Monika Stadler


Monika Stadler is an Austrian harpist and composer. She resides in Vienna.

Education

At the age of 12, Monika Stadler began to learn the Austrian folk harp, but very soon changed to the concert harp
at the Bruckner-Conservatory, Linz. Since 1982, she studied concert harp at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, under Prof. Adelheid Blovsky-Miller. During the time of her studies, she played with Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the orchestra of Vienna State Opera, and was also a member of the Carinthian Summer Music Festival Ensemble.
In 1990, she graduated with the highest honours. In 1991/92, she won a scholarship which allowed her to continue her studies as a post-graduate in the USA. Her teachers were Deborah Henson-Conant, jazz harp, David Clark from the Boston Berklee College of Music, and cellist David Darling, free improvisation.

Career

Performance

Since 1993 Stadler has toured mainly with her own projects in Europe, North America, North Africa and the Far East.
She was invited to perform at leading harp festivals:
Apart from solo concerts, Monika loves to perform in duo or trio format. Some of her collaborations have been with:
Wayne Darling / acoustic bass, Franz Schmuck / percussion, Richard Oesterreicher / harmonica, Jon Sass / tuba, Sandor Rigo / saxophone, Heinrich von Kalnein / saxophone, Reinhard Ziegerhofer / acoustic bass, Diana Grubsic / harp, and Veronica Hvalic / piano.
Appearances with artists from different disciplines:
Erika Pluhar, Elisabeth Orth, Dagmar Schwarz.
Stadler has made various appearances with Fritz Novotny's Reform Art Unit.
RadioKulturhaus wrote, 'Internationally recognized harpist Monika Stadler brings a breath of fresh air and new dimensions to the world of harp music with her compositions, in which she combines elements of jazz, classical, world, folk and improvisational music to form her very own personal musical signature.
It is her constant goal to expand the techniques of harp playing as well as to plumb the depths of the soul. In her own ingenious way, Monika Stadler combines the highest musical aspirations with technical brilliance."

Workshops

Apart from Stadler's intensive schedule as a performer, she also teaches many jazz & improvisation workshops for harpists worldwide. Since 2010, she is a guest professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, UK.