Anna Maria Mendieta

She first played the harp at the age of seven, when she began studying the Salzedo method at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of the Israeli harpist Efrat Zaklad.

Mendieta created her own arrangements and invented a new technique, one that allowed the harp to execute the difficult chromatic passages and percussive effects characteristic of tango music.

She was influenced by Nuevo Tango— a sub-genre that combined tango, jazz, and modern classical, developed by Astor Piazzolla.

Mendieta is the only harpist to have twice received the "Matz Memorial Award" from Lyon & Healy Harp Company for "Outstanding Achievement".

Played for: Celebrity Concert Performances: Also featured on: "Around the World" National Geographic Music Series – "Serenity, Songs of Peace and Enlightenment" (National Geographic & Sugo Music Label) Musae - Women's Ensemble "Songs of the Southwest" Pacific Boy Choir - "O Holy Night" (2012) Rejoice!