Immediately following her summer with the NRO in Keystone during the 1992 season, Elizabeth Hainen won her first position at the Kennedy Center Opera House as Principal Harp. “I know that my summer with Carl Topilow and the outstanding musicians I played with in NRO gave me the insight and fortitude to win this job. My new position gave me a wealth of experience and knowledge that propelled me to win the next three auditions I took including Principal Harp with the Atlanta Symphony and my present position, Principal Harp with The Philadelphia Orchestra,” states Ms. Hainen.
Elizabeth performs as an orchestral musician and soloist around the world, and is on the faculties of the Curtis Institute of Music and Temple University. Perhaps the most important work she does as a musician is to give back to the community through a nonprofit she founded in Philadelphia, The Lyra Society. Founding The Lyra Society, “has rewarded me with great riches by seeing young people get to play a rare instrument, one that they would normally not have the chance to play,” she says.
She and her husband, David DePeters (regular percussionist with the New York Philharmonic and Executive Director for the IRIS Orchestra), recently purchased their dream home in Breckenridge, Colorado. They are avid skiers, love the summers and hope to make Breckenridge their future home. Elizabeth shares, “We look forward to supporting the NRO not only as musicians but residents!”