{"id":115516,"date":"2025-06-26T13:43:04","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T17:43:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=115516"},"modified":"2025-06-26T14:00:01","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T18:00:01","slug":"interview-voice-teresa-suen-campbell-talks-recording-three-harp-concertos-sinfonia-toronto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/06\/26\/interview-voice-teresa-suen-campbell-talks-recording-three-harp-concertos-sinfonia-toronto\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | My Voice: Teresa Suen-Campbell Talks About Recording Three Harp Concertos With Sinfonia Toronto"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Harpist
Harpist Teresa Suen-Campbell (Photo: Bo Huang)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Harpist Teresa Suen-Campbell\u2019s next album, My Voice, will be released on Navona Records on July 11. On it are three harp concerti recorded with Sinfonia Toronto<\/strong> and conductor Nurhan Arman<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It includes the Harp Concerto written for her by two-time Juno Award winning composer Chan Ka Nin, along with Handel\u2019s Harp Concerto in B-flat major, HWV 294, and James W. Campbell\u2019s Concerto for Harp, also written for Suen-Campbell, which premiered in 2014.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, she performed Chan\u2019s concerto at a concert hosted by the Hong Kong Composers’ Guild, and this past weekend, she premiered two new works written for her by Canadian composers Aris Carastathis and Darlene Reid.<\/p>\n

LvT spoke to Suen-Campbell about the upcoming release.<\/p>\n

Teresa Suen-Campbell<\/h2>\n

Dr Suen-Campbell studied at Northwestern University in Chicago, and became the first harpist from China to acquire a Doctor of Music degree in harp performance.<\/p>\n

As a soloist, Teresa has performed with Sinfonia Toronto, Toronto Concert Orchestra, Hong Kong City Chamber Orchestra, Kindred Spirits Orchestra, Hong Kong Strings and the SAR Philharmonic. She has also performed at numerous music festivals and conferences internationally by invitation, including Ottawa Chamberfest, Toronto Summer Music, and the Hong Kong Arts Festival, among others.<\/p>\n

Teresa is currently principal harpist of the Toronto Concert Orchestra and the North Bay Symphony, and formerly, Hong Kong City Chamber Orchestra (2009-2011). She has also performed with the Windsor Symphony, Scarborough Philharmonic, Hong Kong Sinfonietta and the Illinois Symphony.<\/p>\n

A strong advocate of contemporary music, she has commissioned three harp concertos, three solo works for the harp, and two solo works for harp and electronics.<\/p>\n

Previous recordings include Alice Ping Yee Ho\u2019s \u201cBeyond the Erupting Skies Silver Angels Sing Among the Gold Stars\u201d on the Centrediscs label, and her debut solo album \u201cLonging\u201d (2010).<\/p>\n

Along with her performance career, Dr. Suen-Campbell is a harp examiner at the Royal Conservatory of Music, and is currently on faculty at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario.<\/p>\n

She is also a music scholar whose journal articles have been published by the World Harp Congress Review, German Harp Society Journal, and the American Harp Journal. In recent years, she has also arranged and performed piano music of Beethoven, Schumann and traditional Chinese music for solo harp.<\/p>\n

\"Harpist
Harpist Teresa Suen-Campbell (Photo: Bo Huang)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Interview<\/h3>\n

When did she know that the harp was her instrument?<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t know when,\u201d Suen-Campbell laughs. \u201cI never thought of why am I doing this,\u201d she adds. \u201cI know it sounds unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n

She grew up in Hong Kong, where she first studied music. \u201cIt was actually very academic. It’s very strong in composition,\u201d she says of the school, which she describes as a kind of Taylor Academy for advanced students. \u201cI was 15 when I started, but I played the piano for a long time. I was very fortunate, my mother gave me that training.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teresa began playing piano at the age of five, and eventually decided to pursue the harp at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She found herself \u2014 and the instrument \u2014 a centre of attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s funny, the atmosphere was like, they all wanted to know the harp,\u201d she says. In China, the instrument doesn\u2019t have the same historical weight as in Europe. \u201cThe harp is a relatively new entity compared to the piano.\u201d<\/p>\n

The atmosphere sparked the adventurous direction her performance career has taken, favouring contemporary music on an ancient instrument. \u201cMost harpists are just learning the notes,\u201d she explains. In her case, she was surrounded by an environment where composers were constantly asking about her instrument, and wanting to write for her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was already in that environment where composing new music is encouraged.\u201d<\/p>\n

She completed her doctoral degree in Chicago, where her professor, Elizabeth Cifani, former principal harpist of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, was also a strong proponent of new works.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is a very creative woman. I think that’s a very big factor in why I’m doing what I do today.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the world premiere of Chan Ka Nin\u2019s Harp Concerto with Sinfonia Toronto in 2022:<\/p>\n