When The Philadelphia Orchestra decided it was time for a new harp, Principal Harp Elizabeth Hainen teamed up with Lyon & Healy to create a new, one-of-a kind Salzedo model instrument with a matte ebony finish, palladium leaf, and nickel plate mechanism. Affectionately named “Stoki” after Leopold Stokowski, who famously conducted the orchestra from 1912–1941, the harp “reflects the similar legacy” of recently appointed Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, says Hainen.
The new instrument made its debut with the orchestra’s 2015-2016 opening season concert, which included “Clair de lune,” from Suite bergamasque, by Debussy/Stokowski, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, by Dukas, and excerpts from The Nutcracker, by Tchaikovsky.
