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Harpist Renée Murphy is the First Prize laureate of the 30th Soka-Nippon International Harp Competition,
the American Harp Society’s National Competition Young Professional and Advanced Divisions, and a
recipient of the 2024 Lyon & Healy Awards. She currently serves as the 2025-2027 American Harp
Society Concert Artist and received Fifth Prize and the Mario Falcao Prize at the 13th USA International
Harp Competition.
As a featured recitalist, Renée has performed on international stages including the 13th World Harp
Congress (Hong Kong), the 60th Soka-Nippon International Music Festival (Japan), the Stars of Tomorrow
Concert Series of the 9th and 11th USA International Harp Competitions, and the American Harp Society’s
44th National Conference. Renée is an alumna of the Aspen Music Festival and School, where she was the
2023-2024 Aspen Chamber Symphony Principal Harp Fellow and winner of the 2024 Aspen Harp
Concerto Competition. She has performed as a guest soloist with the Aspen Percussion Ensemble and
has appeared as a guest musician with the New York Philharmonic and on Broadway in Wicked. Renée is
committed to expanding the harp repertoire and has a particular interest in representing music reflecting
her Japanese and African American heritage. She premiered Ryota Ishikawa’s Reaching for the Drinking
Gourd and Stars (2022) for solo harp at the residency of Consulate General Mikio Mori of Japan in New
York in June 2023.
Renée is a Master of Music candidate and Kovner Fellow at The Juilliard School, where she studies with
Nancy Allen. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Juilliard and was awarded the 2024 John Erskine
Commencement Prize in recognition of exceptional scholastic and artistic achievement. Renée’s previous
teachers include Professor Florence Sitruk, Professor Elżbieta Szmyt, and Dr. Alicia McQuay. A native of
Bloomington, Indiana, she has collaborated with her large, musical family in performances and projects
across the United States and abroad in Japan. Renée is a Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant recipient.