Deborah “DHC” Henson-Conant performs internationally in concert halls, theaters, opera houses, and private salons. Striding onto stage, wearing her electric harp as if it were one with her body, a blend of human and instrument, she pulls sounds from the strings that you’d never imagine were in the instrument handed out at the Pearly Gates: from intimate ballads to Blues, Flamenco and Latin-inspired originals. All with a powerful singing voice, humor and stories.

She fluidly shifts between solo shows and collaborative formats, original shows as soloist with symphonies or chamber ensembles, and collaborator with dance companies,  theatrical productions and in duo and trio formats. Henson-Conant’s work is characterized by its transformational, intimate, and virtuosic qualities that can be both funny and heart-stoppingly beautiful.

Using a looper pedal, Henson-Conant weaves sound and rhythm-scapes spontaneously as she plays, layering her harp,  to create rich, multi-dimensional, almost symphonic solo performances, building complex musical textures in real-time, creating depth from percussive harp techniques to vocal harmonies – she can create the effect of a full ensemble while maintaining the intimacy and spontaneity of a solo artist

Deborah Henson-Conant Tells Stories with Music

Electric Harp & Voice – in shows that fuse music, theater, humor, virtuosity and entertainment.

SOLO CONCERTS & SHOWS

“A one-woman dynamo, a visionary harp virtuoso with a sense of humor, a flair for showmanship, a gorgeous voice, and a jazz artist’s love of adventure.” The Toledo Blade

Concerts – One-Woman Shows – Keynotes – Private Performances & Events – With harp, voice and looper pedal, Deborah Henson-Conant – solo – spins an entire world, pulling sounds out of the harp you never thought you’d hear.

Her solo shows range from concerts to theatrical one-woman concept-musicals like “Electra’s Lyre” a retelling of the story of Electra – to keynote presentations like “Strings of Passion” – the seven principles of creative expression – presented ‘from the harp.’  All her work combines original music, story and the innovative exploration of music through the electric harp.

SALON CONCERTS

An intimate evening of music, philosophy and humor in concert. Whether it’s a live version of her TEDx talk, a “Strings of Passion” keynote ‘from the harp’, a composer’s presentation of her musical “The Golden Cage” with audience talk-back, or a salon performance where guests get a chance to play the harp and take photos to prove they did it – these aren’t concerts experiences you can find in a theater. They’re designed for living rooms, private gatherings, and intimate spaces where the audience and artist connect in ways that transform how people think about music and creativity itself. 

SOLOIST with SYMPHONY
& CHAMBER ENSEMBLE

“Expect fire, folks; this will not be your average evening at the orchestra where audience members politely applaud and feign interest. Henson-Conant will have the audience and the orchestra members on the edge of their seats” Buffalo Beat

Original Grammy-Nominated symphonic compositions and custom-designed performances.  She enters the stage like a rock star, lets loose with harp and voice, and ignites the Symphony in a way you’ve never heard before. This is Deborah Henson-Conant’s standard solo or orchestral show – authentic, electric and electrifying – with her iconic signature-model electric harp, and her distinctive style of musical storytelling.

Symphony Packages also available, including “Orchestrating Community” events: “Strings of Passion” Keynote or Salon Concerts and “Harp-Breakers” program with local harpists.

ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE

Performance ~ Composing ~ Collaboration ~ Teaching. Rarely can a visiting artist bring dance, theater, music, history, technology, women’s studies — and creative entrepreneurship together to give students in the arts a full spectrum of what it takes to develop a life as an artist today. When both students and faculty can also collaborate with that artist on a live performance that brings all those values alive, the experience is not just learning and watching, but creating art with the artist.  Learn More about DHC Residencies

AUDIO PLAYLIST

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BIO

Deborah Henson-Conant (“DHC”) is an ambassador to the world of music and imagination — a Grammy-nominated electric harp virtuoso with a wicked sense of humor, a gutsy set of vocal chords and a theatrical flair.

She’s intimate, inventive, spontaneous and bigger-than-life – and she pulls sounds from the 32 strings of her custom-built electric harp that you’d never expect to hear from the instrument Saint Peter hands out at the Pearly Gates: Blues. Jazz. Latin. Flamenco.

She uses a looper-pedal to capture musical phrases on the fly and layer them, building a pulse of sound an rhythms she improvises over, and tells stories of her own improbable life as she strides the stage strapped onto her harp like a musical centaur.

Poetic dissonance, movement, story and song – she pulls it all from the world’s most cutting edge harp, built for her by the CAMAC company and named after her, the “DHC.”

She’s opened for Ray Charles at Tanglewood, toured with the Boston Pops as a featured soloist and with guitar legend Steve Vai as a rock harpist. Her music special “Invention & Alchemy” appeared on PBS Stations throughout the US and she performs her own solo shows in theaters and concert halls around the world.

REPERTOIRE

Original award-winning music for solo harp and voice — solo on stage or with original orchestra or chamber ensemble. Her style combines Latin Jazz, Blues, Flamenco and Musical Theater – combined with the kinds of stories that landed her on the TEDx stage.

A pioneer on the electric harp, Deborah’s music is now played by thousands of artists on stage and in YouTube covers, even as she continues to add to the concert repertoire for harpists, chamber ensembles, orchestras and musical theater worldwide.

Her “Composer’s Spotlight Series” features the performance of her work by other artists — but in her shows, you hear the music from the hands of the creator. Authentic, exciting, and different every concert.