About Us

David and Mary Jane D'Arville: Owners of AHC & VHC

After successfully opening 2 harp retail stores in the Mid-Atlantic region, owners David and Mary Jane D’Arville realized a need for the harp community in the Southeast region. Atlanta Harp Center opened its doors in Alpharetta, Georgia in 2007 and has been proudly serving the harp community since then. We offer the largest selection of harps in the South by some of the finest lever and pedal harp makers in the world including Camac, Dusty Strings, Lyon & Healy, and Salvi. Our commitment to providing the highest quality customer service to harpists everywhere is reflected by our knowledgeable, friendly and ever-helpful AHC staff.

Why buy from us? 

The Atlanta Harp Center takes great pride in offering personal assistance to our customers. Our friendly and knowledgeable staff is dedicated to keeping our customers happy with excellent service. We offer the following services to make your harp buying experience an enjoyable one:

• A wide selection of harps to choose from

• Generous trade-in values

• A trade up for any lever harp purchased from AHC to any new pedal harp we carry

• Free regulation on new pedal harps

• Many different financing options

• A large lever harp rental selection

• A rental credit towards purchase policy

Ashley Crosland:  Manager

Ashley Crosland received a scholarship to study harp at DePauw University School of Music where she earned her Bachelor of Music in Harp Performance as well as a B.A. in Theatre Performance. She performs for weddings and special events throughout Atlanta and the southeast and offers private lessons in harp.

Ashley brings passion and blissful peace to the minds and hearts of all who have the pleasure to hear her play her harp. For the past seventeen years, she has devoted her life to the harp, traveling the world to broaden her musical horizons through learning and performing.  From playing harp on the streets of South America, to studying Celtic folk music in Ireland, to learning and performing Bollywood music in Bombay, India, Ashley has been living a musical escapade!

Ashley teaches lessons on lever and pedal harp at the Atlanta Harp Center. She specializes in teaching beginner harp with a focus on encouragement and an emphasis on proper technique.   www.eleganceofmusic.com

Katherine Cook: Assistant Manager

Katherine Cook is a graduate of Kennesaw State University where she studied clarinet performance. She has performed internationally in China and South Korea and studied abroad at Hanyang University in South Korea with clarinetist Changhee Lee from the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra.

A local of Metro-Atlanta, Katherine has taught clarinet lessons in the Forsyth County area and enjoys arranging classical works for clarinet ensemble in her free time. She is excited to begin her journey on harp and to share her passion for music in all its forms. 

Rhett Barnwell: Composer-in-Residence

Rhett Barnwell is a composer, arranger and performer, and the founder of Seraphim Music, which publishes sacred, classical and meditative music for lever and pedal harp. He has concertized extensively in the United States and in Rome, Venice, and Florence, Italy, and Ireland. A specialist in classical and sacred music for the lever harp, he has been in demand as a presenter and performer at conferences such as the Southeastern Harp Conference, Somerset Folk Harp Festival, Harp Journeys, Beginning in the Middle, Harp Gathering and others. He has organized biannual Liturgical Harp Conferences since 2007. He has given workshops and concerts for American Harp Society Chapters in Washington, D. C., Minneapolis, Nashville and New Orleans, and is regularly commissioned to write new works. Mr. Barnwell earned a Master of Music degree from St. Louis Conservatory and did post-graduate Doctoral study at the University of Georgia. In addition to the harp, he also plays the cello, French horn, and organ, and has performed with the Spoleto Festival Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfonica de Tenerife, AIMS Festival Orchestra in Austria, South Carolina Philharmonic, Charleston Symphony, and other orchestras. He has served as a Director of Music and Organist for churches in the Southeastern U. S. since 1983.

Julie Koenig: Harpist-in-Residence

According to legend, Julie Koenig was the Atlanta Harp Center's first customer. These days she works part-time at the store tuning showroom harps, restringing consignment harps, and filling orders for strings and music.

Julie is a professional harpist in Atlanta with repertoire ranging from classical and chamber to contemporary pop and jazz. An Ohio native, she played with the Dayton Philharmonic and holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Harp Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She came to Atlanta as a freelance musician and is principal harpist with the Georgia Symphony and DeKalb Symphony orchestras, as well as a sub for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. She also performs frequently with several Atlanta area choral groups and plays for many weddings.

In her spare time, Julie can usually be found walking the world's most beautiful golden retriever.

www.juliekoenig.com