Cynthia Shelhart
Cynthia Shelhart, an American harper from northwest Indiana, performs, teaches and publishes traditional and contemporary music for double-strung harp. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in music and German from Ball State University in 1985, Cindy studied pedal and historical harp with Nan Gullo Richmond and lever harp with Elizabeth Cifani. In 2005, Cynthia released her solo double-strung harp CD Limberlost Angel, and later that year won the US National Scottish Harp Championship and Travel Scholarship.
In addition to solo concerts, Cindy performs and judges SHSA competitions at Highland Games and Scottish festivals throughout the United States, including Stone Mountain (GA), Glasgow (KY), the Texas Scottish Festival, and the Ohio Scottish Games. Highlights of her freelance performances include receptions for Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel and Irish author Morgan Llewellyn, and an impromptu wedding duet with Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan.
She teaches privately in Chesterton, Indiana, and is in national demand as a festival clinician. A leading authority in double-strung harp performance and pedagogy, Cindy is author of the first method book for double-strung harp, Make Mine a Double (book/CD), which is scheduled for publication in summer 2008. Her repertoire collection, Tunes to Go: 400 Tunes in Lead Sheet Format for the Harp (2003), has become a standard among harpers and harp ensembles of all levels.