At the heart of the AYHE is a passion to not just create beautiful music with the harp, but also leave our young harpists with the desire to give back to the community in meaningful ways.
With strong emphasis not just on musicianship, but also on service, our programs encourage and enable students to give back to the community. The result is great harpists who are also great community citizens. Whether performing, touring, or assisting their less fortunate peers in learning the harp, HARPS-AYHE students, individually and collectively, truly serve as Virginia's "goodwill ambassadors," presenting a favorable image of the state and local community in national and international venues.
With the HARPS Foundation, the American Youth Harp Ensemble offers tuition-free harp instruction and performance opportunities to under-served youth in inner-city and rural areas. As students advance from these programs into the AYHE core programs, they have the opportunity to participate in performances in professional venues, travel domestically and internationally, and receive college scholarships. In striving for these goals, students gain an appreciation for intense work and commitment and develop the confidence and skills necessary for success in music and in life.
Harp Therapy
The Harp Therapy Outreach Program offers harp and music instruction to at-risk youth and students with mental and physical disabilities, including mental retardation, Cerebral Palsy, Autism, Down Syndrome, and other emotional and neurological disorders.
Sound Experiences
Sound Experiences is an El Sistema inspired program in partnership with the tuition-free St. Andrew's School. Music classes take place Mondays-Thursdays!
AYHE Ambassadors
A community service program in which AYHE students perform over 150 concerts annually throughout the region.
Boys & Girls Club Program
The Boys and Girls Club Program is a partnership that increases our reach to inner-city underserved youth. The program partners American Youth Harp Ensemble students as mentors with their at-risk peers.
Harping in the Hospitals
Through the Harping in the Hospital Outreach Program, partnering with local health-care facilities and hospitals, we serve hundreds of patients, residents, and families in the Richmond region.
Noah's Children
The American Youth Harp Ensemble, in partnership with Noah's Children of Bon Secours Richmond Health System, Central Virginia's only pediatric palliative care hospice, is pleased to offer a unique program for children with seriously ill siblings to learn the harp in a welcoming, joyful, and nuturing atmosphere.
Charles City Outreach
This feeder program increases our reach to rural underserved youth and is provided tuition-free to participants
The Mentorship Program
The Mentorship Program serves as an adjunct to our educational programs as well as the Harp Therapy Program and Summer Institutes.
Young at Harp
Young at Harp is a community service program which focuses on local retirement communities, nursing homes, and senior centers as experienced student harpists perform solo concerts, small ensemble concerts and educational presentations in these venues.