See our article extra A Day at Camp for an inside look at real-life student experiences.
Though the thermometer says it’s winter, it’s time to start making your summer plans. We’ve rounded up information on more than 60 summer harp programs. From beginner to professional, young to old, there is a good fit for just about every harpist looking to take their playing further this summer.
We’ve gathered as much information as possible about the wide-ranging programs out there for harpists, from summer-long rustic camps to weekend festivals and retreats. Use these listings as a starting point to narrow your summertime search, then be sure to use the contact information provided to find out more about the programs that interest you.
The Programs
American Youth Harp Ensemble Summer Harp Institutes
- Dates: Multiple weeks: July 13-17 (Maryland); July 20-24; July 27-31; August 3-7 (Virginia); August 8-16 (Europe)
- Location: Three locations: Frederick, Maryland, Richmond, Virginia in the US and in Europe, England, UK
- Instructor: Lynnelle Ediger-Kordzaia, Artistic Director, Joan Holland, Bridgett Stuckey, Aponi Brunson and more, plus nationally renowned guest artists from the orchestral, chamber music and musical academic world.
Aspen Music Festival and School
- Dates: 6/24/14 – 8/23/14
- Location: Aspen, Colorado, USA
- Instructor: Anneleen Lenaerts, Gillian Benet Sella, and Nancy Allen
Berklee College of Music Summer Programs
- Dates: June 22-26
- Location: Boston, MA
- Instructor: June 22-26 Felice Pomeranz and Maeve Gilchrist, rest of summer, Felice Pomeranz
Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp – Harp Program
- Dates: July 1 – August 23 (Four 2 week sessions)
- Location: Twin Lake, Michigan, USA
- Instructor: TBA
Bob Jones University Harp Camp
- Dates: July 12-July 17, 2015
- Location: Greenville, SC USA
- Instructor: Emily Waggoner, Director of Harp Studies at BJU
Brevard Music Center, Summer Institute & Festival
- Dates: June 19 – August 2, 2015
- Location: Brevard, NC, USA
- Instructor: Ina Zdorovetchi
CAMMAC – Celtic Music Week
- Dates: July 19-26
- Location: Lac MacDonald, Harrington, Quebec
- Instructor: Sharlene Wallace
Canadian International Summer Harp Institute (CISHI)
- Dates: July 12 – 19, 2015
- Location: Penticton, British Columbia, Canada
- Instructor: Gianetta Baril, Julia Kay Jamieson, Judy Loman
Central Coast Harp Workshop
- Dates: August 8 – 10, 2014
- Location: Morro Bay, CA, USA
- Instructor: Marcia Dickstein
Connecticut Valley Harp Intensive Summer Camp
- Dates: July 26 – August 1, 2015
- Location: Simsbury, CT, USA
- Instructor: Susan Knapp Thomas, Franziska Huhn, Rachel Miller, Katherine Sloat
Crane Youth Music at SUNY Potsdam
- Dates: June 28-July 11, 2015
- Location: Potsdam, NY, USA
- Instructor: Dr. Jessica Suchy-Pilalis
Creative Harp Collective International
- Dates: July 20-24, 2015
- Location: Southampton, Ontario, Canada
- Instructor: Kerstin Allvin and Anita Leschied
Curtis Summerfest Young Artist Summer Program
- Dates: July 19, 2015 — August 8, 2015
- Location: Philadelphia, PA, United States of America
- Instructor: Kimberly Rowe
Dorian Summer Music Camp
- Dates: June 14-20, 2015
- Location: Decorah, IA 52101
- Instructor: Rachel Brandwein
Eastern Music Festival
- Dates: June 27-August 1, 2015
- Location: Greensboro, North Carolina U.S.A.
- Instructor: Anna Kate Mackle
Eastman Community Music School HARP WORKSHOP (attempt #3)
- Dates: July 27-31, 2015
- Location: Eastman School of Music, 26 Gibbs St., Rochester, NY, 14604 U.S.A
- Instructor: Dr. Nan Gullo with college assistants
Four Strings Academy
- Dates: July 20-August 14, 2015
- Location: Boston, MA, USA
- Instructor: Amanda Romano
GMG Harp Forum
- Dates: June 14 to 19, 2014
- Location: Temenos West Chester, PA
- Instructor: Professor Gloria Galante, Madeline Doherty
Harp Colorado Workshop
- Dates: June 25 – 29, 2015
- Location: Ft. Collins, Colorado, USA
- Instructor: Rachel Starr Ellins, Gaye LeBlanc, Julie Smith Philips
Harp in the Mountains Summer Festival
- Dates: July 19-25, 2014
- Location: Madisonburg, PA USA
- Instructor: Anne Sullivan
HarpArts Music Retreat
- Dates: May 31 – June 7, 2015
- Location: Petoskey, MI, USA
- Instructor: Lynne Aspnes, Mary Jane D’Arville, Joan Holland and Judy Loman for master classes, and Bryan Parkhurst, PhD for solfege and harmonic analysis
High Cascades Harp Retreat
- Dates: June 12-14
- Location: Sisters, OR, USA
- Instructor: Laura Zaerr, Hilary Smith, and guest
Hot Springs Music Festival
- Dates: 31May-13June
- Location: Hot Springs, Arkansas
- Instructor: Deborah Fleisher
Houston Summer Harp Festival at Houston Baptist University
- Dates: July 20 – 25th
- Location: Houston, TX
- Instructor: Kimberly DeRosa, Therese Honey, Hope Cowan, Susanna Campbell
Idyllwild Arts Summer Program Harp Workshop
- Dates: July 12-25, 2015
- Location: Idyllwild, CA USA
- Instructor: Allison Allport
Illinois Summer Harp Class
- Dates: June 11-13, 2015
- Location: Urbana, IL USA
- Instructor: Ann Yeung
Interlochen Arts Camp
- Dates: High School Harp Program: June 27 – August 10, 2015; Intermediate Harp Program: two possible sessions: 6/27 – 7/18; 7/19 – 8/10; Junior: 6/27 – 7/11; 7/12 – 7/25; 7/26 – 8/8
- Location: Interlochen, Michigan USA
- Instructor: Joan Raeburn Holland, Sylvia Norris, Rachel Brandwein
International Harp Collective
- Dates: July 20-24, 2014
- Location: Southampton, Ontario, Canada
- Instructor: Kerstin Allvin, Anita Leschied
International Harp Summer School
- Dates: 17-20 August 2015
- Location: Benslow Music, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, UK
- Instructor: Danielle Perrett
International Summer Academy HarpMasters
- Dates: 13 July – 3 August, 2015
- Location: Muenchenbuchsee, Switzerland
- Instructor: Milda Agazarian, Karen Vaughan, Mara Galassi, Fabrice Pierre, Park Stickney, Susanna Mildonian, Petra van der Heide, Irina Zingg
Island Mountain Arts International Harp School
- Dates: August 17 – 21
- Location: Wells, BC, Canada
- Instructor: Sharlene Wallace, Brenda Dor-Groot, Kim Robertson
Luzerne Music Center
- Dates: Junior session: June 21-July 17, Seinior session: July 20-August 15
- Location: Lake Luzerne, New York
- Instructor: Cheryl Losey
Magic Hill Summer Harp Camp 2015
- Dates: July 17-19, 2015
- Location: Olalla, WA, USA
- Instructor: Philip Boulding
Marrowstone Music Festival
- Dates: July 26th-August 9th
- Location: Bellingham, WA, USA
- Instructor: Heidi Lehwalder
MasterWorks Festival
- Dates: June 14 – July 12
- Location: Winona Lake, Indiana
- Instructor: Dr. Heaven Fan
Miami Summer Music Festival
- Dates: July 5-August 2, 2015
- Location: Miami, Florida
- Instructor: Deborah Fleisher
Midwest Harp Festival
- Dates: July 19 – 25, 2015
- Location: University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Instructor: Mary Bircher, Elizabeth Richter, Faye Seeman, Jaina Krueger
Monclair State University Harp Camp
- Dates: July 13–17
- Location: Montclair, N.J.
- Instructor: Loretta O’Driscoll
MPULSE
- Dates: summer 2016; due to construction at the School of Music ,Theatre and Dance,MPULSE will not take place 2015
- Location: Ann Arbor, MI USA
- Instructor: Joan Raeburn Holland
MusicAlp
- Dates: 20th July – 22nd August
- Location: Tignes, France
- Instructor: Isabelle PERRIN, Jana BOUSKOVA
National Music Festival
- Dates: May 31–June 13
- Location: Washington College, Chestertown, MD
- Instructor: Kimberly Rowe
New Harmony Music Festival and School
- Dates: July 5-12 2015
- Location: New Harmony, Indiana, USA
- Instructor: Martha Waldvogel-Warren
New Orleans Jazz and Pop Harp Weekend 2015
- Dates: June 11 to 15, 2015
- Location: Crowne Plaza Hotel, New Orleans Airport
- Instructor: Lori Andrews, Louise Trotter, Patrice Fisher, Rachel Van voorhees, Ivory McCann
Ohio Scottish Arts School
- Dates: June 27-July 3, 2015
- Location: Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, USA
- Instructor: Sue Richards, Wendy Stewart, Ann Heymann, Allison Miller
Rocky Mountain Springs Harp Program
- Dates: Sunday, June 28-Sunday, July 19, 2015
- Location: Steamboat Springs, Colorado
- Instructor: Grace Bauson, Rachel Browne
Round Top Festival Institute
- Dates: 05/31/2015 – 07/12/2015
- Location: Round Top, TX, US
- Instructor: Paula Page
RUTH FABER JUNIOR HARP COURSE
- Dates: Sunday 16th – Wednesday 19th August 2015
- Location: Bath, UK
- Instructor: Ruth Faber
RUTH FABER TEENAGE HARP COURSE
- Dates: Saturday 8th – Wednesday 12th August 2015
- Location: Street, Somerset, UK
- Instructor: Ruth Faber, Eleanor Turner (and one other to be confirmed.)
Saratoga Harp Colony
- Dates: August 2 – 9, 2015
- Location: Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs NY
- Instructor: Elizabeth Hainen, Maria Luisa Rayan, Nancy Lendrim, TBD
Sewanee Summer Music Festival
- Dates: June 20-July 19, 2015
- Location: Sewanee, Tennessee
- Instructor: Marian Shaffer
Somerset Folk Harp Festival Youth Harp Program
- Dates: July 23-26, 2015
- Location: Parsippany, NJ USA
- Instructor: Candyce Dunham
Summer Music Camp
- Dates: July 6-10, 2015
- Location: Alexandria, VA
- Instructor: Melissa Dvorak
SummerKeys
- Dates: August 10th through August 28th, 2015
- Location: Lubec, Maine – USA
- Instructor: Sue Richards
TCU Summer Harp Workshop
- Dates: June 10 – 11, 2015
- Location: Fort Worth, Texas
- Instructor: Dr. Laura Logan Brandenburg
Texas Music Festival
- Dates: May 30- June 28, 2015
- Location: Houston, TX USA
- Instructor: Paula Page
The Harp Gathering
- Dates: May 14/15-17, 2015
- Location: Archbold, Ohio, USA
- Instructor: Martha Gallagher, Ray Pool, Kim Robertson, Sharon and Dave Thormahlen, TAPESTRY (Denise and Michael Grupp-Verbon), Frank Voltz, with special workshops by Lynda Kuckenbrod and Richard Ash
The Summer Harp Academy
- Dates: July 12-19, 2015
- Location: Lake Junaluska, NC
- Instructor: Elzbieta Szmyt, Jan Jennings
University of Denver Lamont School of Music Summer Academy
- Dates: June 14–28
- Location: Denver, Colo.
- Instructor: Lynne Abbey-Lee
University of Georgia Summer Music Camp & Institute
- Dates: June 7 – 11, 2015
- Location: Athens, GA, USA
- Instructor: Monica Hargrave
University of Redlands Summer Harp Camp
- Dates: Monday, July 20, 2015 to Saturday, July 25, 2015
- Location: Redlands, CA USA
- Instructor: Lynne Aspnes, Mary Dropkin, John Wickey
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- Location: CarvSYYGUyICWTIb
- Instructor: NJqsWSqOgFYuwT
Vancouver Symphony Orchestral Institute at Whistler
- Dates: Early July
- Location: Whistler, British Columbia, Canada
- Instructor: Elizabeth Volpe Bligh
Young Artists Harp Program, Boston University Tanglewood Institute
- Dates: July 5 to August 15, 2015
- Location: West Street Tanglewood Campus, Lenox, MA 01240
- Instructor: Ann Hobson Pilot, Director, Franziska Huhn, Assistant Director
Young Artist’s Harp Seminar
- Dates: July 4 – 18, 2014 (YAHS) July 5 – 12, 2014 (PREP)
- Location: Rabun Gap, GA, USA
- Instructor: YAHS Susan Bennett Brady and Kimberly Rowe, PREP Katherine Andrews and Kristi Shade