About Harp Inside Out
About Jacqueline Pollauf
Harp Inside Out is a website full of resources for the harp. Created by harpist Jacqueline Pollauf for harp students and harpists everywhere, the site is filled with many helpful resources that she has put together, including videos, articles, and music publications.
Based in Baltimore, Jacqueline is known for her sensitive performances, dedication to teaching, and beautifully crafted compositions. She performs both as a soloist and with ensembles. Past venues include a premiere for voice and harp at Carnegie Hall, as well as appearances at the Eleventh World Harp Congress and the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. Among her many recordings, Beau Soir with cellist Dariusz Skoraczewski, was lauded as “utter perfection” (The Harp Column).
As a teacher, Jacqueline is the director of the Baltimore Harp Camp, and is on the faculties of the Baltimore School for the Arts and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Her highly regarded YouTube channel includes performances and instructional videos. Jacqueline holds Master and Bachelor of Music degrees from the Peabody Conservatory.
More information about Jacqueline as a performer and teacher is available at her website: jpharp.com
Contact her at: harpinsideout@gmail.com
The Story of Harp Inside Out
Throughout my career as a harpist, I've always been interested in putting information together and sharing it with others. I began playing the piano at age 5 and the harp at age 10. I really enjoyed playing both instruments, and my desire to share whatever knowledge and skill I had was almost immediate. When I was 8 years old, I had a friend who told me that she wanted to play the piano. After a moment's thought, I offered to teach her what I knew, and lessons commenced. I was a very focused young teacher and thought through what skills to start with and how to make sure she was learning well. (Side note: her parents did find a teacher and sign her up for more conventional lessons, which I both viewed positively for her and with some disappointment for myself, as I was enjoying the lessons.) By the time I was a college student in music school, not only was I teaching many young students, I was also beginning to write individualized pieces for students to work on specific skills.
As a professional harpist, all of these interests have only grown. Over time, I found myself putting together documents and photos about common instrument care questions, publishing harp exercises, and responding to all kinds of questions from aspiring harpists over email. Eventually I started my own YouTube channel, as a way to share beautiful music and information about the harp through video. As with so many projects, there were many new skills involved, including learning to film and edit. (I am sometimes amazed at all of the non-musical skills I've needed to acquire in my work as a musician.)
One ongoing challenge is how best to organize all of the resources I've created and make them accessible to those interested. For quite a few years, I had everything on my primary website (jpharp.com), including information about myself as a performer and teacher, and a section for resources. However, the resources kept growing and growing and it was increasingly difficult to keep everything easy to navigate. Finally, I decided to build this website as a separate place for all of these resources, and where I could more easily organize the many videos, articles, and music publications that I had created.
My hope with this website is that those who are interested in the harp can find answers both to common questions and to questions they hadn’t even thought to ask. I'll continually update the website and add new resources!
Here I am filming, which always takes longer than I think it should.