Rebekah Hou, harpist

REBEKAH HOU is a classical harpist based in the Northeast Ohio area who seeks to give voice to life’s most difficult questions and deepest emotions through music. For Rebekah, music has become an avenue of artful storytelling, proclaiming stories of redemption, faith, healing, and hope to both artist and listener. Rebekah’s fascination with music began as a young child while she was bounced on her father’s knee while he practiced the violin. Soon, she was making music with her family on various instruments before becoming enamored with the harp after attending a recital at her home church. Her musical studies lead her to attend the Interlochen Arts Academy as a student of Joan Raeburn Holland, receiving both the Orchestral Fellowship and the Fine Arts Award for Harp. Rebekah then completed both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in harp performance at the Cleveland Institute of Music as a student of Yolanda Kondonassis, graduating with honors, receiving the Alice Chalifoux Prize in Harp, and winning the school’s concerto competition during her fourth year at the institution. She has since acquired other notable awards including first prize at the Mid-Atlantic Symphony’s Elizabeth Loker Concerto Competition and was the winner of the 2022 Anne Adams Awards from the American Harp Society’s National Foundation. As a featured soloist, Rebekah has performed with the Asheville Symphony Orchestra, the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, the CIM Orchestra, and the National Repertory Orchestra. As an orchestral musician, she has appeared as guest principal harpist of several orchestras in the United States including the Baltimore Symphony, New World Symphony, Akron Symphony, the Erie Philharmonic, and has also held positions as principal harpist of several festival orchestras including the National Repertory Orchestra, Round Top Orchestral Institute, Chautauqua Festival, Interlochen Arts Camp’s World Youth Symphony Orchestra, and Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra of the United States (NYO-USA). Her performances have included collaborations with acclaimed conductors including Leonard Slatkin, Michael Stern, Matthias Pintscher, Jason Seber, Darko Butorac, Kazem Abdullah, Michael Repper, Robert Moody, Larry Rachleff, Karina Canellakis, JoAnn Falletta, and Brett Mitchell. Although performing is enjoyable, Rebekah ultimately loves interacting with and caring for her audience in various settings by sharing the reasons for hope through music that has found significant meaning in her own journey. Since 2024, Rebekah has become a regular member of Harvest Arts, a chamber ensemble that performs arrangements of beloved hymns with classical music. It has since become one of her favorite musical projects as it is an honor to uniquely proclaim the story of hope that will never let go. Outside of music she loves baking, knitting, reading, hiking and long walks in nature, and hosting her friends and church family for food, music making, and long conversations.