One Stone to the Building: Henriette Renié’S Life Through Her Works for Harp

Jaymee Haefner's performances have been described by Daniel Buckley as possessing “an air of dreamy lyricism... interlocking melody lines with the deftness of a dancer’s footwork.” Jaymee joined the University of North Texas faculty in 2006 and serves as director of the UNT HarpBeats ensemble, Professor of Harp and Director of Undergraduate Studies for the College of Music. Her extensive performances include a feature at the 50th Anniversary of the American Harp Society (AHS) in New York City, and National Conference performances in New Orleans (2014), in Atlanta (2016) and performances throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area, in Mexico, the Czech Republic and Russia. She has recorded with the Bloomington Pops Orchestra, baritone Daniel Narducci and Alfredo Rolando Ortiz. She published a biography (The Legend of Henriette Renié) and has performed and presented lectures for the World Harp Congress (WHC) in Prague, Sydney, Amsterdam and Hong Kong. Jaymee was Chairman of the 2011 AHS Institute and has served as the Secretary and Southwest Regional Director for the American Harp Society, Inc., has served as Treasurer and International Harp Associations Liaison for the WHC, and chair of the harp competition Task Force for the American String Teachers Association. Dr. Haefner’s projects include her “Better than One” duo with harpist Emily Mitchell and her “Crimson” duo with violinist Matt Milewski, including recent commissions for violin and harp. She obtained her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the University of Arizona and her Doctor of Music degree from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. When she isn’t on stage, Dr. Haefner trains in karate with her son, and earned her first-degree black belt in 2015.