Biographies
Joan Sparks, flute
Joan was educated at the University of Delaware and holds a Masters in Music Performance from Temple University, where she was a student of Murray Panitz. She has been a regular substitute in the Philadelphia Orchestra, a member of the Delaware Symphony, the Bethlehem Bach Orchestra, soloist with the Lehigh Valley Chamber Orchestra and the Performing Arts Society. Ms. Sparks and harpist Anne Sullivan make up the flute/harp duo, SPARX. Winners of many national awards, including the prestigious Chamber Music America Ensemble Residency Award, the American Composer Forum’s Performance Incentive Grant, SPARX was twice named winners of the National Flute Association Chamber Music Competition. SPARX has released three CDs, toured nationally, and performed live for web, TV, and radio broadcasts. Currently in residence at the Tatnall School, the duo presents its own concert series in Wilmington, Delaware as well as an annual summer chamber music festival.
Anne Sullivan, harp
Anne began her career as a concert harpist at age 12 when she appeared twice as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, she is in demand as a recitalist, chamber musician and symphonic soloist. Her orchestral appearances have included engagements with the Baltimore Symphony, the Delaware Symphony where she was principal harpist, the Pennsylvania Ballet Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and the Opera Company of Philadelphia. Ms. Sullivan was a member of the music theory faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music from 1982-2002. She is the author and arranger of more than two dozen works for harp and has published a series of ear training books specifically for the harp student. Currently, she is the harp instructor at the University of Delaware and at Swarthmore (PA) College.