Welcome!

 

Artistic Interests:

  • interdisciplinary work with dance, theatre, and visual media

  • harp, voice, and electronics

  • contemporary chamber music

  • connecting the artistic communities of Canada and the United States

  • inspiring students to find their unique pathway in the creative arts

Photo: Agatha Rowland

Photo: Agatha Rowland

 

Praised by the Ottawa Citizen for her “exquisite playing,” Michelle Gott is a versatile harpist and educator developing new pathways for the harp through interdisciplinary work with dance, film, and theatre. Born in Las Vegas, her artistic vision is shaped by the imaginative sound world of Vegas showroom culture, her classical training in New York City, extensive work in contemporary techniques, and transformative collaborations that bring forth new dimensions of her creative self. A dual citizen of the United States and Canada, Michelle embraces the opportunity to connect communities through cross-border artistic dialogue.

Michelle’s passion for interdisciplinary collaborations is at the heart of her current projects. She has created several pieces for harp and dance with Autumn Eckman (dance/choreography), beginning with Drift (for three harps, dance, and film). Presented at the University of Arizona in February 2019, their first project focused on glacial deterioration, set to film by multimedia artist Jonathan Marquis. Further projects included a piece for the University of Arizona Art Museum celebrating the return of a stolen painting by Willem de Kooning. Joining forces with multimedia artist Dorsey Kaufmann and students at the University of Arizona, Michelle and Autumn created Mirage, a large-scale multimedia performance exploring cognitive dissonance within abusive relationships. Designed for six harps, dance, and film, Mirage toured to Iceland in March 2020 where performances were unfortunately cancelled due to the pandemic. Part of the material, however, was transformed into a video collaboration, called Reframe, which premiered virtually in August 2020 for Arizona Friends of Chamber Music.

In the field of contemporary music, Michelle has worked closely with many composers including Andrew Staniland, Pierre Boulez, Roddy Ellias, Virko Baley, Ursula Mamlok, Anthony Cheung, and Nico Muhly. She has given the world premiere of two works by Andrew Staniland: Exit Eden for flute and harp, commissioned by the National Arts Centre for Michelle’s duo with Joanna G’froerer and in between us, a sea for solo harp with electronics, commissioned in 2022 through a grant from the American Harp Society. Other notable performances include Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Freude for two amplified harps and voice, presented in collaboration with Emily Levin; Nico Muhly’s opera, Dark Sisters (2011); and the North American premiere and recording of Anthony Cheung’s Centripedalocity with the Talea Ensemble.

As a soloist, Michelle has performed with Symphony Nova Scotia, the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, the Atlantic String Quartet, and the Arizona Symphony Orchestra (University of Arizona.) She has also been featured at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, as a winner of the Juilliard Concerto Competition, and at Carnegie Hall for the New York premiere of Kevin Kaska’s Concerto for Harp and Wind Ensemble. As a recitalist, she has appeared at the National Arts Centre and the National Art Gallery in Ottawa, Canada, and for Ottawa ChamberFest, Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, and Voices of Change (Dallas, TX), among others.

As an orchestral musician, Michelle has subbed extensively with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, including their Canada 150 Tour to the Atlantic Provinces, and with the major orchestras of New York, Boston, St. Louis, Houston, Dallas, Phoenix, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. As guest second harpist, she can be heard on two recordings: Scheherazade.2 (Nonesuch, 2016) with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and The Bounds of Our Dreams (Analekta, 2018) with the National Arts Centre Orchestra. She has additional experience subbing for Broadway productions in New York City, including The Producers and The Fantasticks and for artists such as Diana Krall and Dominique Fils-Aimé.

Michelle has held teaching positions at the University of Arizona (Tucson), the University of Ottawa, and the Ottawa Youth Orchestra Academy. She has also served as guest artist and clinician for several festivals, including the 2023 National Music Festival, 2022 Young Artists Harp Competition and Seminar, 2019 Brevard Music Festival, the Pacific Region International Summer Music Academy (PRISMA) in Powell River, BC, and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestral Institute (VSOI) in Whistler. As a writer, she has contributed articles for The American Harp Journal on the life and music of Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer, who was the subject of her doctoral research.

Michelle holds her B.M., M.M, and D.M.A. degrees in Harp Performance from The Juilliard School where she studied with Nancy Allen. She is a two-time winner of the Anne Adams Awards (AHS Foundation), a recipient of the Peter Mennin Prize for Outstanding Leadership and Achievement in the Arts, and an awardee of the Richard F. French grant for her doctoral research. She is deeply grateful to Ms. Allen and to the many mentors and teachers throughout her life.