Performing
Kathryn Harms is in demand as an orchestral harpist, chamber musician, and soloist in Colorado and the greater United States. For the 2018/2019 season, she performed as acting principal harpist with the New Mexico Philharmonic, and she regularly appears as principal harpist with various ensembles including the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Opera Southwest, and the San Juan Symphony. She is a substitute for the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, principal harpist of the Colorado Mahlerfest Orchestra, and a frequent guest artist with ensembles such as the Ars Nova Singers.
Teaching
With experience teaching a wide range of ages and levels, Kathryn Harms is dedicated to imparting her knowledge and love of music through innovative teaching and mentoring. She is the harp faculty member at Colorado State University and maintains a thriving private studio based North Boulder that offers both in-person and online lessons. She creates opportunities for students to participate in retreats and performance opportunities in addition to their private lessons. In the summers, she directs the Colorado Harp Seminar, an intensive pedal harp program for high school and undergraduate harpists with a focus on musician wellness.
New Music
An avid promoter of new music, Kathryn regularly collaborates with composers to encourage quality and inventive composition for the harp. She was selected to perform at the 2019 American Harp Society National Institute in Winston-Salem, NC, at a new music concert titled, “Collaboration, The Heart of Innovation,” and she was also an invited soloist at the Society of Composers, Inc. 2018 National Convention in Tacoma, WA. In 2015, she was a recipient of an American Harp Society, Inc. grant to commission a chamber piece for harp and string quartet that integrates the harpist as a true chamber musician: I ran out of black paint and sunshine by Kurt M. Mehlenbacher. This piece premiered as the finale of the 2015-2016 CU Pendulum New Music Concert Series.