Performer Biographies
California Harp Center Gala Recital
Sunday March 29 2026, 4 PM
The Red Dragons Welsh Triple Harp Ensemble
The Red Dragons is an ensemble devoted to playing the music of Wales as well as 18th century music from the British Isles on historical replicas of Welsh triple-strung harps. The Welsh triple harp developed from the 17th century Italian arpa doppia and was most popular in Wales and England in the 18th and 19th centuries. For this Gala Concert we are performing on: Two Welsh triple harps by Rainer Thurau (Germany); copies of an original made by John Richards (1711-1789), Llanrwst, Wales, now at the Musical Instrument Museum in Berlin, Germany. One Welsh triple harp by Tim Hampson (England); copy of an anonymous 18th C. Welsh triple harp in the collection of St. Fagan’s, Cardiff, Wales with decorations copied from the triple harp by David Evans (fl. 1736) in the Victoria-Albert Museum, London.
Dr. Cheryl Ann Fulton
Cheryl Ann Fulton’s name is synonymous with mastery of the harp and the revival of historical performance practice. From her earliest days, she felt a deep connection to this instrument, dedicating her life to its study, performance, and preservation. She holds a BS in Pedal Harp, as well as MM and DM degrees in Historical Harp and Musicology from Indiana University’s prestigious Jacobs School of Music.
Her passion for early music and the harp’s role in it led her to specialize in a variety of harps, from historical harps, medieval, renaissance, Baroque and Welsh triple harps to contemporary Celtic lever harps. As a Fulbright Scholar, Cheryl was sent on tour throughout Portugal with her medieval and triple harps and she also served as principal harpist for the Orchestre Gulbenkian in Lisbon. She has recorded on major labels and performed worldwide with top ensembles. You can hear her recordings on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, Pandora, Amazon etc.
Cheryl is equally at home on the concert stage and in the classroom. With her innovative teaching style, she has inspired students worldwide. Her Harp Secrets online courses are making her Touch & Tone Technique available to a global audience. Her mission is to bring the timeless beauty of the harp to as many people as possible, whether through live performances, recordings, or teaching. Find out more and join her email list at: cherylannfulton.com.
Aysha Gomez-Kureishi, California Harp Center Chief Executive Officer & Founder
A harpist of Ukrainian-Pakistani heritage, Aysha began studying the harp at the age of seven in Germany, where she became the winner of a series of youth harp competitions across Europe. Her harp studies continued in China, Singapore, and California. The tutelage under different harp schools allowed Aysha to emerge with her own vivacious style of performance.
Currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area as a luxury wedding and event harpist, Aysha’s artistic mission is sharing her love of music with others. She finds deep power in using music to blend cultures and bridge languages by adapting world music traditions to the harp. She enjoys performing with ensembles and orchestra groups and frequently plays with various groups in the SF Bay Area, including the Saratoga Symphony, Mission Chamber Orchestra, California Symphony Orchestra, Nova Vista Symphony, and South Bay Philharmonic.
Aysha holds two degrees from Stanford University. For her Bachelor of Arts degree, she studied Literature, Languages, and Music, which included harp performance. Her dissertation on Love and Abandonment Poetry of the Ancient Silk Roads earned her the 1st Place Dissertation Award at Stanford University and she also published an essay on Persian Poetry Modalities in the Yale Literature Journal. For her Harp Performance final project, she composed a virtuosic Fantasy on a Theme from Aranjuez by Joaquín Rodrigo. She completed a Master of Arts degree in Chinese Language and Culture, which involved extensive study in Ancient Asiatic Language and Linguistics, including Tocharian, Sogdian, and Classical Chinese. Her MA dissertation focused on Modern Chinese Legal Ethics.
Professionally, Aysha is the CEO and co-founder of California Harp Center. Since 2016, she has worked at Google, currently holding a position in Strategy and Operations Management at Google Deep Mind and serving as principal harpist for the Google Orchestra. Aysha is passionate about women’s rights and animal welfare. Her community efforts have included building houses in Vietnam, supporting a turtle sanctuary reserve and reef conservation in Malaysia, participating in youth mentorship programming in Australia, and promoting early STEM education for young girls.
Amy Ahn
Amy Ahn is principal harpist of the Stockton Symphony and a nationally acclaimed soloist known for her versatility across genres. Amy has performed internationally at venues such as Jordan Hall, National Sawdust, Konzerthaus Berlin, Kraków Philharmonic Hall, Musikverein, Smetana Hall, Geoam Art Hall, and Kumho Art Hall. A dedicated chamber musician and advocate for new music, she has premiered works by Samuel Adams, Elliott Carter, Hiroya Miura, Sid Richardson, Justin Weiss, and Chen Yi.
In 2023, Amy won third prize in the American Harp Society National Competition and a top prize at the Busan Maru International Music Festival Concerto Competition. As an ensemble musician, she has collaborated with the San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Ballet, San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Stanford Jazz, and other West Coast orchestras. She has released original music and appears on projects by Pulitzer Prize winner Du Yun, Grammy Award-winning producer M-Phazes, John Wineglass, and Spellling. She has performed with artists including Doe Paoro, Little Kruta, Ken Peplowski, Sarah Brightman, and Thaddeus Hogarth.
She holds degrees from Johns Hopkins University, Berklee College of Music, and UCLA. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Amy maintains a private studio and performs widely in recitals, educational programs, and community settings.
Dr. Mallory McHenry
Dr. Mallory McHenry is a dynamic harpist, educator, and arts advocate based in Austin, Texas. She serves as Lecturer of Harp at the University of Texas at Austin’s Butler School of Music and Assistant Professor of Music at Southwestern University. Dedicated to music education and community engagement, Dr. McHenry directs the Harp Program in the Round Rock Independent School District, which supports forty developing harpists. She is also Co-Artistic Director of the Young Artist Harp Seminar (YAHS), an intensive summer program at Kenyon College for pre-professional harpists. In addition, she serves as Vice President of the American Harp Society’s Austin Chapter, curating events that foster collaboration and community among harpists.
An active performer, Dr. McHenry has appeared as soloist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and performs regularly with the Dallas Winds, United States Air Force Band of the West, Austin Symphony Orchestra, Waco Symphony Orchestra, Laredo Philharmonic, Valley Symphony Orchestra, and Density512. She has presented recitals and lectures through the American Harp Society Southern Region, Mu Phi Epsilon, and many acclaimed Colleges and Universities. Beyond her work as a harpist, Dr. McHenry is a touring member of the Jason Max Ferdinand Singers (JMFS), where she serves as Creative Director and Director of Education Advancement. With JMFS, she has performed on Saturday Night Live with Coldplay and Jacob Collier, headlined the 2023 National Conference of the American Choral Directors Association, and appeared at the Kennedy Center. Dr. McHenry was the first harpist named a Young Artist in Residence with American Public Media and National Public Radio’s Performance Today. She later returned to MPR as a founding member of the chamber ensemble e(L)ement for its Class Notes concert series. Her research centers equity in classical music, particularly the legacies of Black women composers, highlighting their influence through original harp transcriptions.
Ellie Yamanaka
Ellie Yamanaka (she/her) is a freelance harpist based in Seattle, Washington. She earned her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music from the University of Texas at Austin. She is currently principal harp of Everett Philharmonic, Great Falls Symphony, Tacoma City Ballet Orchestra, and a member of The Sound Ensemble. As a freelancer, she regularly performs with dozens of ensembles across the Pacific Northwest and Mountain West. Ellie is passionate about environmental and climate justice, and whenever possible curates her creative output with a desire to create experiences that bring together music and environmentalism.
Five Minutes for Earth
Memory of Trees by Gary Schocker is part of the FIVE MINUTES for Earth® collection, sponsored by the nonprofit organization, Earth at Heart, which has the mission of inspiring earth conservation awareness and action through the portal of the arts. When we see an idea expressed in the language of art, our sensory reactions often open the heart and mind to interaction in ways that mere facts may not. There is not a minute to lose in our efforts to protect the future of our planet, and an inspired commitment can make all the difference.
Ellie Kirk
Praised for her "especially fine contributions" and "standout solo work", Eleanor Kirk joined the San Francisco Opera Orchestra as Principal Harp in 2025. She previously held principal positions with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra and the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra and served as Acting Principal Harp with the Santa Fe Opera (2024), the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra (2022-2023), and the Detroit Opera (2023-2025). From 2018-2022, she was the Principal Harp of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and regularly performs as a guest with the top orchestras in the country.
Highlights of the 2024-2025 season include guest principal appearances with the Chicago Symphony, the Vancouver Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony, and the Baltimore Symphony; chamber music performances on the Artist Series concerts of Sarasota and the Chicago Symphony's Chamber Music Series, as well as summer engagements performing Walküre with the Santa Fe Opera and with the San Miguel Chamber Music series.
A passionate chamber musician, Eleanor recently joined the Chicago Harp Quartet and has appeared on the Rush Hour Concerts and Dame Myra Hess Memorial concerts, both broadcast on Chicago's classical music radio station, WFMT. She also participated in a world premiere at the 2024 Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. As a soloist, she has performed concertos with the Bach Week Festival Orchestra and the Illinois Symphony Orchestra.
Eleanor holds degrees from Columbia University and the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. She has served on the faculties of the People's Music School and the Young Artist's Harp Seminar. She is a founding member of the 5th Wave Collective, a Chicago-based ensemble devoted to performing and promoting music by women and non-binary composers.
Katherine Siochi
Katherine Siochi is an internationally award-winning harp soloist and one of the leading orchestral harpists of her generation. She joined the San Francisco Symphony as Principal Harp in the 2023–24 season, appointed by Esa-Pekka Salonen. Katherine previously held positions as Principal Harp of the Minnesota Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, and Sarasota Orchestra. Additionally, she has performed as Guest Principal with the New York Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Equally accomplished as a soloist, Katherine is the Gold Medalist of the 10th USA International Harp Competition, one of the world's most prestigious harp contests. In 2024 she made her solo debut with the San Francisco Symphony performing Debussy’s Danses, and has performed solo concerts in Hong Kong, China, Israel, and at Lyon & Healy Hall in Chicago. After winning the Young Professional Division of the American Harp Society's 2015 National Competition, Katherine toured for two years as their AHS Concert Artist. In 2021 she released her solo album Nocturne on Lyon & Healy Records. Katherine holds faculty positions at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the Aspen Music Festival and is the harp coach for the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The Juilliard School as a student of Nancy Allen.
Dr. Alan Berquist (he/him), California Harp Center Chief Operations Officer & Founder
Dr. Alan Berquist (he/him) is an Adjunct Professor of Flute at California State University, Stanislaus and Diablo Valley College. He holds a Doctor of Music from Florida State University, where he studied under Eva Amsler as a Graduate Teaching Assistant. His degree includes a Specialized Study Certificate in College Teaching and specialized study of Baroque Flute. He also studied Dalcroze Eurhythmics at the Marta Sanchez Dalcroze Training Center at Carnegie Mellon University where he received a Performance Certificate in Advanced Flute Studies. Alan holds a Master of Music (M.M.) degree in Flute Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, awarded under the Bolz Graduate Fellowship and School of Music Project Assistantship in coordination with the National Flute Association. Additionally, his Bachelor of Music (B.M.) degree is from Florida State University, having started his studies at San Francisco State University.
Alan gained recognition in the flute world, winning both the National Flute Association’s Convention Performers Competition and the C.R.E.A.T.E. Project Competition. He served as a year-long Associate Program Chair for the 2004 Nashville Convention under Stephanie Jutt. Throughout his career, Alan has performed as a soloist and in chamber ensembles at numerous NFA and Florida Flute Association conventions, where he also served as a competition judge and coordinator. Notable performances include the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles Conference, The Midwest Clinic, and the Fischoff and Plowman National Chamber Music Competitions. He also continually adjudicates soloist and composition competitions for the NFA, Mid-Atlantic Flute Convention, and Flute New Music Consortium.
He co-founded chamber groups Kepler Duo with his harpist partner Dr. Vincent Pierce, Etesian Duo with flutist Arturo Rodriguez, and Ensemble 126. He has also performed with the California Symphony, Bay Area Rainbow Symphony, San José Symphonic Choir, Awesöme Orchestra Collective, International Pride Orchestra, Madison Symphony Orchestra (WI), Astoria Symphony (NY), Brooklyn Wind Symphony, and The American Opera Project. He has received support for multiple projects from Early Music America, Dalcroze Society of America, and Flute World for study and outreach.
As an advocate of new music, he has commissioned works from Sami Seif, Dayton Hare, and Mark Fromm. Premiere performances and collaborations include composers Viet Cuong, David DelTredici, Eric Ewazen, Scott Gendel, Libby Larsen, Michael Markowski, David Maslanka, Onikho, Raimundo Pineda, Arturo Rodriguez, David Stock, and Liliya Ugay. Alan has contributed to recordings with the Awesöme Orchestra Collective, featuring RyanNicole and La Gente SF. Additionally, on the Koch label with the FSU Symphony Orchestra, performing works by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich with the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, conducted by Michael Stern. His own arrangement of R. Nathaniel Dett’s Adagio cantabile from “Cinnamon Grove Suite” for flute choir was a Finalist in the NFA Newly Published Music Competition and is available through ALRY Publications. On the other end of the spectrum, a deep affinity for early music led to the study of the Baroque traverso, recorder, and Renaissance recorders. He has worked with several early flute specialists including Barthold Kuijken, Na’ama Lion, and Jeanne Swack.
Alan has an extensive background in arts administration, fundraising, and data management from his time in New York with American Ballet Theatre and The American-Scandinavian Foundation and here in the Bay Area at Touro University California. He immersed himself over three years at Harps Etc. learning everything harp under Gennaro Porcaro and partner Vincent Pierce. Alan's principal flute teachers include Eva Amsler, Alberto Almarza, Stephanie Jutt, Caryl Mae Scott, and Susan Clark, in addition to masterclasses with Jeanne Baxtresser. He has performed in dozens of masterclasses across the country for international flute luminaries like Sir James Galway, Paul Edmund-Davies, Karl-Heinz Schütz, Leone Buyse, and Marina Piccinini.
Dr. Vincent Pierce, California Harp Center Chief Programs Officer & Founder
Dr. Vincent Pierce is a professional harpist, composer, teacher, and apprentice harp technician with extensive experience in all aspects of the harp. He currently serves as President of the Bay Area Chapter of the American Harp Society, maintains a private teaching studio in Hayward, and performs throughout California as a freelance harpist specializing in orchestral performance. Dr. Pierce holds a Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music in Harp Performance from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Bachelor of Music Education from Baylor University. Dr. Pierce is an accomplished orchestral harpist - in California, he has performed with the Oakland, Berkeley, Marin, Stockton, and Santa Rosa Symphonies, Symphony San Jose, San Jose Chamber Orchestra, and Fresno Philharmonic, as well as with choral groups such as San Francisco Choral Society, SF Gay Men’s Chorus, and the Stanford Chamber Chorale.
In Texas, Dr. Pierce served as Principal Harp for over a decade for West Texas Symphony, as well as performing with Dallas Winds, El Paso, Lubbock, and Waco Symphonies, and Corpus Christi Ballet. Notable performances include the world premiere and album recording of John Mackey’s Wine-Dark Sea with the University of Texas at Austin Wind Ensemble in 2014, Mozart’s Flute and Harp Concerto with West Texas Symphony in 2022, and the Texas premiere of Caroline Lizotte’s Stellar Sonata for electroacoustic harp in 2022. Dr. Pierce and his partner, flutist Dr. Alan Berquist, perform as the Kepler Duo. The duo premiered Dr. Pierce’s original composition for electric flute and harp, Deus ex Machina, at the National Flute Association Convention in 2024.
Specializing in electric harp, Dr. Pierce’s current creative projects include an original ambient/neoclassical electric harp solo album, a concerto for electric harp and chamber orchestra, adaptations of traditionally acoustic works for electric harp and flute, and a commissioned work for the Bay Area Harp Foundation Youth Harp Ensemble. A dedicated educator and clinician, Dr. Pierce has led harp programs at both public school and collegiate levels and has presented workshops and clinics for the Texas Music Educators Association, Bay Area Harp Academy, Puerto Rico Chapter of the AHS, Harper’s Hall, and Harps Etc. His diverse range of experience gives him unique insight into the inner workings of the harp, which informs his work and development as a harp technician. Dr. Pierce has served as a Regional Director and board member for the American Harp Society, as well as in numerous roles for the West Texas, Austin, and Bay Area Chapters, and is committed to maintaining an active role in the harp community.
Bay Area Harp Foundation
Bay Area Harp Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 2025 dedicated to expanding access to harp education and building a vibrant, inclusive community of musicians. Through scholarships, instrument access, ensemble programs, and community outreach, the foundation creates pathways for students of all ages and backgrounds to experience the transformative power of music.
With a focus on both artistic excellence and personal growth, the Foundation supports youth and adult harpists in developing musicianship, leadership, and confidence. By partnering with schools, community organizations, and professional artists, Bay Area Harp Foundation is shaping the next generation of musicians while bringing the beauty of the harp into diverse spaces across the community.
Kristal Schwartz
Kristal Schwartz is a harpist, educator, and entrepreneur with a masters degree from SFCM and over 20 year of experience in music education and performance. She is the founder and artistic director of Bay Area Harp Academy and the Bay Area Harp Foundation, where she develops innovative programs that combine high-level training with community engagement. Her work focuses on cultivating technical excellence, artistic expression, and leadership in musicians of all ages.
California Harp Center would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our wonderful performers for sharing their music with us today.
To our audience—your presence and unwavering support make all the difference. Thank you for making this Gala recital so special.