
Morgan Short
Award winning Harpist, Morgan Short, is quickly building a reputation as a gifted soloist having fifteen concerto engagements to her credit. Her recent debut with the North Carolina Symphony performing Handel’s Harp Concerto was received with great enthusiasm, as the audience was “stunned by the uniquely beautiful sound of the instrument, which Short played with remarkable dexterity and sensitivity," while carrying the audience on a “thoughtful and brilliantly executed musical journey.”
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“Her performance of Handel’s Harp Concerto blew the audience away! (Stefan Sanders Music Director, Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, Spartanburg Philharmonic, and former Resident Conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic)
“Beautiful sound that demanded my attention! A lovely command of timbres with wonderfully explicit musicianship.” (Dr. David Zerkel, Ronald Sachs International Music Competition, 2019)
“A sensational performance with the North Carolina Symphony….carrying the audience on a thoughtful and brilliantly executed musical journey.” (Wesley Schulz, Associate Conductor, North Carolina Symphony)
“Musical sensibility emanating from every pore! Great charisma and magnetism.” (Antonio Lysy, UCLA Head of Strings Department)
“Short's spectacular playing surely places her at the forefront of her generation.” (Grant Cooper, Conductor Emeritus West Virginia Symphony, Eastern Music Festival, Conductor)
“An enjoyable program full of drama and musicality.” (Skaila Kanga, Royal Academy of Music, London)
“She played with such passion and understanding of the concerto that one could not help but watch with eyes wide in wonder.” (CLASSICAL VOICE OF NORTH CAROLINA)
“A program which brought out the French tradition of melody with elegant colors and nuances.” (Mary Brigid Roman, Ass. Prof., Florida State University)
Repertoire
Concerto Repertoire
BOIELDIEU, FRANÇOIS-ADRIEN
Concerto in C Major - 20'
DEBUSSY, CLAUDE
Danse Sarcée et Danse Profane - 10'
FINCH, CATRIN
Celtic Concerto for Harp and Strings - 20’
GLIERE, REINHOLD
Harp Concerto, Op. 34. - 25'
GRANDJANY, MARCEL
Aria in Classic Style - 10’
HÄNDEL, GEORGE-FRIEDRICH
Concerto in B Flat Major, HWV 294. - 15'
MOZART, WOLFGANG AMADEUS
Concerto for Flute and Harp, K.29. - 25'
PIERNE, GABRIEL
Concerstück - 15'
RAVEL, MAURICE
Introduction and Allegro - 15’
RODRIGO, JOAQUIN
Concierto de Aranjuez – 25’
Chamber Repertoire
STRING QUARTET (Quintet) / STRING ORCHESTRA and HARP
Barnes, Milton, - Divertimento for Harp and Strings
Caplet, Andre, - Conte Fantastique, Mask of the Red Death
Debussy, Claude, - Danses Sacreé et Profane
Finch, Catrin, - Celtic Concerto
Grandjany, Marcel, - Aria and Classic Style
Handel, G.F., - Concerto in Bb Major
Rutter, John, - Lyric Suite
CONCERT BAND / WIND ENSEMBLE and HARP
Debussy, Claude, - Danses Sacreé et Profane
Handel, G.F., - Concerto in Bb Major
VIOLA, FLUTE, and HARP TRIO
Bax, Arnold, – Elgiac Trio
Burnette, Sonny, - Cruisin’ With The Top Down
Debussy, Claude, - Trio for Viola, Flute, and Harp
Harty, Hamilton, - Fantasy in Ireland
Moreno-Buendia, Manuel, - Suite Popular Espagnole
Telemann, Georg -Trio Sonata in G minor
VIOLIN and HARP DUO
Bochsa, Nicholas C. – Nocturne Concertant Op. 70
Kikta, Valeri - Sonata for Violin and Harp
Massenet, Jules – Meditation of Thaïs
Piazzolla Astor – Histoire du Tango
Saint Saëns – Fantasie for Violin and Harp Op. 124
Saint Saëns – Le Cygne (Dying Swan)
Saint Saëns – Romance Op. 37
Sphor Louis – Sonata Concertante Op. 114
Tournier Marcel – Deux Preludes Romantics
CLARINET and HARP DUO
Bochsa, Nicholas C. – Nocturne Concertant Op. 70
Reade, Paul – Suite from the ‘Victorian Kitchen Garden’
HARP and MIXED INSTRUMENTS
Ravel, Maurice, - Introduction and Allegro (string quartet, flute, clarinet, and harp)
Solo Programs
An Evening in Paris
Jacques de la Presle – Le Jardin Mouillé
Bernard Andres – Aquatintes
Alphonse Hasselmans – Chanson de Mai
George Gershwin – American in Paris
Edith Piaf – La vie en rose
Intermission
Carlos Salzedo – Chanson Dans La Nuit
Erik Satie – Gymnopedia No. 1
Claude Debussy – La Fille Aux Cheveux de Lin
Bernard Andres – Sweet Blues
Claude Debussy – Claire de Lune
Alan Menken – Beauty and the Beast
(60 min program intermission not included)
Around The World In 80 Minutes
(This could be a multimedia performance/used for educational purposes.)
Béla Bartók – Evening in The Village (Hungary)
E. A. Walter-Küne – Fantaisie, Opera Eugene Onegin (Russia)
Turlough O’ Carolan – Concerto (Ireland)
Janet Harbison – Walking in Belfast (Ireland)
Bernard Andres – Sweet Blues (France)
John Thomas – Minstrels Adieu to His Native Land (Wales)
Intermission
N. C. Bochsa – Zitti, Zitti, Rossini’s Barber of Seville (Italy)
Monika Stadler – No One Can Stop Me Now (Africa)
Traditional – Small River Flowing (China)
Nancy Gustavson – Moorish Garden (Middle East)
Carlos Salzedo – Concert Fantasy on Lara’s Granada (Spain)
Ernesto Lecuona – Malagueña (Spain)
Alfredo Ortiz – Llano and Merengue Rojo (South/Central America)
Traditional – O Shenandoah (USA)
(80 min program intermission included)
Baroque Masters
G. F. Handel – Concerto in Bb Major
Marcel Grandjany – Petite Suite Classique
Domenico Scarlatti – Sonata in A Major K 208
Domenico Scarlatti – Sonata in E Major K 380
Jean-Philippe Rameau – L’ Egyptienne
Intermission
G.F. Handel – Harmonious Blacksmith
J. S. Bach – Violin Sonata No. 3, Largo
J. S. Bach – Fugue in D minor by Bach, No.2
G. F. Handel – Passacaglia
Gary Schocker – Somewhat Harmonious
(60 min program intermission not included)
The Thrill of the Dance
Auguste Durand – Waltz in Eb Major No. 1 Op. 83
Claude Debussy – Premiere Arabesque
Carlos Salzedo – Concert Fantasy on Lara’s Granada
Carlos Salzedo – Suite of 8 Dances
Alfredo Ortiz – Llano and Merengue Rojo
Intermission
Monika Stadler – No One Can Stop Me Now
E. A. Walter-Küne – Fantaisie, Opera Eugene Onegin
Traditional – Jigs, Reels, and Airs Medley
Nino Rota – Sarabanda et Toccata
Astor Piazzolla – Histoire du Tango
Ernesto Lecuona – Malagueña
(60 min program intermission not included)
American Landscapes
American Landscapes
Carlos Salzedo – Concert Fantasy on ‘Dixie Parade’
Marcel Grandjany – Colorado Trail
George Gershwin – Montage of Beloved Works
Hugo Reinhold – Impromptu in C-Sharp Minor Op. 28 No. 3
Frank Voltz – Go Tell It On The Mountain/O Susanna
Intermission
Scott Joplin – Maple Leaf Rag
Marcel Grandjany – Rhapsodie
Carlos Salzedo – Annie Laurie
Scott Joplin – The Entertainer
John Thomas – Watching The Wheat
Carlos Salzedo – Concert Fantasy on ‘Traipsin Through Arkansas’
Traditional – O Shenandoah
(60 minute program intermission not included)
Other Programs Upon Request
Harpicide at Midnight
Evening At The Opera
Stillness: A Sacred Journey
Fantasies and Impromptus
Have a Harpy Holiday
Bio
Morgan Short
Harp
International prize winning Harpist, Morgan Short, is quickly building a reputation as a gifted soloist having fifteen concerto engagements to her credit. As winner of the Kathleen Price Award, her recent debut with the North Carolina Symphony was received with great enthusiasm, as the audience was “stunned by the uniquely beautiful sound of the instrument, which Short played with remarkable dexterity and sensitivity,” while “carrying the audience on a thoughtful and brilliantly executed musical journey.” (Classical Voice of North Carolina and Wesley Schulz, Associate Conductor, NC Symphony)
Morgan won her first concerto competition at age 16. She performed the Debussy Danses with the US Navy Concert Band, and received the Ambassador Middendorf Award. Since then, she has won the Grand Prize in a dozen concerto competitions, awarding her the opportunity to solo with numerous orchestras such as the North Carolina Symphony, Fayetteville Symphony, Delta Symphony, among others, and likewise; solo with Festival Orchestras such as the Eastern Music Festival and the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival. She has also performed Mozart’s Flute and Harp Concerto with members of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Elizabeth Hainen praised Morgan for her “stellar performance” of this work. (Principal Harp, Philadelphia Orchestra)
She has received additional invitations to perform as a featured soloist or recitalist at the following festivals: Saratoga Harp Colony (NY), Masterworks Festival (IN), Young Artists Harp Seminar (GA), and the North Carolina Summer Harp Festival.
Her most recent competition awards include First Prize in the American Harp Society National Competition (Advanced Division), First Prize in the Ronald Sachs International Music Competition, and Grand Prize in the Classics Alive Artist Management Audition in Los Angeles, Grand Prize and Audience Prize in the Rosen-Schaffel Competition for Emerging Artists, Finalist in the Anne Adams Award National Competition sponsored by the American Harp Society, and Semi-Finalist in the Friends of the Minnesota Orchestra Concerto Competition. She has been awarded a Harp Fellowship at the Eastern Music Festival, and upon invitation, she has presented a multimedia concert at the 2019 American Harp Society National Conference.
Notable performance venues include: Carnegie Hall Stern Auditorium for a NY International Music Festival as guest artist for VTech at age 15; Arthur Zankel Music Hall, NY as a featured soloist for the Saratoga Harp Colony; Mora Ferenc Museum (Hungary) and Galeri Caernarfon (Wales) for three international harp competitions and participation in a harp documentary.
Morgan actively freelances as an orchestral harpist, and has served as Principal Harpist for the New River Valley Symphony and numerous orchestras in North Carolina and Virginia, performing in several operas and two dozen fully staged Nutcracker performances. She has also worked with renowned conductors: Gerard Schwarz, Steven White, Stefan Sanders, James Ross, Wesley Schulz, Grant Cooper, Captain Brian Walden, Antony Walker, Miriam Burns, Andrew Sewell, Larry Rachleff, Karin Hendrickson, Jessica Morel, Xian Zhang, and Jose Novo.
As an active chamber musician, Morgan has enjoyed collaborating with UNCSA Faculty and the Chrysalis Chamber Music Institute. In the fall, children from several Middle Schools will enjoy a Halloween residency program featuring a musical interpretation of Edgar Allen Poe’s tone poem, the Mask of The Red Death.
Morgan’s upcoming 2019 solo engagements include the Eastern Music Festival and Appalachian Music Festival performing the Debussy Danses under the baton of Gerard Schwarz; along with two performances of Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez with Maestro James Ross and the Alexandria Symphony.
@MorganShort.Harpist
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theblueridgeharpist.com