2023 TUTORS
REBECCA HARRISSON
Saturday, Sept. 16th, Virtual Workshop: Harp and Story

Rebecca Harrisson has performed on the Celtic harp at concerts and events throughout Scandinavia, the USA and England. 

She often shares the stage with her husband, David Harrisson. Since 2013 she has enchanted audiences with storytelling and harp.

In the Oslo Storytelling scene, she often works with  Fortellerhuset (Storytelling House) and is a founding member of the Norsk Harpeforening (Norwegian Harp Society).  While originally from the US, she resides near Oslo, Norway.

Rebecca is a founding member of the Norwegian Harp Society (Norsk Harpforening) and is current president

, 40 young faces watched a ghost story come to 

 “I grew up in a small town in the northern part of Michigan's Lower Peninsula - about an hour's drive from Lake Michigan. Many moons ago, I attended Michigan State University for a B.S. in Forest Conservation and Communications. 

Upon graduation I moved to Alaska and then Finland, chasing my dream of working professionally with sled dogs. Finally I settled in South Germany where I became an English Language teacher. In 2003, I saw a woman in Germany playing a harp. I remembered my first love and asked for lessons, I'm still happily playing today.

Ten years ago I moved to the Oslo area of Norway and began freelance teaching, working in communication consulting and writing.  Slowly I've moved into professional harp playing and storytelling as my 'night job'.”


Visit Rebecca's website here: https://www.harpstories.com/home

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Lynn Saoirse
Harp Retreat

Lynn Saoirse is an award-winning Irish harpist who lives in Connemara, in County Galway in the West of Ireland.


Her repertoire is based around traditional and contemporary Irish music; from traditional songs, lively jigs and reels and haunting slow airs to her well–regarded arrangements of the beautiful Baroque music of the famous Irish composers for harp, Turlough O’Carolan, as well as her unique harp arrangements of songs by great contemporary Irish songwriters like Van Morrison, Glen Hansard and Jimmy MacCarthy.

Lynn has performed widely: throughout Europe (France, Germany, England, Wales, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands and Greece), and across the USA, as well as in the Caribbean (Martinique and Guadeloupe), Nepal, Argentina, French Guiana and Egypt.

She has recorded five albums of her own –as well as being a featured artist on three other recordings.

Lynn has also published a well-received book of her harp arrangements, with another in progress, and has taught at harp festivals in Europe, the USA and the Caribbean.


Of her CD ‘On the Bright Road’, Irish Music Magazine wrote:

“Lynn Saoirse’s harp –playing has soul and feeling… and is a joy to listen to.”


The late great harper Derek Bell, of the Irish traditional group The Chieftains, wrote “There is an exquisite delicacy all through her playing.”
Rachel Hair
Harp Retreat 

Widely regarded as one of the world’s finest exponents of Scottish Harp (clarsach) playing, Rachel is a prominent performer in the Traditional Music scene and having toured extensively throughout Europe, the US and beyond, she has released 5 critically acclaimed albums.

Her most recent release SPARKS, with duo partner acoustic guitarist Ron Jappy, sees her return to her Highland roots with an eclectic mix of jigs, reels and marches from Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man, paired alongside her own compositions.

A world renowned soloist and teacher, Rachel has performed and taught at harp festivals in the USA, Japan, Russia, France, Switzerland, Spain, Germany and Scotland. She has published 4 books of harp arrangements and compositions, and her music is currently featured on the syllabuses of both the Trinity College London and RCS Scottish Harp exam syllabuses.

Rachel has adjudicated at several International harp competitions, including the Trophée Camac (Festival Interceltique Lorient), is a qualified judge for the Scottish Harp Society of America and has judged both the finals and the semi-finals of the BBC Young Traditional Musician of the Year.


Visit Rachel's website here: www.rachelhair.com
Jaimee Joroff
Harp Retreat


A competitive Irish step dancer who traded her dance shoes for harp strings, Jaimee is a third-generation classical harpist and first-generation Celtic harper.  Hailing from Massachusetts, she grew up immersed in Irish culture, music and folklore shared with her at home and during summers spent in Ireland with her godmother, a poet who lives at the base of Ben Bulben. Jaimee studied with renowned Irish harper Áine Minogue, and has taken classes with a variety of teachers abroad. She is also a certified Therapeutic Harp Practitioner with the International Harp Therapy Program and has worked with Alzheimer’s and Dementia patients. 

She is currently on the faculty of the Comhaltas Boston Music School. 

Jaimee performs across New England at private and public events. Her recordings include albums with the Progressive Rock Band Telergy. She teaches individual and group lessons for beginning and intermediate players of all ages, and is a regular instructor at the Spanish Peaks Harp Retreat.  

Her instruction is tailored to each student’s needs and preferences, including options to learn by ear or from the notated page. Classes are taught in a relaxed, no-pressure manner focusing on the joy and history of the music.