Jennifer Betzer ('20 D.M.A.) was 5 years old when she first saw a harp performance.

She begged her parents to let her learn how to play the instrument.

Since then, the harp has taken her from her hometown of Grapevine to Sydney, Australia, for graduate work; to UNT, where she earned her D.M.A.; to Atlanta, where she works with the Urban Youth Harp Ensemble; and to New York City, where she appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show to talk about the  program.

"People would say, 'I've never even seen this instrument before,' and I think that really solidified how special that opportunity was for me," she says. "So, it's brought me to a lot of places, and my love for the instrument has never changed." 

Harping Away

Her parents were reluctant to give their child such a big instrument. But her grandmother and step-grandfather bought her a small Celtic harp while driving their route for the Mayflower trucking company, and Betzer played that for a long time.

At 14, she upgraded to a pedal harp -- but only after signing a contract with her parents to practice three hours a day. She usually exceeded that with five hours of daily practice.

"I think it has a really unique sound," Betzer says in describing her fascination with the instrument. "But it's also the fact you can play melody and accompaniment at the same time. I love playing in ensembles as well, but being able to go out and perform on your own a lot really built confidence."

Betzer took private lessons and played with her school bands and the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra.

She earned her bachelor's degree at Vanderbilt University, where she did a study abroad program in Vienna, Austria, and then earned her master's degree at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in Australia.

While volunteering for the American Harp Society conference in Denton in 2011, Betzer met Jaymee Haefner, professor of harp, who persuaded her to pursue her D.M.A. at the UNT College of Music. The school's reputation and close location to home convinced her to enroll.

While at UNT, Betzer had the opportunity to arrange and write music, as well as teach. After graduating, she taught harp at Frisco ISD for six years.

Then came an opportunity that was a perfect fit for her.

'The Coolest Job in the World'

Betzer learned about the Urban Youth Harp Ensemble in Atlanta, a nonprofit organization. The harp program runs through the Drew Charter School from sixth to 12th grades and offers an afterschool outreach program for students who are not enrolled in the school.

"I had just finished my dissertation on Dorothy Ashby, and had talked a lot about how she faced a lot of challenges. She was truly one of the first to write jazz harp music, and she met a lot of challenges as a Black woman doing this in the 1940s, and it really struck a chord with me to really help give people opportunities that wouldn't have otherwise had them."

Betzer teaches just under 100 students, alongside another teacher. The school provides the instruments and has a free rental program for students to practice at home. Most of the students begin with no musical background -- and often go on to perform professionally.

Several students she has worked with got into a highly competitive program, which offered access to free lessons, masterclasses and workshops and an instrument rental, through the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. One student went back to audition a year later when she did not make it in the first time -- and with much more challenging repertoire.

"Her grit and determination not only won her an easy acceptance into the program, it reinforced my belief that what we do as music teachers matters," Betzer says.

For a recent spring concert, Betzer arranged popular songs -- such as "Defying Gravity" and "How Far I'll Go" -- for the students to perform. The orchestra also performed her own composition, "Surviving Milestones," that she wrote to mark her remission from triple negative breast cancer, which she was diagnosed with in May 2020.

"It motivated me to create something of my own that could be published that could be out there for other people to hear," she says.

In addition to teaching, Betzer plays with orchestras and performs at the well-known Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island in Michigan.

She says she had a great time on The Kelly Clarkson Show. Betzer, the Urban Youth Harp Ensemble 's executive director Roselyn Lewis and a student were whisked to the show for a 24-hour trip.

"I had a wonderful experience," Betzer says. "It also meant more attention for the ensemble."

But the best moments come every day.

"I think it's the coolest job in the world that I get to just come and play with the kids all the time. We're always making music."