Jo-Ann Cerdenia

Jo-Ann finished her studies in music composition at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, and subsequently completed her harp studies at Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf, Germany. Her passion for the harp began at an early age when she saw a street harpist in her hometown in Cebu. Though she lacked the means to pursue the instrument, this early exposure to the harp was to stay and grow in her heart. Philippine harp pioneer Lourdes de Leon Gregorio Lourdes De Leon Gregorio Upon college, she went to Manila to test her mettle at the University of the Philippines. While studying there, she came across Professor Lourdes De Leon Gregorio who, incidentally, was the only professional harp teacher in the Philippines at that time. The good professor took her under her wing as her personal scholar in learning the harp. For years, Jo-Ann had to commute from UP to CCP and back - up to four hours travelling time - just to have some practice time with the harp, as access to the instrument was extremely hard at that time. As her passion and determination for the harp grew, she sought further studies in faraway lands. Several years after graduating from the UP College of Music, she studied the German language and became proficient enough to be able to go to Germany and enter one of the many wonderful conservatories in that country. After some time of searching, she was able to enter the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Dusseldorf where she studied under the wise instruction of Italian harpist Fabiana Trani. With teaching being her ultimate mission in life, she majored in harp pedagogy and was mentored by pedagogue Prof. Wolfgang Rüdiger. She also attended master classes with world-renowned harpists Alice Giles, Irina Zing, and Olga Shevelevich. Furthering her studies, she also received harp methodology instruction from harpists Hye-Young Kim and Susana Feige. Jo-Ann Cerdenia's life journey thus far does prove that attaining one's dream is possible despite hardships and lack of opportunity. And that so long as you keep your trust in God, he will see you through.