Emmanuel Ceysson (Los Angeles, California)

Chosen amongst 70 of his best peers in a totally blind and anonymous audition process, Emmanuel Ceysson joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic in September 2020. This exciting new position in a symphony orchestra comes after almost 15 years of playing Principal Harp in opera orchestras: first, with the Paris Opera, a job he won at the age of 22, and then with the Metropolitan Opera in New York for five full seasons.

Born and raised in France, Ceysson was admitted unanimously to the Paris Conservatoire when he was only 16 and, in the course of the next 10 years, he went on to collect the highest international distinctions and prizes, securing an acclaimed solo career, as a recitalist appearing in major concert venues including Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall, Wigmore Hall, Salle Gaveau, Munich’s Gasteig, Wiener Konzerthaus, and Hyogo Concert Hall, and as soloist with such orchestras as the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, Deutsche Symphonie Orchester, RAI Orchestra Torino, Orchestre National de Lyon, and Orquesta Filarmonica de Bogota.

As a recording artist, he has released a wide range of solo, chamber music, and concerto repertoire for the harp on such labels as Naxos, BR Klassik, Naïve, and Aparte—a discography which has earned him acclaim from the specialized press.

Ceysson invests much time to give master classes worldwide, he has held a Visiting Professor position at the Helsinki Sibelius Academy, and currently teaches at the Mannes School of Music and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Katherine Oliver (Chicago, Illinois)

Dr. Katherine Denler Oliver serves as the Sales Director of Lyon & Healy Harps, Chicago, Illinois. She joined Lyon & Healy Harps in 2016 and has been the International Sales Manager since 2017.

Katherine studied harp under such prominent harpists as Susann McDonald, Elzbieta Szmyt, Ann Yeung, and Chen-Yu Huang. She holds a Bachelors degree in Harp Performance from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a Masters degree from Indiana University, and a Doctorate from Michigan State University.

Katherine’s life’s work is informed by a desire to expand access to the harp, support excellence in harp education, and foster connection between all members of the worldwide harp community.

Kaori Otake (Matsudo Chiba, Japan)

Kaori Otake is an alumna of Indiana University, the Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music. As a prize winner of several international competitions, including the 4th USA International Harp Competition, she has a vested and keen interest in serving on the USAIHC Board.

Kaori was a member of the World Harp Congress Board of Directors for over 10 years, including the Committee of the Focus on Youth program. She brings her experience and commitment to service-oriented tasks as well as an international profile as a musician and benefactor.

Ms. Otake has given solo recitals and concerto performances around the world. Most recently, she has performed the Debussy Danses with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Handel Concerto with the Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra conducted by Ken Hsieh. Some of her other concerts include guest performer at Carnegie Hall in New York in a harp duo with her sister, Miya Otake, several television programs, appearances in the World Harp Congress in the Focus on Youth Concert in Seattle and the Prize Winner Concert in Geneva with the Nippon Philharmonic conducted by Kenichiro Kobayashi.

Donna Spears (Richmond, Indiana)

Donna Spears currently serves on the Indiana University Board of Trustees, and has served on the boards of numerous non profit organizations throughout Indiana. An associate broker for Coldwell Banker Lingle, Donna specializes in residential sales, corporate relocation, new construction, and first-time home buyers.

Donna received three degrees from Indiana University culminating with her Masters of Public Affairs in Health Systems Administration from the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University Bloomington.

She was appointed by Governor Holcomb to serve on the Indiana Real Estate Commission, serves on the executive committee of the Indiana Association of Realtors, and has earned multiple real estate designations and community service awards.

Donna volunteers her services in teaching anatomy, biomechanics and exercise science, specializing in golf fitness and injury prevention. She served as the national chair of the IU Alumni Association in 2010, the IUAA Board of Managers, is a founding member of the Women’s Philanthropy Leadership Council, co-chaired The Colloquium for the Women of IU in 2017, and chaired the event in 2019. She served on the IUE Advisory Board, IUAA Executive Council, Society of the Friends of Music Board, Hoosiers for Higher Education, and the Woodburn Guild. In recognition of her exemplary service to IU, Spears received the IUE Chancellor’s Medallion in 2016, and the IUAA Gertrude Rich Award in 2006.

Angela Yau (Hong Kong)

As one of the first local generation of harpists in Hong Kong, Angela has gone on to a successful multi- faceted career in IT, finance, and has served as a CEO or Head for a variety of organizations. She also established the Hong Kong Harp Chamber and was Co-Chair of the 2017 World Harp Congress, one of the most robust events in that organization's history.

Angela is a board member of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, and recent board member of the World Harp Congress, and brings her experience and commitment to non profit organizations, as well as finance and technology expertise and awareness.

Angela is currently the Managing Director of Anue Securities in Hong Kong. Prior to this, she held CEO position at several HK financial institutions with business coverage on brokerage, wealth management, corporate finance and asset management in Greater China and ASEAN. She has also served as Head of IT and Management Consultant for other regional and multinational firms. She is a Director of the Hong Kong Association of Online Brokers Limited, which promotes efficient and quality online securities and futures trading environment in Hong Kong, and has also served as Director of the Youth Arch Foundation (2011-2016, 2018-2019).

Angela has an MBA from INSEAD, an LLB from the University of London, M.Sc. (Eng.) from the University of Hong Kong and B.A.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo, Canada. Angela is an accomplished musician and dedicated to developing harp music in Hong Kong and Asia.