The Harpist From Philadelphia
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Artswatch
The Harpist From Philadelphia
Peter Dobrin, Inquirer Classical Music Critic
The Boston Globe's Geoff Edgers has a lovely profile today on Ann Hobson Pilot, the Boston Symphony Orchestra's harpist who is retired. Sort of.
The piece doesn't mention it, but she attended Settlement Music School.
What is more significant is that she had harp lessons at Girls High, because the school system employed a harp teacher to give lessons. Her classmates included Susan Dederich, principal harp of the Dallas Symphony, and Paula Page, principal harp of the Houston Symphony. It's unfortunate the school system does not have a harp teacher now, though they do still own instruments.— Zindorf
Peter Dobrin is a classical music critic and culture writer for The Inquirer. Since 1989, he has written music reviews, features, news and commentary for the paper, covering such topics as the Philadelphia Museum of Art at the Venice Biennale, expansion of the Curtis Institute of Music, the Philadelphia Orchestra's bankruptcy declaration in 2011, Philadelphia's evolving performing arts center and the general health of arts and culture.
Dobrin was a French horn player. He earned an undergraduate degree in performance from the University of Miami, and received a master's degree in music criticism from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, where he studied with Elliott Galkin. He has no time to practice today.
