ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — Acclaimed harpist Elizabeth Hainen will perform in recital at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22, at St. Bonaventure University’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts in the fifth concert of the 2011-12 Friends of Good Music season. 

Hainen has earned an international reputation as one of classical music’s great harp ambassadors. Hailed by the Washington Post for her “unusual presence with silky transparency” and by The New York Times for her “earthy solidarity,” Hainen has thrilled audiences throughout the world with programs showcasing the diversity – and virtuosity – of her modern-day instrument.

As solo harpist of the Philadelphia Orchestra since 1994, Hainen has presented numerous featured performances to captivated audiences at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center and on tour. She has been praised by the Philadelphia Inquirer for her “ability to blend and color the musical line,” and “to find transparency in almost timeless atmosphere.”

In high demand as a guest artist, Hainen has collaborated with such eminent conductors and musicians as Charles Dutoit, Rafael Fruehbeck de Burgos, Michael Tilson Thomas, Wolfgang Sawallisch and the Juilliard String Quartet. In addition, she has appeared as a featured soloist with the Kennedy Center Orchestra, the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Colombia, the Bulgarian National Radio Orchestra, Camerata Ducale in Italy, the Chicago Civic Orchestra, the Mexico State Symphony, the Vienna Choir Boys, and in recital at Carnegie Hall. 

Hainen serves on the faculties of the world-renowned Curtis Institute of Music and at Temple University.

Ludwig Brunner, interim executive director at The Quick Center, said: “We look forward to welcoming Ms. Hainen, the distinguished soloist of one of the world’s leading symphony orchestras, to the St. Bonaventure campus. Our audience will get to experience the virtuosic artistry of Ms. Hainen in the intimate setting of The Quick Center’s theater.”
To keep winter’s cold at bay in this first concert of the new year, tea and cookies will be served during intermission and after the concert, said Brunner.

Hainen’s discography includes the lushly romantic “Music for Solo Harp” on the Naxos label. A review of the album published by The Harp Column praises the album and hails Hainen as “a wonderful embodiment of the ‘new’ Philadelphia sound and a perfect example of how the best musicians can make their instruments become a symphony orchestra, even on their own.”

Hainen has also released a recording series for Lyon & Healy harps on the Egan label, and recently completed a recording of harp concerti with Rossen Milanov and the Bulgaria National Orchestra.

This performance is supported in part by the New York State Council on the Arts.

For tickets and information, call The Quick Center for the Arts at (716) 375-2494.

For this and all other performances, The Quick Center’s museum galleries will open one hour before the start of the performance and remain open throughout the intermission. Regular gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Museum admission is free and open to the public, year round.

Visit The Quick Center at www.sbu.edu/quickcenter.

About the University: Inspired for more than 150 years by the Catholic Franciscan values of individual dignity, community inclusiveness, and service, St. Bonaventure University cultivates graduates who are confident and creative communicators, collaborative leaders and team members, and innovative problem solvers who are respectful of themselves, others, and the diverse world around them