Violetta Maria Norrie

Praised for her “powerful command and nuanced facility”, Violetta Maria Norrie is a harpist, performance artist, and improviser of diverse range and ability. She began playing the harp at the age of 6, after falling in love with the instrument at a Renaissance Faire. Since then she has performed orchestral, solo, and chamber music at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Merkin Recital Hall and Symphony Space.

Violetta believes in building a healthy technique from the start, so that her students can play anything they want the way that they want without fear of injury. Her technique comes out of the french style of Isabelle Moretti with an emphasis on body alignment, relaxation, and freedom of the fingers. She tailors each lesson to the individual needs of her students and is comfortable teaching almost any style to all ages. Violetta makes sure to give each of her students the space to improvise and compose as well as teaching them the fundamentals of music theory, ear training, and the repertoire they wish to master.

Violetta earned her Bachelor of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music where she studied with Susan Jolles. She spent her junior year studying abroad at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris with Isabelle Moretti and Sivan Magen and has studied privately with Frances Duffy and Emmanuel Ceysson. She is completing her Master’s degree at the Yale School of Music.