Erin Brooker-Miller

Erin Brooker-Miller is a Classical and Irish harpist with a passion for orchestral and chamber playing. She joined the Des Moines Symphony as Principal Harpist in 2017 and has twice been featured as a concerto soloist. Erin has performed throughout the United States with many additional orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, Boise Philharmonic, and Nashville Opera, among others. She has participated in the Round Top Music Festival, Fresh Inc Festival, Saratoga Harp Colony, and Miami Music Festival. In addition to her orchestral playing, Erin is the harpist of the flute, harp, and viola trio Juniper Trio and the Irish flute, harp, bodhrán trio Fearn. Representing the United States, Erin has won numerous awards in traditional Irish music competitions in solo harp, duo, trio, and Grúpaí Cheoil categories at regional and All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoils. Most notably, she was a member of the Grand Prize winning Grúpaí Cheoil ensemble in 2002 and won 3rd place in solo harp in 2007. She teaches at Irishfest School of Music in Milwaukee and has given Irish workshops to the West Michigan Chapter of the American Harp Society and at the University of Iowa. Erin holds a master’s degree from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and a bachelor’s degree from University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, both in harp performance. Her principal classical teachers include Susann McDonald, Dr. Ann Yeung, Elizabeth Hainen, and Ayako Watanabe; her principal Irish teachers include Eileen Gannon, Marta Cook, and Grainne Hambly. An equally accomplished Arts Administrator, Erin served as the Executive Director of the USA International Harp Competition between 2015-2020, leading the organization to two of the most successful competitions in its thirty-year history. She is the Festival Director of the New Hampshire Music Festival and will graduate with an MBA from Marquette University in May 2024.