Born in Detroit, Michigan, I began my harp studies at Cass Technical High School at the age of 13. After studying for three years under Velma Froude, I moved on to study at Wayne State University (WSU) with Elyze Ilku, where my relationship to the harp and musical career began to take form.

A scholarship recipient at the Meadowbrook School of Music and at the Academia Musicale Chigiana (Siena, Italy), I participated in orchestral studies under the direction of the North Carolina School of the Arts.

After graduating from WSU with honors, I moved west to be a graduate fellow at Stanford University, where I received a Master of Arts degree in Music. I also have Ph.D. in Human and Organizational Development from Fielding Graduate University.

As a classical harpist, I’ve performed with the Detroit Symphony, the English Royal Ballet, and under the batons of Sexton Ehling, Paul Paray, Robert Shaw, and other great conductors.

It was a major leap for me to move across the musical divide to jazz and popular music – especially at a time when the harp was not easily accepted as a legitimate instrument for any music other than symphonic.

While in San Francisco, I became well known in the Bay area as a top jazz harpist. I played there for 12 years until I began performing at Harrah’s in Lake Tahoe. During my long tenure there, I performed as a soloist with such noted artists as Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Julio Iglesias, Loretta Lynn, John Denver, and others.

In an effort to set a new standard for excellence and artistry as a harpist in the contemporary instrumental jazz and pop music genres, I ventured into technological realm of amplification.

Today, I’m an acknowledged pioneer of the electro acoustic harp, enhancing the stunning sensitivity of the harp with a new depth, clarity, and technical virtuosity. I authored the first technical manual for the instrument, which serves as a guide in both using the instrument and adapting classical technique to this new world of sound and performance.

I’ve been on the faculty of Harpfest, international pop and jazz harp festival, for many years and am equally known for my stylistic expansion of the harp into jazz improvisation and composition. I’m the only jazz harpist to ever perform at the famous Village Vanguard in New York City, where I played with jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal.

Bringing both classical virtuosity and jazz fluidity to my music, I’ve been described by guitarist and vocalist George Benson as the “Charlie Parker of the harp.”

Susan Mazer

Susan Mazer

MAZER and SMITH