Elaine Barber, harp

Elaine Barber is Principal Harpist for Austin Symphony and a regular guest with San Antonio Philharmonic, Elaine has been a featured soloist at the American Harp Society National Conference, and with Austin Symphony, Mississippi Symphony, Artisan String Quartet, Austin Chamber Music Center, Mason Chamber Music Festival, Victoria Bach Festival, and Shepherd Symphony. As an orchestral musician, she has performed with Spoleto USA, Houston Symphony, Austin Opera, Memphis Symphony, Alabama Symphony, Mississippi Symphony and Mississippi Opera.  She has recorded for the Naxos, Nonesuch and Matador labels, and has premiered solo and chamber works by Gordon Jones, James Sclater, Peter Stopschinski, P. Kellach Waddle, and Charles Rochester Young. 

As an early music specialist, Elaine plays Renaissance and early Baroque music with Texas Early Music Project and Austin Baroque Orchestra. She has studied historical harp with Mara Galassi, Andrew Lawrence-King, Cheryl Ann Fulton, and Becky Baxter. She earned her MM in harp performance at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, studying with Beatrice Rose.

She maintains a private teaching studio in Austin and has been on the faculty of Sewanee Summer Music Festival, Austin Chamber Music Center, University of Texas Harp Camp, Abilene Summer Music Festival, and Mississippi College. She is Artistic Director of the Girl Scout Harp Ensemble, the only Girl Scout troop anywhere made up entirely of harpists. 

For more information, please visit http://www.elainebarber.com/home.cfm.