About

Dr. Anastasia Pike is a performer, educator, writer, and administrator whose career reflects that of the 21st-century musician.

Anna serves on the faculties at Teachers College, Columbia University; the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University; and James Madison University.  She is a faculty member at the Young Artist’s Harp Seminar, and is the founder and director of the Hampton Roads Harp Festival and Competition.

Anna has delighted audiences including European royalty, heads of state, the President and First Lady of the United States, Supreme Court justices, members of the Cabinet, senators, congressmen, legislators, and celebrities. She has performed on national and international television, in venues including New York’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and the National Capital Region’s Arlington National Cemetery, Basilica, Kennedy Center, National Cathedral, Smithsonian Institution, The White House, United States Air Force Memorial, Department of State, and the US Securities and Exchange Commission. She has also performed with members of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, the City of London Sinfonia, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the English Philharmonic, Europa Galante, the London Mozart Players, L’Orchestra des Champs Elysees, the Melbourne Symphony, the Metropolitan Opera, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Anna has shared the stage with artists including LeVar Burton, Kristin Chenoweth, Franc d’Ambrosio, Sandeep Das, James Ehnes, Renée Fleming, Ryan Speedo Green, Dave Grohl, Mickey Guyton, Herbie Hancock, Katja Herbers, Morgan James, Capathia Jenkins, Aimee Mann, Itzhak Perlman, Rakim, Arturo Sandoval, Rick Steves, and the Irish Tenors. Regionally, she has appeared with Bach in Baltimore, Baltimore Choral Arts Society, Barclay Brass, National Cathedral Choristers, National Philharmonic, Smithsonian Chamber Players, Washington Opera Society, and as principal harpist with the Annapolis, Arlington, Columbia, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Harrisburg, Mid-Atlantic, Northern Neck, Richmond, and Virginia Symphonies.  

Anna is also a member of The Sprezzatura Duo, formed with fellow harpist Kate Loughrey. "Sprezzatura" means "the art of making something difficult look effortless." The duo demonstrates the art of "sprezzatura" in their fun, creative, and entertaining concert programs that appeal to audiences of all ages. In 2012, Anna and Kate co-founded the Harps for Kids Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) public charity that provides lessons and community outreach programs to local youth.  The Sprezzatura Duo performed at the American Harp Society's 2016 National Conference in Atlanta, giving the world premiere of their second commission.  In 2018, they received a Faculty Development Grant from the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University.  

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In addition to her career as a concert harpist, Anna is also an award-winning pianist, and has been featured on multiple recordings as both harpist and/or pianist.  As an arts educator, Anna has conducted international research, and has interviewed artists including Pierre Boulez, Alice Chalifoux, JoAnn Falletta, Evgeny Kissin, and Leonard Slatkin.  She has written articles for the American Harp Journal as well as entries for several encyclopedias by Salem Press.

Anna has presented at the Mid-Atlantic Harp Festival, and is a regular presenter at the American Harp Society and the College Music Society's (CMS) National Conferences. She was the Event Director and lead panelist of the day-long 2016 CMS Pre-Conference Workshop in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and was an invited guest speaker at The Juilliard School.  

Anna has also presented academically at the Global Awareness Society International Conference in Heredia, Costa Rica, and at the American Harp Society's (AHS) Summer Institute.  She conducted her harp ensemble at Les Harpes Camac Festival USA, where her students gave the world premiere of Evan Meier's Variations on an Antique Theme, which she commissioned for the Festival.  

In 2021, Anna was the faculty recipient of the Peabody CARES Georgie Award from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, a featured recitalist at Harptacular 2021 by Lyon & Healy Harps, and one of 10 global presenters invited to the Society for Arts Entrepreneurship Education’s Conference. Anna was one of 50 out of 2 million active duty military spouses eligible to be selected for a fully-funded program to complete the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative’s Meta-Leadership Training program through Harvard University’s joint T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Kennedy School of Government’s Center for Public Leadership. She gave a recital featuring her own transcriptions at the World Harp Congress in Cardiff, Wales in 2022; in 2023, she performed at the launch for the US Department of State’s Global Music Diplomacy Initiative, hosted by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. In 2024, she will present at the GASI Conference in Seoul, Korea, and give a concerto performance with the Island Symphony Orchestra in Long Island, New York.

Anna received her doctorate from Columbia University, and has master's degrees from the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University (major: harp; minor: piano), the University of Maryland (musicology), and Pensacola Theological Seminary (church music).  She completed additional studies at Harvard University, The Juilliard School, the MasterWorks Festival - London, and, upon personal invitation, to the Salzedo School.  Her primary instructors were Alice Chalifoux and Jeanne Chalifoux (harp) and Victor Shklyar and Corey McVicar (piano).  Anna was awarded the United States Navy's CMC Award for her volunteer work providing therapeutic music to the wounded warriors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and remains committed to the juxtaposition of music and medicine.

Anna serves as President of the Washington, DC chapter of the American Harp Society.  She divides her time between the National Capital Region and New York City.