Diana Rowan (born 26 January 1971 in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

harpist The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orc ...

and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

. 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 , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

. 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 (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

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

Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kno ...

, 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 leading Irish poet. Biography Born in Lancashire, England, of Irish parents, she moved to Ireland at the age of 5 and was brought up in the Dingle Gaeltacht and in Nenagh, County Tipperary. Her uncle, Mo ...

, Greek poet

Odysseas Elytis Odysseas Elytis ( el, Οδυσσέας Ελύτης , pen name of Odysseas Alepoudellis, el, Οδυσσέας Αλεπουδέλλης; 2 November 1911 – 18 March 1996) was a Greek poet, man of letters, essayist and translator, regarded as th ...

, and English/US poet

W.H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry was noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in ...

, 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