About Alishia
Bellingham harpist, Alishia Joubert, is originally from Des Moines, IA where she began playing the harp at the age of nine. She was introduced to the harp at her church children’s choir when she was five years old and knew at that moment that she wanted to be a harpist when she became a “big girl”. To this day, Alishia encourages children (and adults!) to get up close to the harp and ask questions. This encouragement follows through to her teaching studio where she encourages students, young and mature alike, to tackle the challenges and joys of playing the harp.
Upon graduation from high school, Alishia went on to study harp performance at Northwestern University with Liz Cifani, principal harpist of the Chicago Lyric Opera. Throughout her studies, Alishia participated in numerous master classes with harpists Alice Chalifoux, former harpist of the Cleveland Orchestra; Jana Bouskova, professional solo harpist; Ray Pool, professional solo harpist; Natalia Shameyeva, current harpist of the Bolshoi Ballet; and Alfredo Rolando Ortiz, Paraguayan solo harpist. She has also had private lessons with Harvey Griffin, solo jazz harpist; Sebastian Lipman, former harpist of the Berlin Philharmonic; and Kira Sarandjavan, professional harpist, while living in Moscow.
Alishia enjoys performing in a wide variety of venues, most often with an eclectic style. While you will most commonly find her playing at gorgeous wedding ceremonies and elegant banquets, she has also performed with rap artist Aeon Grey, designed and performed music for Des Moines’ Shakespeare on the Lawn, encouraged runners at mile marker seven during the Des Moines Marathon, and was a founding member of the Latin jazz trio Trio, Trio, Arpa. She has entertained dignitaries such as Bob Dole, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, Secretary John Ashcroft, as well as local and visiting politicians. A supporter of strong female role models, Alishia performed for three years in Des Moines, Iowa at the Smart Talk Women’s lecture series, the Chrysalis Foundation, and was the chosen artist at the launch of actress Jane Seymour’s furniture line.