Biography
Yolanda Kondonassis is celebrated as one of the world’s leading solo harpists. Hailed as “viscerally exciting” (The Chicago Tribune) and a “brilliant and expressive player” (The Dallas Morning News), she has performed around the globe as a concerto soloist and in recital, pushing the boundaries of what listeners expect of the harp. Also a published author, speaker, professor of harp, and environmental activist, she weaves her many passions into a vibrant and multi-faceted career.
Praised by Gramophone for her “keen sense of dramatic timing and a range of colour that’s breathtaking,” Kondonassis has released over 25 commercial recordings and her music has been sold and downloaded by millions of listeners. She was nominated for a 2020 Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo for her world-premiere recording of Jennifer Higdon’s Harp Concerto (Azica). Her album of music by Takemitsu and Debussy, Air (Telarc), was also nominated for a Grammy Award.
Since making her debut at age 18 with the New York Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta, Kondonassis has appeared as soloist with countless major orchestras in the United States and abroad. She has been featured on CNN and PBS, as well as Sirius XM Radio’s Symphony Hall, NPR’s All Things Considered and Tiny Desk Concerts.
Committed to the advancement of new music for the harp, Kondonassis’ body of solo harp commissions includes works by Aaron Jay Kernis, Michael Daugherty, Reena Esmail, Chen Yi, Bright Sheng, Jennifer Higdon, Stephen Hartke, Takuma Itoh, Zhou Long, Donald Erb, Keith Fitch, and Arturo Sandoval, among numerous others. Her book, The Composer’s Guide to Writing Well for the Modern Harp (Carl Fischer), was released in 2019 to wide critical acclaim.
A devoted chamber musician, Kondonassis’ performances have been featured at festivals such as Santa Fe, Marlboro, Mainly Mozart, Bravo! Vail, and Chamber Music New Zealand. Her collaborations have included projects with the Shanghai, Jupiter, Rossetti, JACK, and Vermeer string quartets, guitarist Jason Vieaux, pianist Jeremy Denk, violist Cynthia Phelps, and flutists Marina Piccinini and Joshua Smith.
Before deciding to focus exclusively on her solo career path, Kondonassis did extensive orchestral work as guest principal harpist with the San Francisco Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony, and The Cleveland Orchestra, and was acting principal harp with the Saint Louis Symphony for one season.
As an author, Kondonassis has published several books to date, including first and second editions of On Playing the Harp (Carl Fischer), The Yolanda Kondonassis Collection (Carl Fischer) and The Earth Collection (Theodore Presser), a curated volume of newly-composed, earth-inspired works for solo harp.
Kondonassis is the founder and director of Earth at Heart, a nonprofit organization devoted to inspiring earth conservation awareness and action through the arts. Her signature project, FIVE MINUTES for Earth, is a groundbreaking initiative in creating new music that both promotes environmental inspiration and generates revenue for science-based organizations. Her first children’s book, entitled Our House is Round: A Kid’s Book About Why Protecting Our Earth Matters, was published in 2012 by Skyhorse Publishing and praised as “the perfect children’s introduction to environmental issues” by The Environmental Defense Fund. It was licensed as a featured title by Scholastic Books, and was recently released in an updated paperback edition under the title, My Earth, My Home.
Selected by Musical America as one of the Top Professionals of 2023, Kondonassis is currently Director of the Harp Department at The University of Michigan, after previously heading the harp departments at Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music for over 25 years. She has presented masterclasses around the world and is the founding director of The American Harp Institute. Her students have won principal harp appointments around the world with orchestras such as the Minnesota Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Royal Swedish Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Melbourne (Australia) Symphony, Sarasota Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, Detroit Opera, and the New World Symphony, among others.
Yolanda Kondonassis attended Interlochen Arts Academy as a high school student and continued her studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Alice Chalifoux, where she received her B.M. and M.M. degrees in Harp Performance.
Visit http://www.YolandaHarp.com, http://www.americanharpinstitute.com, and http://www.EarthatHeart.org.
SPECIALTIES:
Solo and orchestral repertoire
Performance and memorization strategy
Audition prep
Contemporary music
Technical fundamentals and injury prevention
LANGUAGES:
English
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