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Vivian Hsu Is an award-winning harpist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. A versatile musician, Vivian is an exciting and powerful artist. She is also an enthusiastic and passionate teacher who has experience teaching students of all ages and levels.
Bay Area Beginnings Born to Taiwanese parents in San Jose, California, Vivian Hsu started playing the harp at age eight. She was Principal Harpist of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra for three years, studying orchestral repertoire with Douglas Rioth (Principal Harpist of the San Francisco Symphony). Global Recognition A four-time first prize winner of the Yvonne La Mothe Schwager Regional Competition, Vivian is also a second and third prize winner of the American Harp Society National Competition, second prize winner of the Young Artists' Harp Seminar Competition, and second prize winner of the Aspen Music Festival Harp Concerto Competition. She was featured as a Focus on Youth soloist in the 11th World Harp Congress in Vancouver and the 10th World Harp Congress in Amsterdam. Vivian has performed in renowned halls all over the world, including Carnegie Hall, Davies Symphony Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and the Berlin Philharmonie. Strong Orchestral Education and Experience Vivian has studied at the Aspen Music Festival with Dr. Gillian Benet Sella (Principal Harpist of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra) and Anneleen Lenaerts (Principal Harpist of the Vienna Philharmonic) and in 2016 she was a fellow at the Fresno Opera and Orchestra Summer Academy, studying with Laura Porter (Principal Harpist of the Fresno Philharmonic Orchestra). She was Principal Harpist of the American Wind Symphony Orchestra on their 2017 60th Anniversary Tour in the Great Lakes Region, premiering Enrique Santos's Concertino for Harp and Wind Symphony Orchestra and Alexander Rudajev's Concerto for Harp. Vivian is an auxiliary harpist with the Marin Symphony, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, Carmel Symphony Orchestra, Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra, West Bay Opera, UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, and Symphony San Jose. In 2019 she toured Asia and Australia with Shen Yun Performing Arts as their Principal Harpist. She has also been the interim principal harpist of the Louisville Orchestra. Taught by the Masters Vivian's past teachers include Elizabeth Hainen (Principal Harpist of The Philadelphia Orchestra), Susann McDonald (Distinguished Professor of Harp at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music), Lou Anne Neill (Principal Harpist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic), and acclaimed pedagogues Florence Sitruk, Elzbieta Szmyt, and Linda Wood Rollo. A Multi-Talented Scholar Receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts in Harp Performance at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2016, Vivian graduated as a Dean's List Scholar, Sadlier Scholarship Recipient, and Presser Foundation Scholarship Recipient. Vivian received a Master’s of Music from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in 2018 where she was the Harp Maintenance Graduate Assistant and an Artistic Excellence Scholarship Recipient. She is currently taking a leave of absence from pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in harp performance with a minor in arts administration from the University of Cincinnati - College Conservatory of Music. In her free time Vivian enjoys rock climbing, gardening, visiting art museums, and volunteering at local animal shelters. |