The Urban Youth Harp Ensemble was established in 2000 by Elisabeth Remy Johnson, Atlanta Symphony principal harpist, and Roselyn Lewis, Atlanta Public Schools music teacher to teach harp to urban at-risk youth. The program has grown from 2 students and a borrowed harp to 16 harps and 65 students....
The Urban Youth Harp Ensemble was established in 2000 by Elisabeth Remy Johnson, Atlanta Symphony principal harpist, and Roselyn Lewis, Atlanta Public Schools music teacher to teach harp to urban at-risk youth. The program has grown from 2 students and a borrowed harp to 16 harps and 65 students. The program teaches daily harp lessons to students enrolled at Carver School of the Arts and after-school lessons to students from other Atlanta Public Schools. Our program is unique in the United States, though there are similar programs, 40% of our students are African-American males. Our first student is in his senior year at Rice University as a harp performance major.(more)