Alfredo Ortiz

South American harpist visits Vancouver

The famed South American-style harpist Alfredo Ortiz was in Vancouver in September where he gave a workshop for some 20 harpists. This was Ortiz’s first visit to Vancouver -- and we were thrilled to have him. Ortiz plays the Paraguayan harp and specializes in performing the lively music of South America. He has numerous CDs, DVDs and music books about how to play this music with its intricate and fascinating rhythms.

After the workshop, Ortiz gave some special one-on-one coaching to Winter Harp harpists Lori Pappajohn and Janelle Nadeau.

Ortiz is one of the top-performing South American harpists in the world. Besides having a medical degree, Dr. Ortiz’s background includes studies and work in the fields of music therapy and sensory motor learning in South America and at California State University-Long Beach and UCLA (University of California-Los Angeles).

His workshops have been presented internationally at universities as well as harp events including the World Harp Congress, the National Conference of the American Harp Society and the International Folk Harp Conference.

If you have not heard Paraguayan or South American harp you may be
surprised at the difference from classical and Celtic harp. It is lively music you'll want to dance to.

For more information visit http://www.alfredo-rolando-ortiz.com/