JulieAnn Smith M.A., IHTP, VAHT
JulieAnn started playing the piano and studying at age seven. By the age of ten, she was accompanying the school choir and church choir. In the fifth grade she started accompanying instrumentalists at state competitions. She herself won third place in the Arizona Piano Concerto Competition at age fourteen. She was accepted to Julliard School of music, but couldn't obtain funds to attend. She attended Arizona State University and received the first bachelor degree in piano accompanying and coaching given there. She studied accompanying and coaching under Dr. Jean Barr
http://www.esm.rochester.edu/acc/ and private piano with Eugene Pridinoff,
www.ccm.uc.edu/keyboard/gpridonoffbio.html a student of Rudolph Serkin.
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Serkin. Concurrently she was hired at Arizona State University as a staff accompanist.
At age 20 she was asked to accompany Yeheudi Menhuin
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yehudi_Menuhin,
www.menuhin.org at the International String & Piano Festival in Lausanne Switzerland. She started touring with her string quartet and a flamenco dancer throughout the southwest & Texas.
Shortly after she moved to Alaska and raised two children. In 2006 she received her Masters degree in Beginning Piano Pedagogy and performance, and received a certificate for Harp Theray
Harp Therapy,
www.harprealm.com. She works at the South Peninsula Hospital and with private clients as a therapist.
In 2008 she produced her first CD, The Tower of Love, a CD of original soothing, solo harp music which received an award for best therapeutic harp music in 2009. She took it on tour in September of 2009 from Alaska to New York! In October she received the first in Alaska certification for VAHT (Vibroacoustic Harp Therapy)
Harp Therapy, www.planetharp.com, VAHT, is a musical massage. Please see the Harp Therapy page for more information.
At present JulieAnn teaches theory and music history at the kenai Peninsula campus of UAA,
www.kpc.alaska.edu/ accompanies the school, community, and church choirs in Homer Alaska, teaches private piano, harp, and voice lessons, does harp therapy, performs in the Kenai Peninsula Orchestra and Anchorage Symphony, and is working on her second harp CD as well as performing around the state, country, and in Europe.
JulieAnn performs on a Salvi
3/4 size Daphne harp. http://www.salviharpsinc.com/ http://www.salviharpsinc.com/Salvihistory.htm www.harptherapy.comWilliam Majers,
Masters
Certificate in Harp Therapy & VAHT
Music Scholarship