The Toronto International Harp Festival — iHarp — makes its debut this summer, with a week’s worth of concerts and events celebrating the instrument and its rich history. It takes place from July 12 at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, and at the All Nations Banquet Hall in Markham on July 13. The summer institute portion of the festival (July 7-11) will welcome harp students worldwide for a week of intensive studies.
Performers, educators, and music lovers will enjoy the series of concerts, workshops, and masterclasses. The goal to inspire a new generation of harpists, surprise audiences, and to reinforce the presence of the 5,000 year old instrument in the 21st century.
The music showcased will include both historical and contemporary styles, underscoring the versatile nature of the instrument.
The organizing team includes French harpist Catherine Michel, Kathleen Bride, Professor of harp at Eastman School of Music, and Canadian harpist Andrew Chan of Harps on the Hill School.
“We will celebrate the harp’s artistry, its 5,000 years of history, and its extraordinary potential to unite audiences across cultures and generations,” said Catherine Michel in a statement. “This festival will offer both inspiration and tools to help young and experienced harpists excel in their careers, explore new musical horizons, and integrate their ancient instrument into contemporary contexts.”
Festival Organizers
Catherine Michel
Catherine Michel studied harp, piano and music theory as a child with her mother in her native city of Amiens, France. She later entered the National Conservatoire for Dance and Music in Paris. At age 15, she was was awarded a First Prize diploma at the Conservatoire. It would be the first of many awards and competitions. She performed with the Radio France National Orchestra, and then the Paris Opera, and several other orchestras.
Catherine has an extensive catalogue as a recording artist, including beloved and lesser known repertoire, and an album of film music in collaboration with Michel Legrand, which won the French Victoires de la Musique Award.
Today, she works primarily as a soloist and teacher.
Kathleen Bride
Kathleen Bride is a graduate of Marywood College (PA), and The Juilliard School. She has performed as a recitalist in Europe and throughout the United States, including as a soloist on a European tour Juilliard Ensemble of Contemporary Music and composer Luciano Berio. She has recorded albums of contemporary chamber music.
She an organist Jon Gillock toured the US as duo-recitalists, and Bride also performed regularly with British flutist Judith Pearce.
Before taking up the position at The Eastman School in 1989, Kathleen was chairman of the harp department at Manhattan School of Music. Today, along with her longstanding appointment at Eastman, she is a member of the visiting faculty of the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England.
Being a direct student of the great master of the harp Marcel Grandjany, Kathleen will present a tribute presentation of her teacher during iHarp Festival on July 13 (1 p.m.) at All Nations Banquet
Hall, displaying rare personal items of Grandjany from her collection. She will also give a masterclass on July 12 (11:30 a.m.) at the Aga Khan Museum.
Andrew Chan
Canadian harpist Andrew Chan is the festival’s Artistic Director. Chan is an alumnus of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, Symphony Orchestra Academy of the Pacific, and the National Academy Orchestra of Canada. He began his study of the harp in Vancouver with Elizabeth Volpѐ Bligh, Principal Harp of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
Along with his concert calendar dates, Chan is a dedicated educator whose students have gone on to win awards, scholarships, and auditions, and have entered prestigious music schools, such as the Juilliard School, McGill, Cleveland Institute of Music, and many others. He is based on Toronto and the founder of Harps on the Hill, which advocates the education and performance of the harp.
Toronto International Harp Festival: Q&A
We asked Artistic Director Andrew Chan a few questions about the instrument and the festival.
I think people make a lot of assumptions about the harp and its sound, but it has so much more potential. Is there a lot of interest in the harp and what it has to offer 21st century musicians in Toronto?
At the Harps on the Hill School located in the Greater Toronto area, we have the largest amount of harp students in Canada, and possibly of North America. We have an international population
of over 90 students from all backgrounds, age groups, and all walks of life. Currently, we have two students who were accepted and are pursuing the harp at the famed Juilliard School in New
York, and three others studying at renowned Eastman School of Music and Yale University, doing their Masters and Doctorate degrees in harp performance. And then we also have many
others who are learning to play the harp just for the love of it as a soothing, elegant and rewarding hobby.
There are harp festivals in various parts of the world — why initiate such a festival in Toronto?
Given all of these in mind, it makes perfect sense to us to develop an international harp festival in Toronto, to continue to develop Toronto as an international hub for the most magical music known to mankind.
Most people in North America associate harps with the large concert instrument we sometimes see on stage in a concert, but the instrument has a long history. Can you tell us a little bit about how it came to be part of European history?
The harp, renowned for its celestial sound, is a quintessential symbol of high art, class, and refinement. Throughout history, the harp has been a favoured instrument among royalty and aristocracy. For example, King Charles III and the late Queen Elizabeth II commissioned a royal harp and appointed a royal harpist, highlighting the harp’s cultural significance and connection to the most elite of society. Similarly, Marie Antoinette, the famous Queen of France, was known to have been an accomplished harpist, further cementing the harp’s association with regal taste and luxury.
There is a growing interest in the harp in the classical music world. What will the festival offer to participants?
The Toronto International Harp Festival, a premier gathering for professional harpists and enthusiasts, will be a celebration of these traditions. The event will feature concerts, masterclasses, and an exhibition of harps, all designed to highlight the technical mastery and artistic beauty of this timeless instrument. In bringing together top-tier talent from around the world, the festival will elevate the status of the harp as an instrument that bridges history with contemporary elegance.
iHarp At A Glance
Some of the iHarp 2025 Program highlights include:
- 25 Harps, One Sound — A Global Celebration of Music featuring a major harp ensemble
- Harp Concerto Night with National Broadcasting Orchestra (Canada)
- Alexander Boldachev’s contemporary Electric Harp paired with guitarist Alexandr Misko
- Rediscovering Nicolas-Charles Bochsa: A Presentation by Parisian historian Michel Faul
- Masterclasses by Catherine Michel and Kathleen Bride
- Panel discussions for harp professionals on orchestral performance
- Exhibition of “Audible Sculpture” and “Totem Pole Harp” by Korean Canadian sculptor Hoi Choi, and an exhibition showcase of Lyon & Healy and Salvi Harps
- A National Harp Competition of Canadian harp students competing in Toronto during the festival
The Summer Harp Institute provides an intensive training experience (applications accepted until June 16).
Along with the organizers the list of featured performers and presenters includes:
- Joel von Lerber (Concerto Soloist, Berlin, Germany)
- Alexander Boldachev (Contemporary Electric Harp, Zurich, Switzerland)
- Suzanne Shulman (renowned Flute Soloist, Toronto, Canada)
- Elizabeth Volpé-Bligh (Retired Principal Harp, Vancouver Symphony, Canada)
- Paul Knoke (Historical Antique Harp Collector, Rochester, New York)
- Michel Faul (Historian, Paris, France)
- Manuel Gamalinda (Harp Care, Canada’s leading harp technician)
Find more details about the iHarp festival [HERE].
Are you looking to promote an event? Have a news tip? Need to know the best events happening this weekend? Send us a note.
#LUDWIGVAN
Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.
Sign up for the Ludwig Van Toronto e-Blast! — local classical music and opera news straight to your inbox
- PREVIEW | Sinfonia Toronto Baroque & Beyond Celebrates the Season With Guest Artists The Ezra Duo - December 4, 2025
- INTERVIEW | Director Peter Phillips Talks About The Tallis Scholars And Their Toronto Concert - December 4, 2025
- PREVIEW | The Royal Conservatory Of Music Launches Orchestrated With Cory Wong - December 3, 2025
