Biography
Lauded as “a huge talent with hidden power and amazing maturity” (Bart van Oort) and “not [a harpist] to be slept on” (The Globe and Mail), Taiwanese-Canadian-American Noël Wan 萬依慈 commands a remarkably fresh creative voice, bridging charismatic artistry and intellect in her work as an international prize-winning solo harpist and interdisciplinary scholar. Acclaimed as a soloist, she has performed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America, including as an Atlantic Debut Touring Artist and at Carnegie Hall, Taiwan Performing Arts Center, het Muziekgebouw aan t’IJ, Yellow Barn Summer Music Festival, and Bard Music Festival. Recent seasons include debut solo recitals in Chicago, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, and New Zealand.
Recognized for her charismatic artistry and genre-crossing virtuosity, Noël is a prizewinner of major international and national competitions. Notably, she is a laureate of the 2023 Astral Artists National Competition, and she is the 2022 Gold Medalist of the prestigious USA International Harp Competition and the youngest First Prize winner in the history of the World Harp Competition, garnering special interpretation prizes for contemporary works in both competitions. She has also received prizes at the Prix Orford Musique, International Harp Contest in Israel, Korea International Harp Competition, Nippon International Harp Competition, Lyon and Healy Awards, and American Harp Society, Inc. National Competition. This year, she was named the 2025 recipient of the FAA Emerging Legacy Award—the University of Illinois’ highest recognition for early career alumni in the fields of music, visual art, theatre, dance, and architecture.
As a solo performer, she is unparalleled in her versatility, performing everything from classical harp masterworks to avant-garde repertoire to virtuosic transcriptions and arrangements of music across eras and genres. Uniquely dedicated to the art of the recital, she is in demand for her engaging and sharply intellectual approach to programming, crossing harp repertoire with literature, philosophy, and cultural theory. Past programs include “Écriture Féminine” (Debut Atlantic), “The Birds” (2023-24 concert season), and “River of Heaven” (2024-25 concert season).
Noël’s artistic life also embraces experimental thought and practice through electroacoustic projects: a newly commissioned chamber work for flute and electroacoustic harp by Canadian composer Caroline Lizotte, to be premiered at the World Harp Congress in July 2026; electronic sound design under the moniker The Mother’s Teeth; “The Angel of Death” sculpture/sound collaboration with Tra Bouscaren (April 2025); and the award-winning by Liliya Ugay, which was selected for performances at the Chicago Electro-Acoustic Festival, CAMPGround Festival (Tampa), and Seoul International Computer Music Festival. She is grateful to the Chimei Arts Foundation, Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, and Florida State University for funding her research and professional development.
Highly sought as a teacher, Noël was appointed as Assistant Professor of Harp and Entrepreneurship at Florida State University, and she joined the harp faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music in 2025. Previously, she directed the harp programs at the Don Wright Faculty of Music (Western University), University of Notre Dame, and Saint Mary’s College. She is an alumna of the University of Illinois (BM ‘14, DMA ‘20), where she was an Illinois Distinguished Fellow, and the Yale School of Music (MM ‘16). Her past mentors and teachers include Ann Yeung, Michael B. Silvers, June Han, Erika Waardenburg, Chimei Hung, Douglas Rioth, Dan Yu, and Linda Wood Rollo.
Currently, Noël divides her time between Florida and Ontario with her husband, Canadian choral conductor and composer Patrick Murray, and their two tuxedo cats Simone and Georgina.
SPECIALTIES:
Classical harp
Competition preparation
Music entrepreneurship
Early career development
Consulting for composers
Classical style
Orchestra repertoire
Contemporary and avant-garde repertoire
Electroacoustic music
Chamber music
LANGUAGES:
English, Mandarin, Chinese
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