Annette's repertoire for solo harp or ensembles includes klezmer music and various styles of East European and Mediterranean ethnic music, Celtic traditional tunes, originals and improvisation. Broadway, Pop and Jazz. Her classical music program reaches from renaissance and baroque masters to French impressionists, and modern compositions. Annette is a member of several performing groups such as Chicago-based Duo Controverso with clarinetist Kurt Bjorling, and the ensemble Myridián. Annette has performed and taught at international music festivals and harp conferences in Europe and North America. Annette recorded CDs as soloist and with various ensembles.
14 reviews
Arleen D.
May 10, 2025Annette was a wonderful addition to our event! She was punctual and efficient and played a beautiful combination of traditional and contemporary Celtic music and other music from UK artists. Would recommend her highly.
Hired as: Harpist
Karen W.
May 21, 2024Annette's music beautifully blended with my garden tea party. She created an enchanting background throughout my event.
Hired as: Harpist
John S.
May 5, 2024Annette played our wedding and cocktail hour. It was so beautiful to have her play. My only complaint was I had no time to listen to the beautiful music! She made so many people cry
Hired as: Harpist
J R.
September 6, 2023She was great she worked with my son and daughter in law with various songs
Hired as: Harpist
Price range: $250 and up
Languages: English , French , German , Other
Gig length: 5 - 1200 minutes
Harp music creating any mood from a romantic atmosphere to an exciting energy. Harp solo or with bigger ensembles. Music for a background during cocktails or dinner, a prelude for guest arrival, special ceremonial pieces, uplifting dance music, and concerts are possible.
My harps sounds magical - and it looks great as well! :)
Besides typical classical Wedding music, Annette's repertoire for solo harp or ensembles includes Broadway, Pop and Jazz, klezmer music and various styles of East European and Mediterranean ethnic music, Celtic traditional tunes, originals and improvisation. The classical music reaches from reanissance and baroque masters to French impressionists, and modern compositions. Annette is a member of several performing groups such as Chicago-based Duo Controverso with clarinetist Kurt Bjorling, and the ensemble Myridin. Annette has performed and taught at international music festivals and harp conferences in Europe and North America. Annette recorded CDs as soloist and with various ensembles.
Born in Heidelberg, Germany, in 1974, Annette Bjorling makes her home in Evanston, Illinois since 2001.
She is a free-lance harpist, performing and teaching.
Experience:
• student teacher at children and youth theaters and art schools in Germany (phone number hidden)0
• musical director of the KlezmerOrchester (Germany/Netherlands/Polen/France) (phone number hidden)3
• private harp and recorder teacher since 1993
• teacher for harp, recorder and folk music & dances at private music schools, The Musical Offering, Evanston, Illinois, since 2001
• teaching workshops for harp, ethnic dances and music at international music conferences, harp conferences, klezmer festivals, etc. - throughout Europe, USA and Canada, since 1996
• performing as harpist at the Folksbiene Tiddish Theater, New York, 1999/2000
• performing as harpist in a production of “The Fantasticks” with the Theo Ubique Theater Company, Chicago, IL, 2005.
• performing solo and ensemble harpist for private and public events (weddings, concerts, etc.) in Germany, since 1993; and in USA and Canada since 2000
• member of various performing music ensembles. For example: Duo Controverso (USA) since 2000, Myridian (Germany/USA) since 2003, Imaginations 4 Ensemble (USA) since 2009
Education
University Hildesheim, Germany, (phone number hidden)0
Diploma (akin to MA) in: Kulturwissenschaft und Ästhetische Praxis (cultural science) Subjects: music, theater, education and cultural management. Instruments: harp, recorder
Space requirement: for harp solo, a minimum space of approximately 6'x 6', a level ground. Sufficient lighting to see strings and music.
If amplification is needed, an outlet or extension cord needs to be at the set-up.
For outdoors venues: a level ground, dry, if possible in shade from direct sun, wind, rain, etc.
Annette's repertoire includes a wide variety of classical, ethnic, popular music, and jazz.
The classical music reaches from early renaissance and baroque masters, to French impressionists, to contemporary composers.
Annette's speciality is klezmer music. Other Jewish and East-European and Mediterranean styles are a strong part of the repertoire. As well as Celtic, German and French folk music, and some Latin areas.
Popular music includes Broadway, Movies, 50s hits, etc. Jazz standards include pieces by Irving Berlin, George Shearing, Fats Waller etc.
Below my list with my current repertoire. It's probably not quite complete, but it should give you a good idea.
I am always happy to try to arrange special requests as well.
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Contents Summary:
1.) Pop/Jazz/Broadway/etc. Musicals
Jazz Standards Pop / Easy Listening / Rock Movie / TV / Video Game Themes
2.) Western Classical Music Wedding Classics
Renaissance / Baroque era Classical period Impressionists Contemporary Composers
3.) Ethnic Music
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Various pieces of each of the following Musicals:
A Little Night Music
Anyone Can Whistle
Anything Goes
Cats
Fantasticks
Fiddler on the Roof
My Fair Lady
Oaklahoma
Phantom of the Opera
Westside Story
Sound of Music
Sweeney Todd
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several further pieces by:
Cole Porter
Rogers/Hammerstein
Stephen Sondheim
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Jazz Standards / 30-50s:
- pieces by George Gershvin"
Embraceable You
I got Rhythm
Love is Here to Stay
Oh, Lady Be Good
'S Wonderful
- pieces by Irving Berlin
Anything You Can Do
Blue Skies
How Deep is the Ocean
Puttin' on the Ritz
White Christmas
also: Ain't Misbehaving (Fats Waller)
Alone (Nacio Herb Brown)
Anniversary Waltz (Josef Ivanovici)
Autum Leaves (Joseph Kosma)
As Time Goes By (Herman Hupfeld)
At Last (Etta James)
Blues (various)
Don't Get Around Much Anymore (Duke Ellington)
Dream a Little Dream (Gus Kahn)
Everybody Loves Somebody (Koslove / Taylor / Lane)
Fascination (F.D. Marchetti)
Fly Me to the Moon (Bart Howard)
How High the Moon (Morgan Lewis)
I Can't Help Falling in Love With You (G.D. Weiss)
I Can't Stope Loving You (Don Gibson)
James (Pat Metheny)
Keepin' Out of Mischief (Fats Waller)
La Vie En Rose (Louis Guglielmi)
Lullaby of Birdland (George Shearing)
Misty (Erroll Garner)
Moon River (Henry Mancini)
Mr Sandman (Pat Ballard)
My Funny Valentine (Rodgers / Hart)
Softly Like in a Morning Sunrise (Romberg / Hammerstein)
Slowly (David Raksin)
Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Harold Arlen)
Stardust (Hoagy Carmichael)
Stormy Weather (Harold Arlen)
Sweet Sue, Just You (Fats Waller) T
ake Five (Paul Desmond)
Tea for Two (Vincent Youmans)
Unchained Melody (Alex North)
What a Wonderful World (Bob Thiele / (G.D. Weiss)
Pop / Easy Listening / Slow Rock and such:
All you need is Love (Beatles)
Annie's Song (John Denver)
Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Green Day)
Can You Feel the Love Tonight (Elton John)
Clocks (Coldplay)
Don't You Know (Bobby Worth)
Every Breath You Take (Sting)
Fields of Gold (Sting)
Heaven (Bryan Adams)
I Made it Through the Rain (Barry Manilow)
Just the Way You Are (Bruno Mars)
Living on a Prayer (Bon Jovi)
Love Story (Taylor Swift)
Luckiest (Ben Fold)
Right Here Waiting (Richard Marx)
River Flows in You (Yiruma)
Something (Beatles)
Sound of Silence (Paul Simon)
Stairway to Heaven (Jimmy Page, Robert Plant)
Stand by Me (Ben E. King)
Starry, Starry Night / Vincent (Don McLean)
Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper)
Time in a Bottle (Jim Croce)
Then (Brad Paisly)
Truly Madly Deeply (Savage Garden)
What a Wonderful World (Bob Thiele, George David Weiss)
When you Believe (Maria Carey, Whitney Houston)
also various pieces by contemporary harpists: " Nancy Gustavson " Deborah Henson-Conant " Christoph Pampuch
Movie, TV and Video Game Themes:
Doctor Who - 5th series (Murray Gold) - various themes
Forrest Gump (Alan Silvestri)
In Dreams (Walsh/Shore, Lord of the Rings) - May it Be (Enya, Lord of the Rings)
My Heart Will Go On (Titanic - James Horner)
Rainbow Connection (Muppets - Paul Williams)
Somewhere in Time (John Barry)
Song from MASH (Mike Altman)
Storybook Love (Princess Bride - Willy De Ville)
Tender Shepheard (Peter Pan - Mark Charlap)
Third Man Theme (Anton Karas)
Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Michel Legrand)
Up (Up - Michael Giacchino)
various pieces by
Henry Mancini (for example from: Peter Gunn, The Party, Pink Panther, Thornbirds)
Nobuo Uematsu (for example: To Zanarkand, Ending Theme - Final Fantasy X)
etc.
and I could play special requests... (...and I have a whole 'fake book' for movie tunes...)
And I also have my own compositions/improvisations in those styles of music.
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Western Classical Music:
Wedding Classics:
Wagner's Bridal Chorus
Mendelssohn's Wedding March
Pachelbel's Canon in D
Bach's Jesu, Joy ...
Ave Maria - both, by Schubert or by Bach/Gounod
Renaissance era:
- various pieces by Spanish, Italian and English composers, like: Castaneda, Dalla Casa, Gibbons, Jenkins, Lasso, Purcell, ...
Baroque era:
J.S. Bach - various works, for example:
Air on a G string
Ave Maria (with Gounod's melody)
Jesu, Joy of Men's Desiring
Minuet (from Magdalena Notebook)
Preludium (--> Ave Maria by Bach/Gouneaud)
Preludium and Fugue BWV 998
Sheep May Safely Graze
Sleepers Awake
G.F. Handel - various works, for example:
Arias, Chaconne, Pasacaglia, Largo, Sarabanda, " Thema con Variazioni, "
excerpts from Messiah, Water Music, etc.
J. Pachelbel - Canon (in D - THE famous one, for brides' processionals world wide! Ciaconna
H. Purcell - various works, for example: Air, Chaconne (from fairy Queen), Hornpipe, Trumpet Voluntary
J.P. Rameau - various Minuets, tambourin etc.
G.F. Telemann - various Minuets etc.
A. Vivaldi - excerpts from Four Seasons etc.
Classical era:
F. Schubert - Ave Maria
F. Chopin - various works: waltzes, mazurkas, preludes
W.A. Mozart - various works
L. Spohr - Sonatinas, Air
and pieces from other classical harp-composers, like C. Bochsa, (link hidden)dermann
etc.
French impressionists:
Claude Debussy ((phone number hidden)8): Clair de Lune, Arabesques, Fille au Cheveux, Berceuse, Reverie, etc.
Gabriel Fauré ((phone number hidden)4): Pavane op.50, Mai, Berceuse, etc.
Marcel Grandjany ((phone number hidden)5): " Rêverie op. 7, Trois pieces petits, etc.
Alphonse Hasselmanns ((phone number hidden)2) " Feuilles DʼAutomne, Nocturne, La Source, Ronde de nuit, etc.
Erik Satie ((phone number hidden)5): " Gymnopédies, Gnossiennes, Fantasies
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20th century composers:
Bernard Andres - Epieces, Amarantes, Dances D'Automne, Preludes, etc.
Béla Bartók - Evening in the village, Romanian Dances
A. Hovhanness - Nocturne, Sonata
D. Kabalevsky - Sonatina, Toccatina
D. Henson Conant - New Blues, Nataliana, Nightingale
original compositions by myself
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Besides classical music, I play various styles of European ethnic music:
Celtic, French, German, Mediterranean, Romanian, Greek, Turkish and klezmer music.
The repertoire there spans several hours...
Most of the pieces are not commonly known by specific names.
They are named after types, modes, dances etc. Please let me know if you like some more specifics regardless. Thanks.
Kurt Bjorling, Chicago Klezmer Ensemble, Brave Old World, Rüdiger Oppermann, Park Stickney, Deborah Henson-Conant, Istanbul Oriental Ensemble
space: min 6'x6'
daylight or adequate lighting
power outlet nearby if PA needed
level ground (no hilly grass...)
shelter from rain/wind/direct bright sun ight
Harpist
