Janice Ortega Harpist from San Francisco, CA

I completed graduate studies in harp performance at the Royal Conservatory of the Netherlands on scholarship, under the direction of Phia Berghout, described by the UK Independent as “arguably the most influential harpist this century.” I studied Harp Performance at Aspen Music School on scholarship with Julliard Professor Nancy Allen, principal harpist of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. I earned the Master of Music degree in harp performance from Indiana University, Bloomington, under the direction of Susann McDonald, one of the great harpists and harp teachers in the world. I served as Harpist with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam, highly regarded as the world's leading orchestra. I later performed with symphony orchestras in Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, and Germany, and festival orchestras in Tanglewood, MA, and Aspen, CO. In the San Francisco Bay Area, my credits include performances at: Skywalker Ranch Third Baptist Church San Francisco St. Francis Hotel Ritz Carlton Fairmont Hotel The Mark Hopkins Sheraton Palace Hotel The Legion of Honor The DeYoung Museum The Palace of Fine Arts The Symphony Orchestras of Berkeley, Oakland, and San Jose the Peninsula Civic Light Opera the San Jose Civic Light Opera Stanford University Lively Arts Chamber Recital. I frequently perform at: Mission Dolores The Legion of Honor The San Francisco City Hall Rotunda The San Francisco City Club Cole Mansion and Ralston Hall (Burlingame) City of Palo Alto Gamble Garden Foundation Thomas Fogarty Winery Wineries in Napa and Sonoma counties My decades of experience are helpful in advising couples on their music selection. I have a passion for the harp and enjoy playing a wide variety of music from Bach to Rock! I play Classical, Pop, Latin, Celtic, Christian, and Jewish harp music. I adapt the music of contemporary artists from Aerosmith to Van Morison for the harp. "Janice was absolutely wonderful at my wedding! Janice even learned the theme to Star Trek: Deep Space 9 for us, which turned out beautifully on the harp. I highly recommend Janice!" - H. Kovacs I take seriously my commitment to perform my best for a wedding ceremony. That means arriving early to the wedding and being in place to perform while the first guests begin arriving for the ceremony and playing throughout the recessional of guests. "Just want to thank you so very much for playing your beautiful harp at the wedding last week while sick! Even though you weren't feeling well, you did your usual beautiful job." F. Ullrich "Hi, Janice. You recently provided the beautiful harp music for my daughter's wedding... …know how much your music added to the beauty and solemnity of the occasion. Sarah and Michael searched for quite a while to find the right person and they were lucky to find you. It is obvious that there have been many years of loving practice involved. Thanks again!" S. Beresh Besides performing harp, with over 30 years of performance experience, I am very committed to teaching others in the performance of this jewel of an instrument. I have teaching studios in San Francisco, the Peninsula and the East Bay, with students ranging in age from pre-school children to adults in their 90's.