Diana Rowan (born 26 January 1971 in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

) is an Irish

harpist The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual string (music), strings running at an angle to its sound board (music), soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing ...

and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

. She specializes in lever harp, concertizing, lecturing, teaching and recording worldwide. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA. Rowan was born to Belfast-bred parents while they were students at

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

. Upon graduation, her father John Rowan joined the Irish Foreign Service as a diplomat.

Musical mentors and education

Her mother Phyllis (McCrory) Rowan is a pianist and childhood music educator. Diana was noticed by Robert Redaelli, the head of the music conservatory she attended in Brussels, Belgium, and he would occasionally teach her himself in addition to her regular teacher Greek-born Mina Papamanolis. Later, Tchaikovsky prizewinner Roy Bogas became her piano teacher at Holy Names University in Oakland, California, where Diana gained a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance. Israeli Harp Competition winner Alice Giles of Australia became her harp mentor, and Balkan singing maestra Bon (Brown) Singer of Kitka became her Eastern European/Sephardic music mentor, as well as the instigator of the concert where Rowan discovered the potential of the harp. This led to Rowan gaining a PhD in Music Theory from the National Academy of Music, Bulgaria, focused on world harp techniques.

Influences

Rowan's work is influenced primarily by

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

, Poulenc, Bartók, and Celtic, Balkan, Middle Eastern and Hindustani styles. Her compositions are inspired by Irish poet

Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill (; born 1952) is a modern Irish poet whose works have been described as having a "major influence in revitalizing the Irish language in modern poetry". Biography Born in Lancashire, England, of Irish parents, she moved t ...

, Greek poet

Odysseas Elytis Odysseas Elytis (; , pen name of Odysseas Alepoudelis, ; 2 November 1911 – 18 March 1996) was a Greek poet, man of letters, essayist and translator, regarded as the definitive exponent of romantic modernism in Greece and the world. He is one ...

, and English/US poet W.H. Auden, among others, as well as Celtic and Greek myths.

Healing music

Rowan is involved in healing music as the founder of Sage Harpists.

Teaching

Diana founded Bright Knowledge Academy, and online music school that teaches the Bright Knowledge System, a method for developing creativity and manifesting musical goals. Bright Knowledge Academy also presents Virtual Harp Summit every 6 months, which is an online festival-conference featuring multiple presenters from around the world.

Solo discography

* ''Panta Rhei'' (2004) * ''The Bright Knowledge'' (2008) * ''As Above, so Below'' (expected 2018)

Quotes about Rowan

* "This is a disc that finally takes the harp to a serious space, something rarely done. Thus, if you're serious about harp, one way or another, you're going to end up listening to Diana Rowan." - Mark S. Tucker * "Diana's shining soul and sparkling personality are conducted through her fingers through her harp to the very heart of any listener. She could take Happy Birthday and interpret in such a way that you'd laugh, cry and change your life." - Bon (Brown) Singer, Balkan choral music directorBrown, Bon, http://www.sirenharp.com (28 Aug 2017)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rowan, Diana 1971 births Living people Musicians from County Dublin Irish women harpists Irish women pianists 21st-century Irish pianists 20th-century Irish harpists 21st-century Irish harpists Irish expatriates in the United States Holy Names University alumni 2000s in Irish music 2010s in Irish music