Our Amazing Alumnae!

HOUSTON HARPIST WINS NATIONAL MUSIC COMPETITION   On June 12th, harpist Ashley Wells was named first-place winner in the 32nd annual Glenn Miller National Music Scholarship Competition, Instrumental Division.  A graduate of Houston’s Stratford High School, Wells will be a sophomore at Ball State University this fall, majoring in music performance.  She was awarded a $4000.00 scholarship and the opportunity to perform at the Glenn Miller Festival in Clarinda, Iowa, birthplace of the famed bandleader.  Ten finalists from across the United States were selected to compete in the final, live round from CD recordings submitted this spring.  In addition to performing her classical solo, Impromptu by Gabriel Fauré, Wells and other finalists were required to demonstrate knowledge of music theory and on-stage sight-reading.  Ashley Wells is the second Ball State harp student to win first prize in the Glenn Miller competition, following Rachel Browne in 2001.   Ashley Wells studied for eight years with Bonnie Goodrich at Houston’s Goodrich Harp Studio before beginning studies at Ball State with distinguished harpist and instructor Elizabeth Richter. She was a three-time Texas All-State Orchestra winner, a four-time Texas Region 23 Orchestra winner, prize-winner for several years in Houston’s annual Milligan Harp Competition, and winner of the Stratford High School Symphony Concerto Competition in 2006. Ashley was a member of Stratford High School’s Symphony and Pit Orchestra for four years and performed with the Houston Youth Symphony.  As a member of Goodrich’s Angelus Harp Ensemble for 8 years, she performed annually for the Houston Symphony, Houston Grand Opera, Houston Ballet, Museum of Fine Arts, KUHF radio, local tv, and on the group’s CD/DVD.  She follows Kate Petak as the second Goodrich Harp Studio alumnus to attend Ball State and achieve outstanding honors. At Ball State she has performed with the Harp Ensemble, the Ball State Symphony Orchestra and the Wind Ensemble.  She is the recipient of a Ball State Presidential Scholarship and a Young Artist Award from the School of Music.  This summer, she will study orchestra and chamber music at the prestigious Sewanee Summer Music Festival.	Award-winning harpist Kate Petak is rapidly earning an impressive reputation in the US and abroad!   Her excellent musicianship, beautiful tone, and advanced interpretation all contribute to consistently sumptuous performances by this talented & accomplished young virtuoso. Among her many awards is winning the Concerto Competition at Ball State University with the extremely difficult Ginastera Harp Concerto.  The first place prize included a solo concert in Osaka, Japan.  Other honors include being a Fulbright finalist, earning studies at London’s Royal College of Music, scholarships at Boston University and Ball State, janmed a Young Master by the Texas Commission on the Arts, a two-time Texas All-State winner, solo performances with Houston’s Young Virtuosi, Houston Youth Symphony, and HSPVA Orchestras, and multiple years as a winner of Houston’s Milligan Harp Competition. In 2002, she earned a grant to study with the legendary Lucile Lawrence at Tanglewood.  Other summer festival participation has included the Chautauqua Festival, ARIA International Festival, and the Texas Music Festival.   She earned her Bachelor's Degree summa cum laude and her Master's Degree at Ball State University, where she studies with well-known harpist Elizabeth Richter.  Her college studies also included Boston University with Emily Halpern-Lewis and London's Royal College of Music with Ieuan Jones.  Her first 11 years of study were with Houston harpist Bonnie Goodrich. Among the impressive groups with which she has soloed and performed are London’s Royal College of Music Symphony and their other ensembles, New England Philharmonic, Boston University Symphony and ensembles, Muncie Symphony and area orchestras, Ball State Symphony, University of Houston Symphony, Young Virtuosi Orchestra of Houston, Houston Youth Orchestra, HSPVA Orchestra, and Houston’s Angelus Harp Ensemble. In Indiana, she performs with the Muncie Symphony and has performed as principal harpist with the Fort Wayne, Marion, Anderson, and Kokomo Symphony Orchestras.