Principal
Sponsored by Beth and Rick Costello

A well-known and widely respected harpist recognized for her attentive playing, quick adaptability and musicianship, Susan Knapp Thomas has enjoyed an active performance in both the north and the south. Ms. Thomas is Principal Harpist for the Hartford Symphony, and has enjoyed a long relationship with HSO. In Florida, she performs actively with the Orlando Philharmonic, Space Coast Symphony, and Southwest Florida Orchestra, and has served as Acting Principal Harp for Brevard Symphony Orchestra in Melbourne, Florida.

Equally at home in orchestra pits for shows, popular artists and opera, Ms. Thomas has played regularly at the Goodspeed Opera House, Connecticut Concert Opera, Florida Grand Opera, and the Vero Beach Opera in Florida. She has done regular work for Johnny Mathis and Frank Sinatra Jr., and is hailed by Frank Sinatra, Jr. as “one fine harpist.”

As a chamber music artist and concerto soloist, Ms.Thomas appearances include The Sunken Garden Poetry Festival, the Trinity College Summer Concert Series, The Mount Washington Hotel and the “Musica Viva!” series in Sarasota, Florida.

Ms Thomas is currently Instructor of Harp at The Hartt School. She is the Director and Founder of the Connecticut Valley Harp Intensive Summer Camp. She has served as an Effective Competition Preparation Coach for national harp competitions, for which her students have been multiple prize-winners and finalists.  She is Co-President of the Connecticut Chapter of the American Harp Society.

Ms. Thomas is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, and a student of Eileen Malone, Phyllis Wright, Aristid von Wurtzler and Barbara Pniewska.