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What’s 25,000 years old, comes in different shapes and sizes and sounds like a chorus of angels? The harp, of course! Nella traces its history from an ordinary hunter’s bow to the magnificent modern concert grand harp. She takes students through the mechanics of her instrument, showing how it is constructed and how the sound is produced. Best of all, she entrances audiences with her superb command of this enchanting instrument. Students will be surprised to learn that there are different kinds of harps—even an electronic version—and will get an opportunity to try out some of them in an unusual harp jam session.

Nella Rigell

Nella Rigell has enjoyed an active career as an orchestral harpist, chamber musician, recording artist, and teacher, performing in concert halls from Carnegie Hall to the Grand Ole Opry.  Currently, she is principal harpist with the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra. Her orchestra experience includes eleven years playing second harp with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and principal harp with the Atlanta Opera Orchestra. Winner of the 1979 Atlanta Chamber Orchestra Concerto Competition, Ms. Rigell has performed with such diverse orchestras as the Atlanta Pops Orchestra, Chattanooga and Savannah Symphony Orchestras, the Spoleto Festival, DeKalb Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Lyric Theatre, Gwinnett Philharmonic, and the North Georgia Symphony.