jazz / University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music

Jazz harpist to perform at CCM

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Park Stickney, jazz harpist/ Photo provided

Did you ever consider that the harp could be a jazz instrument? The world’s premiere jazz harpist, Park Stickney, is performing at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Feb. 28, in Werner Recital Hall at CCM.

Stickney lives in Switzerland and is on a six-state tour of the United States. He will be performing with local saxophonist James Bunte and bassist Teddy Mechley. The concert is free and no reservations are needed.

While in town, Stickney is spending time with students at CCM, SCPA and Walnut Hills High School.

“The concert will be a mix of my own compositions and jazz standards,” said Stickney. “I’m especially excited about revisiting my own pieces through this instrumentation. I often play them solo, but playing them in trio allows me to hear them completely differently, adds another dimension — and this in addition to the excitement of playing with Cincinnati jazz artists.”

The harpist divides his time between a farm in Switzerland, and Brooklyn, New York. Besides his concerts, he presents master classes and workshops at music festivals worldwide. His performance venues are as diverse as a performance at a mine in South Tyrol, at a New York Mcdonald’s, the White House and on the QE2 ocean liner.

He currently teaches at the Royal Academy of Music, London, the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Lyon, France, and the Milan Conservatory. Stickney graduated from the Juilliard School, and later completed a Ph.D. exploring extreme harp pedaling at the Trinity Laban Conservatory, London.
Stickney is a former Juilliard classmate of Gillian Benet Sella, principal harpist of the CSO, who organized the concert. It is co-sponsored by the local chapter of the American Harp Society, CCM Power and the School for Creative and Performing Arts through the Mayerson Foundation.

Bunte is professor of saxophone and Division Head of Performance Studies at CCM. He’s also a regular saxophonist with the Cincinnati Symphony, and has recorded eight discs with the Cincinnati Symphony and the Cincinnati Pops orchestras. Bunte is an experienced saxophonist, having performed with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Manhattan Transfer, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, and many more.

Mechley plays both stand-up and electric bass at numerous Cincinnati jazz clubs. He’s currently pursuing a degree in jazz bass at CCM.
 
For more information, visit ccm.uc.edu/onstage.html, call the CCM Box Office at 513-556-4183

One thought on “Jazz harpist to perform at CCM”

  1. Thank you, Janelle, for featuring Park Stickney’s concert. It was a real success with over 150 people in attendance, over 1/3 of whom had never attended CCM before! It ended up being a quartet with two saxophones, bass, and jazz harp. For the Finale, harpists Gillian Benet Sella and Joseph Rebman came out on stage and played Carlos Salzedo’s “Chanson de la Nuit” with the addition of two saxophones, bass, and jazz harp on top of their duet. This was a real first!
    Thanks again for your support of the arts and for mentioning the jazz harp concert.
    – Nancy BIck Clark, Publicity Chair, Cincinnati Chapter, American Harp Society

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