The Team
Who We Are
Karina Kusz
President
Karina was formally trained and educated at the Arthur Rubinstein School of Music in Bydgoszcz, Poland. She started playing the harp at age 14 and has performed with the orchestra at the Bydgoszcz Opera House. She has also performed in Torun's City Hall and the Amphitheater in Gdansk and had a solo performance at the Pomeranian Philharmonic in Bydgoszcz.​
Karina has a Master's Degree in Psychology and is a Yoga Alliance certified Yoga Instructor.
Karina moved to the United States in 2013 and lives in Lighthouse Point, Florida with her husband, two cats and a puppy.
Follow Karina on Instagram: @harpist_karina
253-304-0013
Melody Stein
Vice President
Melody Stein is recent Doctoral graduate from the University of Miami, Frost School of Music studying Instrumental Performance in Harp with Maestro Schwarz and Professor Johnson. While Melody regularly performs with all of the main orchestral and band ensembles as well as the Henry Mancini Institute, she particularly enjoys working with opera productions and is basing her doctoral studies on operatic excerpts in professional harp auditions. Before arriving at Frost, Melody graduated from San Francisco Conservatory of Music studying with Dr. Jennifer Ellis. She also received her Bachelor’s of Music in Harp with a minor in Performing Arts Management under the tutelage of Joan Raeburn Holland at the University of Michigan, School of Music, Theatre, and Dance.
She has performed in national performance venues that include Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, the White House and the State Department. Internationally, she has toured in Austria and performed at the 2014 World Harp Congress in Sydney, Australia. In her free time, she enjoys being a cat mom, cheering on her alma mater’s sports teams, cooking, and listening to an assortment of podcasts. Follow her harp adventures on instagram! @melodysteinharpist
757-759-1883
Nancy Donohue
Treasurer
In Nancy Donohue’s early teens, neighbors moved in next door; she saw a harp in her new friend’s living room and it was love at first sight. In subsequent years, her relationship with the harp was on-again off-again. After her move to California, she was able to study with the harp professor at UCLA. Although her bachelor’s and master’s degrees were in East Asian Studies (Japanese), she continued to play the harp, sometimes in atypical circumstances, including a stint as a band member in a Christian folk-rock band. After one such performance, she received a marriage proposal from an audience member, which she respectfully declined.
Ever the non-professional harpist, Nancy chose to focus more of her efforts in supporting the harp in other ways, especially as an active member of the American Harp Society for over 40 years.
Nancy spent her formative years in and out of hospitals because of repeated life-threatening asthma attacks; it was during a time when there were fewer medical options to manage the illness. In time, she came to realize the power of the mind-body connection. Such a connection is what made it possible for the music of the harp to play a key role in her regeneration and recovery. These days, Nancy enjoys the activities and camaraderie of the members of the South Florida Chapter of the American Harp Society.
Hannah Blaylock
Secretary
Hannah Blaylock has enjoyed playing the harp and piano for many years. She has an extensive classically trained background studying in Arizona with Alla Yashneva ending with a Minor in Music from Brigham Young University.
As a competitive soloist, she has competed in various state, national, and international competitions including placing first in the International Great Composer Series.
As a member of the American Harp Society, she has completed ABRSM Grades 1-7. In 2017, she was selected to perform as a soloist in Los Angeles as a Classics Alive Artist Winner.
Her most recent solo stage performance was in Hong Kong as the 5th place winner of the Hong Kong International Harp Competition.
Follow Hannah on Instagram! @hanahtheharpist@studio
602-576-4558
