All Students are expected to bring their own instrument. Please note that class sizes are LIMITED.
The Scottish Harp classes will focus on:
• Basic harp technique for beginners and intermediates.
• Repertoire at all levels, including tunes for competition sets.
• Scottish style, including ornaments, lilt, and dance types.
The nylon/gut harp classes will study Scottish dance music, airs, and songs, focusing on ornamentation, Scottish style, accompaniment, and learning by ear. Afternoons will include lectures, practice time, and playing in sessions. Classes will be available for beginners who have played for a few months, intermediates, and advanced players.
About our 2026 Harp Instructors
Please Note: Instructors are subject to change based on enrollment.
Influenced by her love of fairy tales, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the world music section at her local library, Stephanie Claussen fills her concerts with Scottish tunes, Bach preludes, and melodies she discovered while pouring through old manuscripts online. Stephanie obtained her B.M. in harp performance from the University of Minnesota and now teaches and performs throughout the Upper Midwest. As a recipient of the 2014 Arts Tour grant, Stephanie toured outstate Minnesota with a program entitled “Eclectic Harp,” sharing music most people don’t expect to hear on the harp. A two-time winner at the Master level in the Minnesota Scottish Harp Competition, in 2018 she competed at the Edinboro Highland Games in Pennsylvania and won the title of 2018 US National Scottish Harp Champion. Stephanie has released five solo albums and two books of harp arrangements. When not making music, she enjoys repainting her walls and drinking English Breakfast tea out of a real teacup.
Sharon Knowles emigrated from Scotland to the US in 1997. She studied harp with Mary Macmaster, Patsy Seddon and Judith Peacock Cummings, all masters of the lever harp. Sharon played in hundreds of music sessions and performances in Europe and Australia and then emigrated to the United States. She studied music at Coastal Carolina University and became a sought-after teacher of private students and at summer camps. Sharon has played in many ensembles, for theater productions, choirs and in an orchestra. Her current musical life is as a member of a Celtic band called Jug of Punch and in a duo with soprano, Stephanie Roelker. She plays in church regularly. Sharon organizes concerts and other events out of her home in Pennsylvania. She is a Distinguished Judge with the Scottish Harp Society of America. Recordings are available.
Sharon would like to pass on the sheer joy of playing such a very special instrument to as many children and adults as possible.
Jo Morrison is known for evocative performances of beautiful music; her patient and gentle teaching style for all levels; and her informed, impartial, and empathetic judging in competitions. She was named a Scottish Harp Society Distinguished Judge in 2015. She plays harp at the bedside and connects with the music community through Common Ground on the Hill. She provides harp, piano, and organ music at local churches, and holds key roles in several harp societies. Jo performs with Port Righ. the distinctive duo featuring Celtic harp, bagpipes, vocals, and concertina, specializing in Scottish music. Jo has performed at locations including the An Lanntair (Stornoway, Scotland), Library of Congress, Somerset Harp Festival, the Smithsonian, a concert tour of Norway, the Maryland Renaissance Festival, various Scottish Festivals around the USA, Scotland, Ireland, and Germany. Jo recordings, The Three Musics, A Waulking Tour of Scotland, Christmas Gifts, By Request, and Flights of Fantasy, and her books of tunes and original compositions are all available. Her hobbies include hiking, reading, writing, and taking photographs of the local birds and wildlife.
Perpetually surprised by what comes out of her mouth, Jen Narkevicius prefers to let her harp do the talking – sometimes. From the Washington DC area, where talk is cheap, she leverages wit to bridge the gaps between the two. Jen enjoys teaching and performing. She also is taken with traveling through Scotland with others, pairing the music with the places, people and events that inspired it. She is Co-Director of Harp Camp in SE Pennsylvania and is beyond delighted to be invited to OSAS. Currently Competition Committee Chair of the Scottish Harp Society of America, Jen is a credentialed SHSA judge. She has been privileged to play for “important people” and to be part of the Harpa tours, but she will be even more fortunate to share some tunes with you! She blogs weekly on topics that range from touring Scotland with a harp to staying healthy and fit as a musician, on to fulfilling your promise as a harper on http://www.jeniuscreations.com/blog/ and she especially enjoys writing about herself in the third person.
Rhiannon Skye is a Connecticut-based lever harper, composer, performer, educator, and adjudicator for the Scottish Harp Society of America, who has performed in New England, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Spain, Scotland, and Ireland. In 2023, Rhiannon was invited to compete in The Princess Margaret of the Isles Memorial Prize for Senior Clarsach, where she was awarded best original composition and best overall performance. She is also the 2024 winner of the National Scottish Harp Championship of America. Although her heart lies in Scottish, Irish, and Cape Breton traditional music, Rhiannon’s repertoire also includes classical, pop, jazz, and other styles. She attended Berklee College of Music, earning a BA in Performance in May 2020, and the University of Limerick, receiving a Masters in Irish Music Studies in January 2024.