The fourteenth annual Harp Ensemble Valentine’s Concert, directed by William Lovelace, will feature full-sized harps and multiple harpists from East Tennessee, some of whom are among the nation’s top artists.
The performance will be on Saturday, February 10, 2018 at 2 p.m. in the Library’s Reading Rotunda, end of Main Gallery.
The almost-ethereal music wafting through the main gallery of the library provides a lovely harmony to enchant an audience.
Lovelace has been associated with the Maryville City Schools as the district’s harp instructor since 1996. In the past, most of the harp students at the library were Maryville City Schools students. However, this ensemble now also includes Lovelace’s students from Knox Music Studios, in Knoxville, and from his other teaching locations as well.
Repertoire for the concert will include world famous harp pieces written by the finest harpist/performers of the last few centuries: Naderman, Hasselmans, Renie, and Grandjany to name a few. Some of the repertoire is truly ensemble music with different students playing different parts; other selections consist of standard solo repertoire that multiple harps will perform simultaneously.
William Lovelace served for two six-year terms on the board of the American Harp Society, serving as National President for four of those 12 years. He moved to East Tennessee in 1989, where he began teaching and performing locally. Many of his students have gone on to perform with the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Symphony of the Mountains Youth Orchestra in Kingsport, the Orchestra at Maryville College, the University of Tennessee Symphony Orchestra and more.
Open to the public, this program is hosted by the Blount County Public Library, located at 508 N. Cusick Street, Maryville. For further information about library programs or services, call the library at 982-0981 or visit www.blounttn.org/197/Public-Library.
