Paul Hurst

A life devoted to Music

        "I didn't know you could do all that on a Harp!" is a frequent comment after hearing this virtuoso play everything from classical to show tunes and ragtime on the harp.  Paul Hurst's distinctive style of music-making is known and loved internationally as a concert harpist, pianist, and composer.

   It all started before he could walk. Hurst remembers "Pulling myself up by way of the piano leg and reaching over my head to play hand-sized keys." Progressing to simple tunes played from mom's lap, maturing to piano lessons at age five, church organist at ten, with professional music making starting in Los Angeles at fourteen. Advanced studies in piano with virtuosos Jacob Gimpel and Leonid Hambro. A music scholarship was awarded, and California State University Northridge was chosen for its highly respected music department. Besides his academic and many musical pursuits, Hurst was staff accompanist at CSUN.  Pivotal to Hurst's career was the solid foundation in composition acquired with Dr. Beverly Grigsby, a gifted composer and scholar at CSUN. She remains a valued friend and mentor.

    Already a seasoned performer, he "discovered" the harp at nineteen and began lessons with the world-acclaimed harp master, De Wayne Fulton.  By this time, his professional credits encompassed conducting, accompanying, composing, teaching voice and piano, arranging for several community orchestras, and directing musical theatre. 

Early in his career, Hurst had the privilege of working with some of the "show business greats" at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, including Diana Ross, Sammy Davis, Jr., Ann Margaret, and Tom Jones.  He continued on with solo concerts on harp and piano, producing his early recordings of piano improvisations, and adaptations of classical and popular music for solo harp.   Artistic opportunities continued to bloom, and between 1988 and 1996 Hurst added playing the orchestral digital keyboard and harp in hundreds of duo concerts with De Wayne Fulton, touring the United States for Columbia Artists. 

      Paul Hurst was commissioned by Alfredo Rolando Ortiz, the famous soloist of the Paraguayan harp, to orchestrate the South American Suite for Harp and Orchestra, composed by Dr. Ortiz.  Thanks to a generous Grant from the Marian Meaker Aptekar Foundation to the El Paso Symphony Orchestra, Dr. Ortiz recorded his Suite in 2001, under the direction of Maestro Gürer Aykal.  As part of Hurst's musical quest, he was one of the honored few allowed to study Gregorian Chant with the Solesmes Monks of France, appointed by the Pope to preserve the authentic tradition of chant.  

     An opportunity to compose and perform a symphonic work was made possible by a commission from the Tulare County Symphony.  Sequoia Rhapsody - Tone Poem for Harp, Piano and Orchestra was premiered in 1998 and shortly afterwards recorded by the Moscow State Radio and Television Orchestra, both conducted by David André, with Hurst as soloist on both piano and harp.  A Fall invitation to perform in Japan at the 1998 Soka International Harp Festival was warmly accepted.  The New Year was greeted with appearances in England and Wales. 

      Paul Hurst thrives on the diversity that comes with a life dedicated to music, always striving for innovation in his concert programs and the musical projects he undertakes.  There was a pause in international travel to concentrate on his commissioned compositions and to respond to the audience pressure for more of his performance pieces to be recorded. 

   Hurst's world travel resumed in the summer of 1999 with appearances in London, Wales, Scotland and Europe, concluding his  tour in Prague with his invitation as guest soloist at the 7th International World Harp Congress.   Autumn of '99 was spent in Japan where he was this year's featured soloist at the Soka International Harp Festival, followed by a 5-city concert tour. 

   The season was topped off with the premier of Hurst's composition for orchestra and trumpet, Fanfare for Year 2000, celebrating the grand opening of the Tulare County Symphony's new theatre.  

    Much of 2000 was spent in the USA, crisscrossing the country with concerts and master classes,  producing three new albums, and then off to Japan in the Fall for the Soka Harp Festival and concert tour.  

  Highlights of the 2001 - 2002 seasons have been a move to Santa Fe, New Mexico, two concert tours in the Pacific Northwest and three trips to Japan.

  During Hurst's Spring visit to Japan in 2002, he gave a special peace concert in Hiroshima at the Elisabeth University of Music.  Hurst played a piano improvisation dedicated to Hiroshima and Peace and honored the City with a Japan premier of his new harp composition, "The Majesty of Yosemite".   

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