Music speaks

MS. OLGA CHAPKEVICH
Harpist

 

Not long after beginning to play the harp at the age of eight, Olga Chapkevich was recognized as a child prodigy in her native St. Petersburg. As a teenager, she was selected to be a contestant in the prestigious International Harp Competition in the United States, Olga was also accepted into the Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory, one of Russia’s finest music schools, where, after her rigorous course of study, she was awarded a diploma with the designation of expert harpist.

Olga has since played in numerous orchestras throughout Russia, including the renowned Philharmonic Orchestra of St. Petersburg. She has toured internationally as well, performing in Germany, Estonia, Finland, Japan. She also has extensive theater experience, and performed as a soloist at the Samara Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre and played for the historic Mariinsky Theater, the home of arguably the finest opera and ballet companies in Russia. Additionally, Olga spent nearly 15 years at the Orchestra of Radio and Television of the Hermitage Theatre, where she played first harp.

 

In all, Olga has played for close to 1,700 ballets and operas in her career, including such classics as The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and La Traviata. She has performed under such venerated conductors as Ennio Morricone and Fabio Mastrangelo.

 

Aside from her rigorous musical training, Olga has a deep love for high culture, and also earned a degree in philosophy from St. Petersburg University. Thus, her playing is not only informed by her intense studies of her inspirations, Mahler, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Verdi, but also by a profound understanding of the intellectual, historical and cultural milieu which formed these great artists.

 

Despite her immense talents and accomplishments as an artist, Olga remains humble and affable, with a disarming sense of humor. She regularly donates her time to charitable events throughout her native country, and performs in local venues such as churches and libraries, as well as in great concert halls. Nurturing her love of the harp and transmitting that to others remains her prime motivation for always perfecting her craft.

“For me, it is important that I am always challenged and engaged in my music,” Olga says. “If I am passionate about what I do, then I believe my fellow orchestra members and the audience will feel and share this passion with me, too.”