James Gorton, oboe
Gretchen Van Hoesen, harp
 

Gretchen Van Hoesen, Principal Harpist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra since 1977, holds the Virginia Campbell endowed chair. As a concerto soloist she has appeared with the orchestra on numerous occasions, both on the subscription series and on tour, performing the gamut of the harp repertoire throughout the United States with conductors André Previn, Sergiu Comissiona, James Conlon, Zdenek Macal, and Lorin Maazel. She has concertized with flutists James Galway, Jean-Peirre Rampal, and Bernard Goldberg. Miss Van Hoesen gave the New York premiere of the Alberto Ginastera Harp Concerto in 1976, the U.S. premiere of the Suite Concertante for solo harp and orchestra by Manuel Moreno-Buendia in 1990. As a recitalist,
Miss Van Hoesen has performed in New York, Boston, Pittsburgh, Rochester, Washington D.C.
and San Antonio, as well as Taiwan, Italy and Germany.
In addition to holding principal harp chair of the Pittsburgh Symphony, Miss Van Hoesen has played principal harp in the National Orchestral Association (NY), the Spoleto (Italy) Festival Orchestra, the Greenwich (CT) Philharmonia, the Jeunesses Musicales Orchestra (Germany), as well as the New York Lyric Opera, the New York City Ballet, the Virginia Opera, the Lake Placid (NY) Sinfonietta, and the Sun Valley (ID)
Summer Symphony. She has recorded on the Caedmon, CRI, and Soli Deo Gloria labels.
Gretchen Van Hoesen graduated from the Eastman School of Music Preparatory Department with highest honors in piano and harp and earned both the Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in harp from the Julliard School of Music as a scholarship student of Marcel Granjany. She was the winner
of the 1978 Passamaneck Competition in Pittsburgh.
Miss Van Hoesen has served as judge for several National Competitions of the American Harp Society.
She teaches harp privately and is a faculty member at Carnegie Mellon and Duquesne Universities.
Gretchen Van Hoesen performes on a Style 11 concert grand harp made in 1926 by the
Lyon and Healy Harp Company of Chicago. This unique lavender and gold instrument was
specially made and is famous not only for its unusual appearance but also for its rich and beautiful tone.
Recently this harp has been featured in several special publications.

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