definitely rent high quality harps in MA (The Harp Connection), VA (Virginia Harp Center), and Chicago (Venus and Lyon and Healy/Salvi factories). I'm sure there are other places as well, but these are all very trustworthy.</p>
<p>wow, i'm kind of in the same boat there...i've been playing for about five years and while i want to continue it in college, i'm not ready to enter into a conservatory, and am gravitating to a music minor over a major. my teacher graduated from oberlin and she thinks that it would be a great school for someone who doesn't necessarily want to major in music, but still wants to advance their playing level and technique. she thinks that you could always get lessons from a junior or senior student there too if you want a less stressful environment. the university of texas has a pretty good smaller sized harp program, as well as SMU. corranged is right, looking for a smaller school with a harp program is very limiting. have you heard of any other liberal arts colleges with strong programs? the size doesn't bother me...right now i'm considering Emory, Oberlin, and Stanford. good luck, i sympathize with your daughter.</p>
<p>I'm one of the music posters with one kid who is NOT a music major. She plays the oboe/English horn. When looking at colleges, she was only interested in schools where she could play her instruments and take lessons. Hence the question of teachers was asked everywhere. At a couple of smaller colleges, DD was told that they did NOT have an oboe instructor on their faculty BUT if she enrolled, they would contract with someone to provide her with lessons. Now the difference is, she owns her own instruments. A harp is an expensive and fragile instrument...so you really do need to inquire about whether the school has one for student use in ensembles AND for practicing.</p>
<p>I would suggest that your daughter contact the orchestra director at any college she is interested in...and the head of the music department. These are the folks who can tell her if and how non-majors can participate in lessons/ensembles...and whether a harp is available. I know that at DD's school, they don't have a harp or a harpist so they don't choose orchestral pieces with significant harp parts. Before DD came, they also didn't choose pieces with English Horn parts...because the school doesn't own one. Now they can do this. We found that the folks in the music departments were very forthcoming with information and very helpful. </p>
<p>And we found schools had all different ways of doing things...from NOT allowing any non-majors to participate, to providing lessons and ensembles at no additional charge to the student. So...ask.</p>