Hartt School of Music Community Division, 1967-1974; studies with Aristid von Wurtziler and Barbara Pniewska, New York Harp Ensemble
Hartt School of Music Community Division, 1974-1976; studies with Phyllis Wright, Principal, Hartford Symphony
Ethel Walker School, 1976-1980; continued studies with Phyllis Wright
Eastman School of Music, Rochester New York; studies with Eileen Malone, Principal, Rochester Philharmonic, 1980-1984
Lyon and Healy Harp Teacher’s Conference, Chicago Illinois, 2000, 2001
FACULTY APPOINTMENTS:
Private Teaching; 1978-present
The Choate-Rosemary Hall School, 1987-1994
The Ethel Walker School, 1991-1993
Miss Porter’s School, 1991-1998
Hartford Conservatory, 1992-2004 MusicMakers Academy, 2004- present
TEACHING APPOINTMENTS (continued)
The Taft School, 1997-Present
Central Connecticut State University, 1998-Present
STUDENT ACCOLADES
• Ms. Thomas has coached two students at the Taft School through two Independent Study Programs each, culminating in a full length recital at the end of the semester; one student received a Taft School award for excellence in musical studies.
• Four of Ms. Thomas’ harp students have received the Hartford Conservatory Honors Competition Scholarship Award multiple times.
• Two of Ms. Thomas’ harp students won 1st and 2nd prize in the beginner category of the Connecticut Harp Society Competition in 2002.
• One of Ms. Thomas’ students has recently been recognized by the Wethersfield Board of Education for excellence in musical studies, and was selected to perform in the Allstate Regional Festival Orchestra for 2003. Four of Ms. Thomas' harp students won 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes in the Connecticut Harp Society Competition in 2004, in the Beginner and Intermediate II categories.
Susan Knapp Thomas keeps an active studio of students, encouraging regular performances, competitions and ensemble work. Her students appear in public performances in and around Hartford, and at public recitals annually. Students are also highly encouraged to perform in both a holiday and an end-of-year recital and awards ceremony annually. Ms. Thomas accepts primarily students between the ages of 5 and 20 years of age. A trial lesson of approximately 45 minutes is recommended for those interested in studying harp with Ms. Thomas.
Susan maintains an active seasonal schedule with The Hartford Symphony, the U.S. Coast Guard Band, Waterbury Symphony, and plays touring shows for the Bushnell and the Shubert Theaters. In June of '97 she appeared in Carnegie Hall, and in September of '95 on WPLR's "Morning Show" with morning deejays Smith and Barber. She has done backup work with Judy Collins, and has recorded on the Opus label. Ms. Thomas has played for Governer John Rowland, Senator Joseph Lieberman, and Representative Barbara Kennely.
Ms. Thomas is on the faculty at the Hartford Conservatory, the Taft School and Central Connecticut State University. Several of her students have won the Hartford Conservatory Honors Competition numerous times, and perform solo, chamber and orchestral harp functions all over Connecticut. She has coached student ensembles at the Conservatory, and prepared Taft students for the Independent Study Program, which features a full-length student recital at the end of the year. Her students were first and second prize winners in the Connecticut Harp Society State Competition in the spring of 2002.
