Anna Maria Mendieta is a professional harpist from the United States. She is best known for pioneering the harp as a contemporary tango instrument. She is the founder, artistic director, and harpist for Tango del Cielo, an award-winning album and international touring show.
Anna Maria Mendieta is a distinguished harpist currently serving as the principal harpist for the Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera. She previously held the position of principal harpist at the Women's Philharmonic for nearly two decades. Her versatility and talent have also seen her featured as an instrumentalist for several seasons with Theater Flamenco of San Francisco.
Performance Highlights Mendieta has performed with a wide array of symphony orchestras both in the United States and internationally. Some of the ensembles she has worked with include:
Recognition and Achievements In 2007, Anna Maria Mendieta gained international recognition as a pioneer in her field. She was celebrated by the League of American Orchestras as an "exceptional soloist" for being the first harpist to perform the first Argentine tango concerto ever written. This accolade underscores her innovative contributions to the world of harp music and her ability to bridge classical and contemporary genres.
Influence and Legacy Mendieta's career is marked by her highly regarded skill and versatility, making significant contributions to both classical and modern music. Her pioneering work with the Argentine tango concerto has opened new avenues for the harp, expanding its repertoire and influence in contemporary music.
Mendieta has been recognized internationally as an innovator in the world of harp and has helped create a new genre for the instrument. Mendieta considered the harp a perfect vehicle for tango, and has since spent years advocating for the form. In the 1990s, Mendieta became fascinated with Argentine tango but quickly discovered that there was no music for the harp. Argentine tradition set apart "classical" instruments like the harp from the genre (the harp was used only for glissando effects in the 1930s). After many years of collecting tango music written for other instruments, she created her own arrangements and invented a new technique, one that allowed the harp to execute the difficult chromatic passages and percussive effects that characterize tango music. She was introduced to close friends and colleagues of the late tango composer Astor Piazzolla. Piazzolla had created Nuevo Tango (a sub-genre that combined tango and jazz with modern classical), so by working with Piazzolla's closest colleagues and artistic collaborators, Mendieta has created a new vision for tango and harp.
Mendieta studied tango (the dance) and quickly realized her passion for both art forms. Mendieta's "Harp-Tango" project has developed into a multimedia touring concert-show called "Tango Del Cielo." The show presents a fusion of tango and flamenco with a tribute to the silent films. Mendieta's Tango Del Cielo show was the featured show at the 2019 World Tango Festival in Victoria, Canada.
The Tango Del Cielo for Harp & Orchestra has won 9 international awards, including 4 Global Music Awards, and reached #2 on Billboard's Classical Crossover Charts.
Mendieta was born and raised in San Francisco, California to a Spanish and Latin American family. Her parents played a number of musical instruments and encouraged their seven children to learn an instrument at a young age and to study music, art, and dance. She first played the harp at the age of seven, when she began studying the Salzedo method at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of the Israeli harpist Efrat Zaklad.
She continued her studies at San Francisco State University and at Stanford University with Marjorie Chauvel and graduated with honors from Notre Dame de Namur University with a bachelor's degree in music. She has also studied privately with the San Francisco Symphony’s principal harpist Doug Rioth and with widely regarded harpist Alice Chalifoux at the Salzedo Harp Colony in Camden, Maine.[1] [2] [3] [4]
Global Music Awards - Anna Maria Mendieta - Tango Del Cielo Album2022 Bronze Medal for Best Music Video "Oblivion" (with filmmaker Cristian Pablo Ardito, Libres Del Mundo Productions) 2021 Silver Medalist for Best Album "Tango Del Cielo"2021 Silver Medal - Best Instrumentalist2021 Silver Medal - Editing & Mixing "Tango Del Cielo" Album
Clouzine International Music Awards2022 - Best Music Video "Oblivion" (with filmmaker Cristian Pablo Ardito, Libres Del Mundo Productions)2020 Best Classical Crossover Album - "Tango Del Cielo" Album2020 Best Music Video "Libertango" (Libres Del Mundo Productions)
LIT International Talent Awards2021 Most Artistic Music Video "Oblivion"2021 Best Show "Tango Del Cielo"
2013 American Harp Society Grant Commission recipient for a concerto to be composed for her.
Mendieta is the only harpist to have twice received the "Matz Memorial Award" from Lyon & Healy Harp Company for "Outstanding Achievement".
Played for:
Celebrity Concert Performances:
| Release date | Album | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 27, 1993 | Enchanted Christmas – Harp & New Chamber Ensemble | Sugo Records | |
| Broadway Center Stage | Sugo Records | ||
| October 10, 1998 | An Acoustic Christmas | Sugo Records | |
| November 9, 1999 | Christmas Angels: A Sugo Holiday Collection (by various artists) | Sugo Records | |
| August 21, 2020 | Tango Del Cielo | Anna Maria Mendieta (self-published) |
Also featured on:"Around the World" National Geographic Music Series – "Serenity, Songs of Peace and Enlightenment" (National Geographic & Sugo Music Label)Musae - Women's Ensemble "Songs of the Southwest" Pacific Boy Choir - "O Holy Night" (2012)Rejoice! - The Young Women's Chorus of San Francisco (2016)Titanes Del Trombones - Doug Beavers, Trombone (2018 Grammy Winner)