Joseph Rebman

  Joseph Rebman is a harpist and composer with a passion for new music. A recipient of the Alice Chalifoux prize for harp, Rebman frequently performs solo and with ensembles around the U.S.  Highlights of his work as a soloist include the Mozart concerto for harp and flute with the Queen City Chamber Orchestra in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the premiere of his concerto “Hyperion” for harp and orchestra at the Mostly Modern Festival in Saratoga Springs, NY. Rebman has also been recognized for his work as a soloist as a semi-finalist for both the Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh competition and the Classics Alive Artists Competition, and a finalist for the National Collegiate Solo Competition hosted by The United States Army Band "Pershing's Own”. He was also a finalist for the Anne Adams Awards competition, and a finalist and honorable mention in the Coeur d’Alene Symphony's Young Artist Competition. As a chamber musician, Rebman is harpist for the American Modern Ensemble at the Mostly Modern Festival and has been a guest harpist with Alarm Will Sound. He is currently principal harpist with the Kentucky Symphony, the Queen City Opera (OH), and acting-principal harpist with the Huntington Symphony (WV). Previously he was acting principal with the Amarillo Symphony (TX). Appearances as guest principal or 2nd harp have included the Louisville Orchestra, the Lexington Philharmonic, and multiple appearances with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

            A strong believer in new music, Rebman is frequently involved in the premieres of new music and the promotion of the harp to composers. Since the summer of 2019 he has been harp faculty at the Mostly Modern Festival, where he gives lectures and seminars to composition students about the harp and performs new works by students and faculty as part of the American Modern Ensemble. Rebman has also given lectures on writing for the harp to students at Atlantic Music Festival, Cleveland Institute of Music Young Composers Program, Rocky Ridge Music Festival, University of Oklahoma, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Based on this experience, Rebman was invited to be a featured presenter at the American Harp Society’s National Conference hosted in Redlands, California, speaking as part of a panel on the topic of commissions and working with composers.

Rebman has commissioned over 30 works for solo harp and nine of these pieces were released on his debut solo harp album, “Éros”. He has also premiered multiple works for harp and trombone as part of the JOLO duo, which were released on their debut album, “The Bounds of Spring”. Rebman has been a featured harpist and composer for the TUTTI New Music Festival at Denison University and the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival – Yale School of Music’s New Music Workshop. He first discovered a love of new music as principal harp for the FiveOne Experimental Orchestra in Cleveland.

As a composer, Rebman has written for a variety of ensembles, while also specializing in modern techniques of harp composition. He premiered his harp concerto Hyperion at the Mostly Modern Festival, Twilight for solo harp at the TUTTI New Music Festival at Denison University, and his song cycle He Would Not Stay: Seven Poems of A.E. Housman for Baritone and piano at a performance by “The Secret Opera” in New York City. Mnemosyne, a suite of character pieces for harp and flute, was selected for performance at the NACUSA convention in Knoxville, Tennessee, and at the TUTTI New Music Festival. Éros for solo harp was featured at the Ball State Festival of New Music and won third prize in the Ohio Federation of Music Clubs’ Collegiate Composers competition. Elegy for solo alto flute was selected by the Greater Cleveland Flute Society for inclusion in their Composers’ Connection concert.

Along with performing and composing, Rebman is an active teacher. He directs the harp program at Cincinnati’s School for the Creative and Performing Arts, a public arts-magnet school where students in grades 4-12 have daily harp ensemble class during the school day. They also prepare solo repertoire and perform in the school orchestra. His unique expertise in harp ensemble education led to being featured as a guest speaker at the American Harp Society’s National Conference held in Orlando, Florida on a panel with multiple national experts. Rebman also instructs college students as professor of harp at Northern Kentucky University and harp faculty at the Mostly Modern Festival.

Rebman is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He has studied harp with Michelle Gwynne, Yolanda Kondonassis, Gaye LeBlanc, and Gillian Benet Sella. Composition studies have been with Jeremy Allen, Robert Paterson, and Marvin Lamb.

     A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Rebman discovered the harp at age ten through Disney’s Fantasia, creating a love for all things harp that was fostered through study with the late Michelle Gwynne and performance in his school’s string orchestra for eight years. Happiness is also found in video games, yoga, dogs, and Italian food.