Diana Rowan is a harpist and pianist best known for original compositions and collaborations influenced by her unusual upbringing, extensive travels, and classical training. She specializes in lever harp, concertizing, lecturing, teaching and recording extensively worldwide. She currently splits her time between San Francisco, California and Eastern Europe, pursuing a PhD in Harp Composition at the National Academy of Music in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Early life

Diana was born to Belfast-bred parents while they were students at Trinity College, Dublin. Upon graduation, her father John Rowan joined the Irish Foreign Service as a diplomat, starting a life of world travel and engagement with other cultures which continues to this day. Among the places Diana’s family lived are: Washington DC; San Francisco, California; Belgium; Cyprus: Iraq; France; Bulgaria, with frequent travels to surrounding countries.

Musical Mentors

Her mother Phyllis (McCrory) Rowan is a pianist and childhood music educator, and saw early that Diana loved experimenting on the family piano, so arranged lessons. Diana’s deep feeling for music and rapid progress was noticed by Robert Radaelli, the head of the music conservatory she attended in Brussels, Belgium, and he would occasionally teach Diana himself in addition to her regular teacher Greek-born Mina Papamanolis, a great honor for such a small child. This set the pattern for outstanding teachers impacting Diana’s artistic development: later, Tchaikovsky prizewinner Roy Bogas would be her piano teacher at Holy Names University in Oakland, California, where she gained an MM in Piano Performance; Israeli Harp Competition winner Alice Giles of Australia would become her harp mentor; and Balkan singing maestra Bon (Brown) Singer of Kitka would become her Eastern European and Sephardic music mentor, as well as the instigator of the concert where Diana discovered the potential of the harp.

Influences

Growing up immersed in many classical and world music genres, Diana’s work is influenced primarily by Bach, Debussy, Poulenc, Bartok, and Celtic, Balkan, Middle Eastern and Hindustani styles. Growing up in a literary household, poetry and mythology also holds a large influence, with her compositions inspired by Irish poet Nuala ni Dhomhnaill, Greek poet Odysseas Elitis, and English/US poet W.H. Auden, among others, as well as Celtic and Greek myths. Recent travels in Southeast Asia have made an impact on her latest compositions.

Musical career

Diana’s musical career reflects the above influences with many solo and collaborative concerts going beyond regular categories. Solo programming includes “Music that Moves Between Worlds,” which covers the gamut of Diana’s harp work, or may be more closely focused, as with “Brigid: from Goddess to Saint,” which concentrates on Celtic music.

Collaborations

• San Francisco Renaissance Voices, vocal ensemble
• Daniel Berkman, kora
• Deepak Ram, Hindustani bansuri
• The Black Brothers, Celtic music
• Trillium, harp trio
• Quniteto del Bailongo, Astor Piazzolla specialists (piano)
• Lily Storm, pan-European vocals
• Wilde Irish Theater Company, acting and Celtic music
• California Revels, acting and music
• Ya Elah, Eastern European and Sephardic vocal ensemble
• Healing Muses, harp ensemble
• Dan Cantrell, film scores

Healing Music

Diana is also deeply involved in healing harp as a member of Healing Muses (www.healingmuses.org), which sends four harpists to hospitals throughout Northern California multiple times per week. She is active in taking this program to other countries, such as Cyprus and Bulgaria.

Teaching

Diana has taught private and group lessons in harp, piano, Kodaly musicianship and Kindermusik since 1993. In addition, she offers Skype harp lessons. Many of her students have become professional musicians, and several are teachers themselves. She is currently co-authoring a beginning piano method for both adults and children with Rebecca Trujillo, which focuses on her trademark creative approach to teaching and includes much improvisation, composition, and techique.

Solo Discography

• Panta Rhei (2004)
• The Bright Knowledge (2008)
• As Above, So Below (expected 2012)

Reviews

• "This is a disc that finally takes the harp to a serious space, something rarely done. Thus, if you're serious about harp, one way or another, you're going to end up listening to Diana Rowan." - Mark S Tucker,

• You are truly a gift sent to me by the Harp Gods..you are the culmination of all my work, The highlight of my entire harp making career. There is no one I've ever heard that is so "at one" with the Nova, and takes it on journeys that can't even be imagined by others." - John Westling - Sandpiper Harps, master luthier

• "Diana's shining soul and sparkling personality are conducted through her fingers through her harp to the very heart of any listener. She could take Happy Birthday and interpret in such a way that you'd laugh, cry and change your life." - Bon (Brown) Singe, premier director of Balkan choral music in the US

External links