EDUCATION:

 

Hartt School of Music Community Division, 1967-1974; studies with Aristid von Wurtziler and Barbara Pniewska,

New York Harp Ensemble

Hartt School of Music Community Division, 1974-1976; studies with Phyllis Wright, Principal, Hartford Symphony

Ethel Walker School, 1976-1980; continued studies with Phyllis Wright

Eastman School of Music, Rochester New York; studies with Eileen Malone, Principal, Rochester Philharmonic, 1980-1984

Lyon and Healy Harp Teacher’s Conference, Chicago Illinois, 2000, 2001

 

FACULTY APPOINTMENTS:

 

Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford, 2015-present

Private Teaching, 1978-present

The Choate-Rosemary Hall School, 1987-1994

The Ethel Walker School, 1991-1993

Miss Porter’s School, 1991-1998

Hartford Conservatory, 1992-2004

MusicMakers Academy, 2004-2015

 

TEACHING APPOINTMENTS (continued)

The Taft School, 1997-Present

Central Connecticut State University, 1998-Present

 

STUDENT ACCOLADES

 

• Ms. Thomas has coached two students at the Taft School through two Independent Study Programs each, culminating in a full length recital at the end of the semester; one student received a Taft School award for excellence in musical studies.

• Four of Ms. Thomas’ harp students have received the Hartford Conservatory Honors Competition Scholarship Award multiple times.

• Two of Ms. Thomas’ harp students won 1st and 2nd prize in the beginner category of the Connecticut Harp Society Competition in 2002.

• One of Ms. Thomas’ students has recently been recognized by the Wethersfield Board of Education for excellence in musical studies, and was selected to perform in the Allstate Regional Festival Orchestra for 2003. Four of Ms. Thomas' harp students won 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes in the Connecticut Harp Society Competition in 2004, in the Beginner and Intermediate II categories.

 

 

Susan Knapp Thomas keeps an active studio of students, encouraging regular performances, competitions and ensemble work. Her students appear in public performances in and around Hartford, and at public recitals annually. Students are also highly encouraged to perform in both a holiday and an end-of-year recital and awards ceremony annually. Ms. Thomas accepts primarily students between the ages of 5 and 20 years of age. A trial lesson of approximately 45 minutes is recommended for those interested in studying harp with Ms. Thomas. She also is the founder of Connecticut Valley Harp Intensive, a summer harp camp in Simsbury, Connecticut (link to camp website).