Special Guests

What Monika Stadler is striving for, and has succeeded in finding, a way of playing freely without sheet music and without restrictions to exploring the potential of the harp. The harp, more than any other instrument, is particularly well suited to evoking associations such as broadness, variety and boundlessness, although these are rarely elicited in the classical repertoire.

Ten years ago Monika burst the boundaries of classical technique and started to extend her technique in an exploration of new worlds of sound. Her music extends the range of what a harp can express by adding improvisation, jazz, emotional and virtuosic elements, and above all, rhythms which are not typical for the harp. Monika not only brings a fresh sound to the harp, through elements from folk, world, classical and jazz music, but also arouses the feelings and emotions of her audience.

"My main goal is to enable the participants to take their first steps in improvisation -- get away from sheet music and play your own melodies." Using "learing by doing" on a one-on-one or teamwork basis (group improvisation), Monika teaches everything from simple tunes right up to blues and jazz standards, a basic knowledge of jazz, and a variety of rythmic possibilities.

The aim of the workshop is to extend the participants' musical horizons and to stimulate their own creativity.

Monika Stadler started studying the harp at the age of 13 at the Bruckner Conservatory in Linz, Austria, under the instruction of Annemarie Zanerle. From 1982 to 1990 she studied concert harp at the Academy of Music and the Performing Arts in Vienna under Professor Adelheid Blovsky-Miller. During her studies she was a member of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, participated in productions of the Vienna State Opera, and was an ensemble member during the Carinthian Summer Festival.

After graduating with honors in 1990, Monika recieved a scholarship to study jazz under Dejan Pecenko at the Bruckner Conservatory from 1991 to 1992. However, as it was not possible to study Jazz Harp in Europe, she came to America after being awarded further scholarships. She studied under Deborah Henson-Conant (jazz harp), David Clark (bass) at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and under David Darling (free improvisation).


For further information on Monika Stadler visit her website, www.harp.at more