sylvia.norris.harp@gmail.com

Sylvia Norris

Professional Harpist for Weddings, Concerts and Special Occasions

“Experience resulting in excellence” 

A bride in her wedding dress.

Welcome

Thank you for visiting my website! You are invited to search, watch, listen, and hopefully find answers that will help you in planning your upcoming event.

I started playing the harp at the age of ten after my parents took me to a Michigan State University student orchestra concert. I remember my mother, who was a great music lover and an amateur pianist/organist, saying to me in the car on the way to the concert, “Look at all the instruments tonight and pick out one that you would like to play.” Thankfully for me, there was a gorgeous gold harp out front on the left side of the orchestra and upon seeing it, and speaking with the player on stage afterwards, I was captivated. I told my mother that I wanted to take harp lessons and a few days later, I came home from school to have my mom meet me at the door with a conspiratorial look on her face. Crooking her finger, she invited me to look around the corner where I saw a beautiful small black Lyon-Healy troubadour harp.  I still remember her saying “Your lesson is on Thursday.”

That was the beginning of a lifelong love affair with the harp. It has been my profession since shortly after graduating from college. It has taken me from Okemos, Michigan, where I was raised, to high school summers studying at Interlochen, to conservatory training (and two degrees) at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, to more study in Aspen, Colorado, to symphony orchestra jobs throughout the state of Michigan, to tours of the Asian rim and the Caribbean Islands as a staff harpist on a cruise ship, to Bermuda playing for Josh Groban, to thousands of assorted orchestra programs, recitals, concerts and other engagements along the way.

Whether you are interested in booking me for a recital, chamber music program or after dinner corporate or private entertainment, please know that experience is the key to my success. 

As much as I love playing in orchestra, which is my main professional activity during the symphony season, I also play weddings. Over the decades, it never occurred to me to count how many, but I surely have participated in somewhere around 1,500 (plus) weddings. Each was special and meaningful to me and to my clients. I am often told that the harp is one of the unique elements that my clients are most excited about. The wonderful thing for me is that I still love playing weddings! It is still fun for me; it is constantly changing and I am constantly pushing myself to improve and enlarge my repertoire and offerings. From a simple solo harp job, to hiring string players, trumpet players, vocalists, flutists and saxophone players, I love the challenge of putting together the perfect group, or perfect set list to suit the preferences of my couples. I often tell my clients that they can relax and leave the work to me. They can be assured that my enthusiasm, skill, training and sheer years and years of experience, is at their disposal – from my fingertips to their special occasion!

Thank you again, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me for questions or assistance as you plan your dream wedding, concert or celebration.

Explore Music Samples
Sylvia and her harp.

Wedding Inquiries

Welcome to all bridal couples!! You are entering into one of the most exciting and hectic times of your lives. Among the hundreds of decisions you will make are choices about music: live or recorded, solo or chamber music, vocal or instrumental, classical or contemporary? When it comes to music, my advice is “Leave it to the professionals.” After receiving two degrees from a prestigious New York music conservatory, I began my concert and wedding career. Since that time, I have appeared in well over 1,500 successful weddings and receptions, from small, intimate ceremonies on the beach to big-budget extravaganzas. I played in my first wedding while still a young student and after 40 years of accumulated professional, orchestral, teaching, and performance experience, you can trust that you are in good hands.

Explore Music Samples

Concert Inquiries

For interest in my services as a recitalist, chamber musician or concerto soloist, please contact me directly to discuss options that will best fit your needs.

I love playing chamber music recitals and can offer solo or duo programs, such as flute and harp, viola and harp, cello and harp, trios of strings or winds and harp, as well as combinations of winds and strings. I have even played recitals with tuba and harp! I also work with superb vocal soloists to create a mixture of vocal and instrumental programs. As a member of several professional orchestra’s and as an instructor of harp at the Interlochen Arts Camp, I have access to wonderful colleagues with whom I can craft interesting, fun and varied programs.

Contact Sylvia

Send me an email at sylvia.norris.harp@gmail.com

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Professional Harpist

Elevating Events through Magical Harp Performances

Sylvia Norris is an exceptionally talented harpist. She played the harp before and during the ceremony at our wedding. Our guests loved it, as did my wife and I. What made Sylvia so amazing was the level of personalization she delivered. My wife and I had several lengthy conversations with her on the phone prior to the ceremony so she could get a better idea of the type of music we like, and so she could tell us which songs would sound better when played on harp as opposed to other. What made it even more special was the fact that a close friend of ours wanted to sing at the ceremony as well. Sylvia had no problem in accommodating this, and the collaborations between our singer and Sylvia were phenomenal. If you want some live music for any part of your wedding, we would absolutely recommend Sylvia Norris, whether you want her to play the good old wedding classics, or anything you desire for that matter. (The requests we made to Sylvia that she did excellent with were Florence and the Machine "you got the love" and Alicia Keys "If I ain't got you.").

D.M.

Bride

Sylvia played the harp so beautifully at our outdoor wedding at Castle Farms. It was so elegant and all of our guests raved about her. She even played the non-traditional bridal entrance song of the Up Theme Song! Easy planning process and just all around a great experience with a true artist.

M.M

Sylvia was very easy to work with and organized. She plays beautifully and I could not have asked for anything better for my ceremony.

A.A.

I had Sylvia play harp (with cello accompaniment) at my wedding this summer and she was incredible. The music was perfect and the guests kept talking about how elegant it was to have a harp play during the ceremony.

H.B.

We had Sylvia play for our cocktail hour. The guests loved her!

K.J.

We had Sylvia play for our wedding at Castle Farms this past weekend, and she was AMAZING. She played during our ceremony, as well as during cocktail hour. Guests raved about how amazing she was. Sylvia was easy to work with, and had great recommendations for song choices. She even played a very special song for me that I had requested to walk down the isle to. She was great!

M.D.

Sylvia was amazing! She is so talented and was very helpful when I was not sure of song selection! She arrived on time and was very professional

C.G.

If you are considering live music of any form for your ceremony/cocktail hour Sylvia is your go to! I used Sylvia for our wedding at Castle Farms this past August 25th. She is extremely talented! Her Harp skills are beyond amazing, such beautiful music she plays and her personality goes right along with it. Once you hear it, you will be mesmerized. She was on time, dressed beautifully, set-up and playing for guests just as discussed all while I was busy being a bride 😉 I HIGHLY recommend her and am more than 100percent satisfied with the service she provided. Thank you Sylvia you are amazing!

A.H.

Sylvia is truly a talented artist! Don’t worry if she’ll be loud enough at your ceremony, she can play very very loud if required. The way she played added a whole new dimension to the court yard. My only regret is not having her play for longer, as we only had her play during seating, ceremony, and a small transition into the cocktail hour. She can play many song beyond what is listed on her website. For instance we had her play the Harry Potter Theme song during our unity ceremony. I would recommend to her to any one who has room in their budget.

A.M.

Hearing Sylvia play was one of my favorite parts of my wedding ceremony. She did a fabulous job, and she is incredibly easy to work with. I can't recommend her enough.

K.K.

Sylvia played the harp so beautifully at our outdoor wedding at Castle Farms. It was so elegant and all of our guests raved about her. She even played the non-traditional bridal entrance song of the Up Theme Song! Easy planning process and just all around a great experience with a true artist.

M.S.

Sylvia was the harpist for our daughter's wedding at the Bay Harbor Yacht Club. It was an outdoor ceremony, and Sylvia did a wonderful job. She is so talented and plays beautifully, and we and our guests loved it.

E.G.

Sylvia did an incredible job providing music for our ceremony. She was a pleasure to work with throughout the planning process and was always very prompt when responding to my emails or phone calls. She was very happy to work with us and incorporate songs that we requested as well. As the bride, I didn't get to hear much of Sylvia’s playing before I came down the aisle, but all of our guests have given us compliments on how amazing and talented she was. She was very polite and professional and really added to the elegance of our ceremony. We are so happy that we chose Sylvia to provide our ceremony music.

S.M.

Sylvia's solo harp was elegant and absolutely beautiful during my ceremony. She's like an angel playing the harp! It fit our setting so well. We were very pleased. She's beautiful and talented and her music sunk in with everyone. What a beautiful instrument.

H.H.

I'll admit, as the bride, I barely got to hear Sylvia play the harp at my wedding, but all of my guests raved about how gorgeous the music was at my wedding! Sylvia was a true pleasure to work with and truly set the mood for my wedding day.

H.O.

What a bargain!!! Sylvia has such reasonable rates and is a trained musician. She's so professional and dresses the part too...she fits the mold for a sophisticated and elegant event. We had her playing infront of the stage at the Traverse City Opera house and her music was simply moving especially bouncing off the opera house walls. It was something we and our guests will never, ever forget. I can't think of a better person to help us set the tone for our ceremony. Simply amazing.

M.W.

The harp and the flute were nothing short of magical for our outdoor reception at Bowers Harbor Inn. A nice departure from the standard string quartet- and the jazz at cocktail hour was perfect.

C.K.

Sylvia was perfect. I'm so glad I found her. I definitely recommend her, because I enjoyed walking down the aisle to her playing the harp and I got many complements about her from guests after the ceremony.

N.P.

Sylvia was wonderful to work with. We had her play the harp for our ceremony and cocktail hour and she did a lovely job. Her website was easy to use and the samples don't do her music justice.

A.K.

With her many years of experience as a Harpist she is one of the best I have experienced. She has played with every major symphony in Michigan as well as instucting at Interlochen School.

K.J.

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