Course Outline

In this tutorial you will be introduced to all that the harp has to offer, from celtic to classical to jazz. No musical experience necessary, just a sense of fun and a love of music.

About the tutor

Louise Johnson has taught harp both privately and at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music for over 40 years. Many of her students are now professional harpists. She is in demand as a tutor and mentor for youth orchestras, music camps and music schools. In 2014 she founded Harp Holiday, an annual harp camp that attracts all styles of players in the harp community, from beginners to professionals, playing all genres of music. The week long camp finishes with a public concert featuring a harp ensemble of over 25 players. Giving her first performance with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the age of 14, she later joined the orchestra as a permanent member, and was appointed as Principal Harp in 1985. She held this position until 2019, retiring after 50 years of association with the orchestra. She regularly appears as soloist with the Sydney Symphony. Louise has performed with all the major Australian Symphony and Opera and Ballet Orchestras, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Australia Ensemble and has toured Australia with companies such as the Bolshoi and Sadler's Wells Ballet, accompanying artists such as Rudolf Nureyev and Dame Margot Fontaine. She has also played for the Bolshoi Opera and with Luciano Berio, in a concert of his own works. She performed the Mozart Flute and Harp Concerto with James Galway, the Rodrigo Concierto deAranjuez, the Ginastera Harp Concerto and Spohr's Concertante for Violin and Harp. In 1996 she performed the Ginastera Harp Concerto in Seattle for the World Harp Congress and performed again for the WHC in 2014, giving the world premier of Lee Bracegirdle’s, Legend’s of the Old Castle, under the baton of Simone Young at the Sydney Opera House. In 2020 Louise will again feature as soloist with the Sydney Symphony performing Debussy’s Dances Sacree et Profane. Her repertoire is extensive, covering all the classical genres of music as well as the lighter side of music and dabbling in jazz with her electric harp. She has backed artists such as Cher, Sammy Davis Jnr, Peter Allen and the Bee Gees. She is a regular session recording player for films and popular artists. She has given live radio and television broadcasts around the world and was a regular solo artist on the popular Australian TV shows, the Mike Walsh Show and the Ray Martin Show and appeared on the Australian Series of The Two Ronnies.