Sylvia Meyer Donation
Sylvia Meyer was a harpist with the National Symphony Orchestra for 35 years. Before Sylvia Meyer was born, her mother, an antique collector, bought an old harp at an estate sale. When Sylvia was older and deciding on what instrument to learn, her family showed her the old harp and she decided to give it a try. Sylvia continued to study the harp, and she graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Wisconsin where she majored in geology. Afterwards, she earned a teacher’s certificate and an artist’s diploma in harp from the Peabody Conservatory of Music. During the summers, she would study with Carlos Salzedo in Camden. She joined the National Symphony in 1933 on Salzedo’s recommendation to conductor Hans Kindler. Sylvia Meyer retired at sixty-one years old, and died in March of 2005. Sylvia Meyer’s papers may be found in the AHS archive at Brigham Young University.
Adapted from: Elizabeth Huntley. “In Memoriam: Sylvia Meyer” American Harp Journal20 (Summer 2005): 51.