Audiences the world over have raved about the artistry of the Ensemble. Here is but a sampling of reviews from adjudicators, viewers, journalists, famous performers, and even students!
What they're saying about the American Youth Harp Ensemble!
"The American Youth Harp Ensemble grabs the stage with flair and a stirring display of harp virtuosity, technical precision, and musicality"
-Gary Locke, Edinburgh Music Festival
"As music director for WCVE Public Radio, I am in a unique position to hear virtually all 'new talent' on the classical music scene and this ensemble is truly one of a kind. Don't let the young ages of the members mislead you. These players are true musicians who have proven themselves time and time again on the local, national, and international level. Disciplined to an extraordinary degree, their energy, enthusiasm, and musicality makes for an unforgettable listening experience."
-Bobbie Barajas, Music Director WCVE Public Radio-Community Idea Stations
"The concert was full of razzle dazzle of chord progressive playing and intensity variations by ten harpists who performed musical blends one would have thought impossible with this stringed instrument. Only the Bach and Handel gave that smooth angelic plucking usually heard from a single instrument but when the group moved into Mussorgsky's 'Great Gate of Kiev' heavy and strong plucking boomed throughout the concert room which almost matched a full orchestra...This young group was totally amazing and progressively creative. Kudos to artistic director, Lynnelle Ediger-Kordzaia, who trains youngsters of all ages to take up the harp instrument."
-Reviewed by Bob Anthony,AllArtsReview
"The harp may seem the least likely instrument to be the basis of an entire music education program, and it was just as improbably that one could enjoy an entire concert of music played by ten harpists of any age. Happily, the ensemble played with crisp and unified articulation, a musical sense of phrasing, and pleasing variation of dynamics and tone."
-Reviewed by Charles T. Downey Washington Post
"I recently had the privilege of attending the London Music Festival in the United Kingdom. The highlight of my time at the festival was provided by the American Youth Harp Ensemble, under the direction of Lynnelle Ediger-Kordzaia. Ms. Ediger-Kordzaia is an incredibly gifted teacher. Her passion for sharing her gifts with her students was evident in the stunning performances in Southwark Cathedral and St. John's Smith Square (a premier concert hall in central London). Performances of this calibre are rare, and I was pleased that these talented young musicians enjoyed the privilege of performing before large and very appreciative audiences. Several musical veterans were moved to tears by the exquisite sounds of over a dozen harps."
Dr. Paula A. Crider, Professor Emeritus, University of Texas,in a Letter to the Editor, Richmond Times Dispatch
