Dominique Piana (harp)

International harpist Dominique Piana enjoys a multi-faceted career of performing, teaching, recording, arranging, writing and advocating for the arts in the community.

Born in Belgium into a family of German background, Ms. Piana grew up in a French-speaking neighborhood of the Brussels region and was educated in the humanities, with an emphasis on Latin and Greek. She studied piano throughout childhood at several Music Academies and turned to the harp just before entering the Royal Conservatory of Music as a student of Francette Bartholomée. Within a year, she was hired as solfège teacher in two local academies. Later she also commuted to Paris for lessons with Frédérique Cambreling.

In 1980, at the invitation of master teacher Susann McDonald, Ms. Piana moved to Southern California. Following a brief stint at California State University, Los Angeles, she earned a Master of Arts degree in Harp Performance from Claremont Graduate University under the tutelage of JoAnn Turovsky. She served as Adjunct Professor of Harp at the University of Redlands (from1985) and La Sierra University in Riverside (from1982). After moving to the San Francisco Bay area in 2001, she joined the faculty of Holy Names University in Oakland. Over the years, she has integrated different pedagogical methods into a “whole person approach” emphasizing the synergy of the musical and personal inner development.

As a solo performer, Ms. Piana has made a specialty of historical recitals. From 1996 she toured extensively throughout the Western States (and beyond) with her 19th c. music and poetry program The Romantic Spirit, designed to reveal the emotional substance underlying the enchantment associated with romantic harp writing.

As a chamber musician, Ms. Piana has partnered with voice, violin, cello, flute, clarinet, organ and piano in duo recitals and with larger ensembles. In her new hometown, she has founded, coordinates and performs with the Pleasanton Chamber Players. She has soloed in various works with orchestra (as well as symphonic band) and she premiered the Concerto for Harp by the Belgian composer Joseph Jongen in five Southern California performances (1991-92). She has performed most of the major choir works including harp and participates in the yearly Nutcracker performances of the Livermore-Amador Symphony. In 1986, she founded the Inland Harp Ensemble, in residence at the University of Redlands, conducting her harp students in many regional appearances.

Ms. Piana is listed in the International Who’s Who in Music since 1990. She devised and implemented the programming for the 1992 National Harp Conference of the American Harp Society in San Diego. In 1995 she became a finalist in the Pro Musicis Auditions and was accepted on the touring roster of the California Arts Council for the 2000-2002 seasons. In 2003, she was invited to be a member of the jury for the International Harp Contest “Félix Godefroid” in Namur, Belgium. Locally, she has been a member of the Alameda County Arts Commission and served on the board of the Pleasanton Cultural Arts Council.

Ms. Piana has released three CD’s: Lulling the Soul, Carols of Love and Wonder; The Harp of King David, Songs of Longing and Hope; and Beyond Dreams, The Spirit of Romanticism under the label Harpiana. Since 2003 she has also edited and published over 25 titles of transcriptions and original harp music with historical commentaries. Her musicological articles have been published in the American Harp Journal, the Bulletin of the International Association of Harpists in France and the Revue Musicale Belge.

See details on Dominique's web site

See details on Dominique's web site

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