<p>OP: Expect a lot of sighs on your part. Some kids are flexible. Mine had strong ideas about what they did and didn't want!</p>
<p>My S felt the same way about Oberlin. He is at Williams enjoying the music program very much, but his violin is very portable!</p>
<p>I followed a hunch and checked out Vassar's music department! A lot of harp action and department harps.</p>
<p>They have 60 Steinway pianos so I figured they probably had harps, too. A very welcoming department. The orchestra director, Eduardo Narvega (I hope that's right) spent an hour with S as a sophomore and kept in touch with him. When S finally applied, he went a personal letter after S was admitted.</p>
<p>He chose to go to Williams, instead (his choice -- remember my above post) but Vassar's attention to its music students impressed me. Like most LAC's it is a non-audition department and non-majors definitely participate.</p>
<p>Well these schools are all so great--Vassar, Williams, Oberlin, Grinnell, on and on. I can't speak to harp issues except what is on line.</p>
<p>Sugarjunkie, my D specifically wants a small LAC, so that is what I know about. The following schools have a harp instructor and at least one pedal harp on campus: St Olaf, Grinnell, Willamette, Puget Sound, Lewis & Clark, Kenyon. Illinois Wesleyan has a harp on campus, and they will bring in a grad student for harp instruction. If you want to minor in music, I can't think of a better choice than St Olaf! A very reputable music program, two pedal harps, a very good instructor (I'm told), and ample opportunity for ensemble work.</p>
<p>My harp teacher gave our daughter an article that was published in a harp journal that lists colleges with harps/harp instructors, and some guidelines for choosing a college. If you'd like to contact me privately, I can scan the article and send it to you via e-mail. (Ditto for other harp enthusiasts.)</p>
<p>St. Olaf would be a great choice. One of my non music major string players will be at Puget Sound next year. They couldn't be nicer, and she was SO impressed with the school and surroundings. In addition, they want geographic diversity, which is very nice for us midwesterners.</p>
<p>That's good to hear about Puget Sound, which we'll be visiting...gee, just 2 weeks from today! At St Olaf, I love the glossy they gave us about their music program. It's meant to illustrate the options available for non-music majors. It shows members of one of their orchestras with the harpist (math major) holding a calculator; violinist (chemistry major) in a white lab coat; horn player (biology major) holding a microscope; etc. Very cute!~</p>
<p>The son of a friend is going to Spain with the St. Olaf orchestra in June. It's a high powered music program. I love St. Olaf, but my D wasn't interested in the end. One of the factors too though, might be how proficient a player your D is. My Puget D, though admitted to St. Olaf, was not invited to audition for scholarships based on her CD. She did get music scholarships from other schools. Puget, due to some complicating factors, we're still waiting on. </p>
<p>Oberlin also is in this catagory. Great programs for the very accomplished, but for the competent but not stellar player, non major, orchestra placement can be quite competitive. My violist D was told at Grinnell that they have an excess of violists, but need violins. Never know who is in need of certain instruments unless you ask.</p>
<p>My best friend graduated from St. Olaf. Great school and a beautiful campus.</p>
<p>Wow! Didn't know there were so many other harp families.</p>
<p>My information is a few years old but nothing much changes in this town. The harp teacher for St Olaf also gives the lessons at Carleton. I don't know if the school has its own harps though.</p>
<p>She taught my daughter when she was young. Very organized teacher, very clear in her instruction - I would not hestitate to reccommend her.</p>
<p>Thanks, twomules. Yes, she teaches at St Olaf, Carlton, and Luther. Our harp teacher teaches at Gustavus Adolphus - and she is <em>wonderful</em>. Would also highly recommend her!</p>
<p>I have a harp family also--D1, D3 and D4 all play the harp and this thread has been extremely helpful. Thanks to all who have posted.</p>
<p>Who would have thought there would be such interest? I'll reiterate that I scanned an article from a harp journal subtitled "your complete guide to college-level harp study". I'm finding it very helpful. It lists colleges with instructors, how many harps they have, whether it is an option for non-music majors, etc. I'm happy to e-mail a PDF of the article to anyone who is interested.</p>
<p>We recently visited Carnegie-Mellon and my D talked to the harp teacher by phone. They have two harps available on campus. The harp teacher also teaches at other schools in Pittsburgh.</p>
<p>dsultemeier - thanks much! Nice to see this thread resurrected. We're visiting 3 schools in the NE in July. All have harp instructors but I haven't had any luck finding out if they have harps. This is not an issue the admissions coordinators are used to dealing with, and I guess it's hard to find the right person during the summer.</p>
<p>Maybe you can snoop around in the music rooms and closets looking for the harp. Sounds like you need something like a metal detector that finds harps. Good luck and I hope you enjoy your visits.</p>
<p>I have seen one or two harps in the practice rooms at Bryn Mawr College. Your D would have to take lessons with an off-campus instructor though (some instructors come to campus), and she could apply for a subsidy for the lessons.</p>
<p>ChiSquare, talk directly to the music department. Not the kid that answers the phone, but the chair of strings, harp faculty, a department head, orchestra director, music admit admissions officer if they have one. You'll get ani nformed answer. Email works as well. There's normally a list of faculty/administrative titles and email addies somewhere on the music dept/school website.</p>
<p>I know someone who's attending Furman and playing the harp. She seems to be enjoying it.</p>