​I love teaching students how to play the harp!

The harp is a beautiful, fascinating, and rewarding instrument to play. Beginning students usually enjoy even the earliest learning stages; after all it is pretty difficult to make a a harp sound bad! Students are welcome to participate in private harp lessons, harp ensemble, and group class. I am accepting new students at my studio in Spartanburg, SC as well as online via video conferencing such as Skype or FaceTime.

COVID-19 Update:

• Effective immediately all lessons will take place via online video conferencing. This is temporary, and in person lessons will resume as soon as it is responsible to do so. Here is an infographic about why and more information about Online lessons.​

Teaching Philosophy

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There is nothing difficult - only new things, unaccustomed things.
- Carlos Salzedo

It is never too soon or too late to learn to play an instrument you love. Though some of my students have won competitions or become professional musicians, my goal in teaching the harp is to help students become noble people, with compassionate hearts and disciplined minds, who love music.

I am a registered Suzuki harp teacher, and I draw from many teaching philosophies to find the best approach for each student. All students study standard harp repertoire, music theory, note reading, and musicianship in their individual lessons.

Experience & Background

Now Accepting New Students!

Kela has been teaching both pedal and lever harp to students of all ages since 1998. In 2014 she began offering harp lessons online via video conference to students who could not travel to her studio in person. Kela's students range in age from the very young, to the young at heart. She understands that everyone learns differently and at their own pace. Before relocating to South Carolina, Kela established the harp program at Buffalo Suzuki Strings in New York, where she taught individual harp lessons as well as group classes for harp, music theory, and Suzuki Early Childhood Education. She previously held positions in Texas as a harp faculty member at Temple College, Round Rock ISD, and the University of Houston Moores School of Music Preparatory and Continuing Studies Program. In the summers she has taught at the UT Longhorn Music Camp in Texas, the BSS Summer Harp Workshop in New York, and Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan.

"In teaching the harp, I pass on the knowledge given to me by many wonderful harpists including: Nancy Hurrell, Gayle Barrington, and Paula Page. I was also honored to briefly study with one of Salzedo's pupils, Alice Chalifoux. My experiences as a very young Suzuki piano student with Joan Gregory, and later my training as an adult with Suzuki harp teacher trainer Delaine Leonard, gave me the experience and skills to nurture the development of very young musicians. All of these amazing women inspired my love of teaching, and I owe my pedagogy knowledge to them."

Studio Graduates & Accolades

Many of Kela's students go on to study at some of the best colleges and universities in the nation. Former students have received or are currently pursing academic degrees at: Dartmouth, Southwestern University, the Catholic University of America, Texas A&M University, and the University of Texas at Austin. A few of her harp studio alumni have gone on to pursue music as a career majoring in: Music Education at Baylor University, Music Therapy at Sam Houston State University, and Harp Performance at the University of North Texas and Indiana University.

​Some students choose to participate in solo competitions at the regional, state, and national level. Kela's students have been finalists in the Houston Symphony League Concerto Competition, prize winners in the Midwest Harp Festival Competition, and have won positions in the Texas Music Educators Association All-State Bands and Orchestras.