Bio

BIO

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Trista is a professional harpist and recording artist who performs for private and corporate events including weddings, anniversaries, holiday celebrations, and more. She teaches private harp and piano lessons out of her home just north of Columbus, Ohio, and is also a fine artist.

Her repertoire includes classical, Brazilian, jazz, popular selections, and her own compositions. In addition to performing solo, she is a member of two regularly-performing groups; Nova Madrugada -- a 5-piece group with an extended national network of musicians creating world jazz improvisations, and Luceys Maze -- a 6-piece or 3-piece acoustic alternative / folk rock band with atmospheric and jazz tendencies performing original material.

Trista and her younger sister were born in the luscious beauty of Philomath, Oregon, a great contrast to the arid Franktown, Colorado environment where she found herself six years later with a new baby brother. Eventually her family made its way across the United States to settle amidst the great sprawl that is now central Ohio.

Trista graduated as the 1990 Valedictorian of Olentangy High School (Lewis Center, Ohio) -- the mural she completed during her senior year still hangs in the high school's main lobby. She studied both music and art at Capital University (Bexley, Ohio) and graduated in 1992 with a Bachelor of Art degree; she then transferred to Ohio University (Athens, Ohio) and graduated in 1994 with a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Therapy. Trista completed her six-month music therapy internship at St. Luke's Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio in 1995 and is a Board-Certified Music Therapist.

While attending an almost-mandatory art gallery opening at Capital, Trista encountered a harpist; in that moment she felt she must play this instrument. After convincing the university to extract it's only harp from a professor's office where it was being used as a coat rack, Trista began harp lessons in addition to her formal piano studies. Trista records and plays on a Lyon & Healy 85E. Visit the "Oh, Harpist...?" page for a peek into earning a living as a harpist.

Learn more about Trista by visiting her Blog and MySpace pages; leave comments, listen to music samples, and connect with other musicians and artists.