| Originally
from Alexandria, Louisiana, Amy studied piano with Mrs. H.D. Dear for many
years, having the opportunity to perform a Mozart piano concerto with an
orchestra. She later studied piano with Dr. Robert Watson at Northwestern State University and in 1989, received a Bachelor of Art in Music. While working on this degree, she was introduced to the harp by her college advisor, Mr. Richard Jennings, who is in Louisiana’s Music Teachers Hall of Fame. He suggested she “try” the harp and sent her to his wife, Shirley. Amy’s comments about her first time at the harp, “ There was something special about the harp. It felt right, like it was suppose to be a part of who I am.” Her harp journey began there. After years of teaching music at a Catholic School with Sister Pat Kimball, she returned to Northwestern, and intensely studied harp with Mrs. Jennings. In 2003 she received a Bachelor of Music Education, Instrumental Music. That fall she moved her family to Newnan, Georgia where she was hired to begin a strings program for Coweta County. It was quite a successful year for her orchestra and guitar students. “The people in Newnan are wonderful and warm. It really felt like home. I understand why Alan Jackson is so laid back. People are just making a living, and the town is growing, but the folks are keeping that friendly, small town feel.” After much debate, Amy accepted an offer to teach music in Metro Nashville Schools, then moved her family to Tennessee in 2004. “I miss my home in Louisiana and the family we gained in Newnan, but these hills of Tennessee really speak to me, as did my harp so long ago. This is where I need to be.” Amy’s performances have taken her throughout the southern states as she has played for weddings, receptions, parties, benefits, etc. She has participated in the college orchestra as well as smaller church orchestras with several denominations. Christmas parties are always her favorite, but “playing at Hollywood Casino one New Year’s Eve was really highlight. It snowed that evening and LSU was playing a bowl game just down the road.” Amy is also a former member of the Back Porch Band which focused on American and Irish folk music. She has a reputation for being dependable and having a special touch on the harp. Her musical influences are not only the teachers she has studied with, but various artists whose style and expression have made a difference in her performance. She credits artist like Van Cliburn, Cindy Horstman, Vince Gill, Bela Fleck, and others who have inspired her, and sent her on a journey to find the music within. “It’s all about the music, sharing the joy and the sorrow, interpreting what the songwriter may have intended, and touching the listener’s heart.” Having Amy as a harpist for your event is quite simple. All you have to do is fill out the request form and she will get back with you as soon as possible. Or Amy may be reached at LAharpist
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