Dominique Piana, harpist
Livermore, California, United States
Music
Press
CD Review
“(You) will enjoy Dominique Piana’s sure and musical harp-playing.”
American Record Guide
Concerto Performance
“Her unfaltering technique was complemented by an assuredly refined sense of phrasing.”
San Diego Union-Tribune
Solo Recitals
“Piana’s harp was eloquent throughout…Melancholy, joy and contained lament achieved a rare power of expression.”
Riverside Press-Enterprise
“Ms. Piana succeeded amazingly well in producing lyrical lines on her instrument.”
Moapa Valley News, Nevada
“As interpreted by Piana, it was like the duality of a lioness, alternating in evocative strains of tenderness and ferocity.”
(Lake Arrowhead) Mountain News
“As the compositions of Franz Liszt, Franz Schubert, Albert Zabel, John Thomas, Camille Saint-Saens, and so many other brilliant composers filled the Hall with their bold and tender, dreamy and spirited sounds, the audience thrilled to this very living pedal harp, and the evening was at once celebratory and passionate.”
Pacifica Tribune
Vocal Recital
“Harp thrills in any language… This was music from the heart to the heart.”
San Bernadino County Sun
- Various publications
Discography
Beyond Dreams, The Spirit of Romanticism
The Harp of King David, Song of Longing and Hope
Lulling the Soul, Carols of Love and Wonder
for more detail on content or to see list of publications, go to dominiquepiana.com
Photos
Bio
Dominique Piana, harp
A Performer’s Biography – Spring 2011
Dominique Piana grew up bicultural (French and German) in Belgium, where she majored in harp at the Brussels Conservatory of Music. After moving to Southern California to study with master teacher Susann McDonald, she earned an M.A. in harp performance at Claremont Graduate University, under the tutelage of JoAnn Turovsky. From 1986, she taught at the University of Redlands and at La Sierra University in Riverside; since 2001 she is on the faculty of Holy Names University in Oakland. She maintains a private studio in Livermore and has given lectures and master classes nationwide and in Europe.
As a performer Dominique has made a specialty of historical recitals. She has presented "The Romantic Spirit", a solo program of 19th century music and poetry, in concert tours throughout the United States and abroad. She was on the touring roster of the California Arts Council until its demise. She has also explored extensively the duo repertoire in several combinations, with violinist Sherry Kloss in the 1990’s, and more recently with flutist Jeffery Pelletier and singer Greg Allen Friedman.
Dominique founded the Pleasanton Chamber Players (a flexible group of 10 or more musicians and singers) in 2003 and, as artistic director, continues to program the classics as well as unjustly forgotten repertoire. Over the years, she has premiered works written specifically for her by Alexandra Pierce (Caryatids), by Alfredo Rolando Ortiz for her Redlands harp ensemble (Venezolana), and by Helena Michelson for her chamber group (“softly through the night…memories of music…”).
Dominique also revived works with orchestra such as the Concerto by Joseph Jongen (five performances in Southern California in 1991-92) and the Ballade by Alberstoetter in her own edition (with the Livermore-Amador Symphony in December 2007). With the help of famous Liszt scholar Alan Walker, she unearthed the evidence for Liszt's interest in the harp and harpists and premiered numerous transcriptions of suitable piano works, including Liebesträume (the set of three in Posse’s transcription) and Liszt’s symphonic poem Orpheus (in her own arrangement from the Saint-Saëns trio version). Her present solo program reflects her latest explorations in the evolution of harp writing and opens a new window into the late-romantic German idiom.
Dominique has released 3 CD's: Lulling the Soul, The Harp of King David and Beyond Dreams. She writes frequently on harp literature for the American Harp Journal, and has edited and published over 120 titles of music ranging from baroque to modern through her company Harpiana Publications. She is listed in the International Who’s Who in Music since 1990 and curates the classical series at the Firehouse Arts Center in Pleasanton since 2010.
For more information:
www.dominiquepiana.com – dominiquepiana@comcast.net – (925) 455-5333
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