Shenandoah Conservatory harpists launched their history-making Abbey Road album with Claire Jones, the former Royal Harpist to HRH King Charles, and composer Chris Marshall on their first tour to the United States since 2019. They collaborated on two of the tour concerts in Winchester, Virginia, and Frederick, Maryland, on April 4 and April 6. The response to the performances and the album has been overwhelming. Additionally, Jones presented a masterclass with the Shenandoah Conservatory harp studio and Marshall shared a presentation with composition students during their recent visit to Shenandoah’s main campus.
Participating harp students included Danielle Caldwell ’25 (Master of Music in Performance), Serenity Flores ’25 (Bachelor of Music in Performance), Brynn Olden ’25 (Bachelor of Music in Performance) and Anna Smith ’27 (Bachelor of Music in Performance).
Jones, the U.K.’s number one classical recording harpist, rose to international prominence when she performed for the wedding of Prince William and Princess Catherine in 2011 for a worldwide audience of 3.7 billion viewers. Jones and her longtime collaborator, renowned harp ensemble director and Shenandoah Conservatory’s Adjunct Associate Professor of Harp Lynnelle Ediger, M.M., released the harp ensemble album “2K+ Fusion” earlier this year. This international collaboration showcases the combined talents of their harp ensembles: the American Youth Harp Ensemble, the Shenandoah Conservatory Harp Ensemble, and the Claire Jones Harp Ensemble. In what was a groundbreaking moment in the musical world, the album was recorded at the iconic Abbey Road Studios in London, which is known for hosting some of the most legendary musical artists in history. Shenandoah Conservatory harpists were among the 35 young harpists who participated in the once-in-a-lifetime recording experience in early 2022.
