Alaina Stark, Harpist

Alaina Rose is a Los Angeles based concert harpist whose roots started in Northern California.

Alaina is a graduate from UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. Originally from Northern California, she performs extensively in the Western states, which include California, Oregon, Washington and Nevada, before embarking on her studies at UCLA.

Beginning her musical journey at the tender age of 2, Alaina has always been drawn to the enchanting sounds of the harp and has consistently pushed the boundaries of her perspectives on the instrument. Her diverse musical interests, ranging from Celtic, pop, rock, to classical genres, eventually led her to perform on the concert pedal harp at the age of 12. During her formative years, she received guidance and mentorship from the renowned harpist Anna Maria Mendieta.

With her passion for pedal harp music, Alaina ventured into the music scene, performing at various private venues and collaborating with esteemed orchestras, including the Sacramento Youth Symphony, San Francisco Civic Orchestra, and the University of the Pacific Orchestra. Her dedication to honing her craft led her to participate in numerous master classes for solo harp and chamber music, including Lyon and Healy’s Harptacular event in 2018, where she had the privilege of playing for harpist Alexander Boldachev.

In 2021, Alaina embarked on her harp performance studies at UCLA under the tutelage of Lou Anne Neill, a former principal harpist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for 37 years. At UCLA, Alaina has showcased her talents as she performed with various ensembles, including the UCLA Philharmonia, Wind Ensemble, Symphony, Contemporary Jazz Ensemble, Commercial Music Ensemble, and a Charles Mingus workshop performing group. Her desire for exploring different genres for the harp also led her to actively perform with Mariachi de Uclatlán, an official performing group through UCLA. This group is under the prestigious instruction of Jesús "Chuy" Guzmán, the director for the Grammy Award winning group Mariachi Los Camperos. Her deep affinity for contemporary music has driven her to actively seek out chamber works to perform with the UCLA Flux ensembles and to collaborate on new compositions by student composers at UCLA. Through her experiences with the ensembles and professors at UCLA, Alaina has cultivated a strong passion for chamber music and continues to explore opportunities to share this love with her audiences.

- If outdoors, some form of shade is required
- Amplification can be provided by harpist
- Flat surface is required
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