Samantha Ramirez.

Harp, electric harp.

Samantha Ramirez is a Naarm-based harp soloist, chamber musician and freelance orchestral harpist. Samantha is currently completing her Honours in Harp Performance at The University of Melbourne where she is the recipient of the Corinna D’Hage Mayer String Scholarship, Catherine Grace McWilliam Bequest Scholarship, and the Peg Oldfield Prize.  

Samantha first encountered the harp at the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s Education program at the age of five. Drawn and intrigued by the harp, Samantha was determined to begin harp lessons. In 2010, her dream was realized when she began harp lessons at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School under the tutelage of Jacinta Dennett concurrently studying classical piano with Anne Lewitzka. At VCASS Samantha received the Invergowrie Scholarship, Chamber Music Award, and Premier’s Award for VCE Music Performance.

Since 2012, Samantha has been involved in orchestral and opera productions, performing in Australia and internationally. Recent highlights include performing Alan Menken’s The Little Mermaid film to score concerts with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Barry Conyngham’s opera Fly with the Lyric Opera of Melbourne, Evan Lawson’s chamber opera-ballet Orpheus with Forest Collective (2019), Britten Albert Herring with MCM Opera (2019), and Melbourne Opera Wagner Tristan und Isolde (2017). Solo and chamber music highlights include Kaija Saariaho’s Fall for harp and electronics and Helen Gifford’s Music for the Adonia as part of a curated concert with Naarm guitarist Sophie Marcheff, performed by MCM students and alumni (Abbotsford Convent 2019), Ravel’s Introduction et Allegro with Partridge String Quartet and ANAM students (2018), Murray Schafer’s The Crown of Ariadne for solo harp, percussion and tape (Graduation Recital 2017), Berio Folk Songs with Forest Collective (2015), and Debussy Danses Sacrée et Profane under the baton of Marco van Pagee in the MRC Summersalt Arts Festival (2015). In 2019, Samantha was a concerto finalist in the MCM Concerto Competition and semi-finalist in the MYO Virtuosity performing Carl Reinecke’s Concerto for Harp with Orchestra.

As Principal Harpist of Melbourne Opera, a personal highlight has been the generous gift of the Eagle harp from Lady Primrose Potter AC. This is effectively Samantha’s first instrument.