ECISD is
fortunate to be one of the few school districts in Texas to offer formal harp
instruction. The harp program in ECISD has grown from a studio offering lessons
only at a single elementary to now include more than 40 students at all levels.
The permanent "home" of the Harp Studio is at Ector Junior High.
Classes are also offered at Reagan, and Miliam Magnet Elementary schools, and
Odessa High School.
The harp ensembles have
presented holiday concerts on local public television programs and
have traveled to several cities in the state to present concerts to civic groups
and other audiences.
In 2002, the OHS Harp
Ensemble was invited to perform at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
and at the White House in Washington, DC.
In the fall of 2004, a
collaboration was formed between the fine arts departments of ECISD and Odessa
College to provide harp instruction at the college level. As of January 2006,
junior and senior level students can transfer harp credits and continue lessons
at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin.
Nelson Allison proposed
the idea of a harp program in the public schools in the early 1980s while
serving as principal of Gonzales Elementary and arranged for 18 students to be
taught privately by the symphony harpist. Reba McHaney became involved in the
harp program while serving as music teacher at Gonzales from 1986 to 1989.
The harp program
officially became part of the fine arts curriculum of ECISD in 1998 when the
Academy for Fine Arts and Sciences opened at Ector Junior High School.
ECISD Personnel:
Reba McHaney--Director
Randy Talley-Exec. Director of Fine Arts
Staci Ashley--Principal, Milam Elementary School
Andrea Martin--Principal, Reagan Elementary School
Roy Garcia-Principal, Ector Junior High School
Ron Leach-Principal, Odessa High School
