Career Insights from Aysha Gomez-Kurieshi, a Bay Area Harpist!

Aysha Gomez-Kurieshi is a premier San Fransisco Bay Area harpist and member of the American Harpist Society. She plays for weddings and events and has an extensive repertoire covering many genres, including classical, popular music, Bollywood, Celtic, and opera. Read on to learn more about her journey with music and how she manages her performance career!

1. What first ignited your passion for music?

As a kid, my parents fostered a love for music in me through early exposure and lots of listening around the house. I grew up in 6 different countries, so I moved around a lot. My music education started in Germany, where I learned piano with the Suzuki method for about 1.5 years. I started learning harp at 7 years old.

Here is Aysha at 10 years old busking in Germany to gain experience.

2. What is your educational background?

When I was in high school, I really wanted to go to a conservatory in Europe for orchestral harp, but my dad saw a love of many things in me, such as the humanities and languages and encouraged me to apply to other universities. I got early admission into Stanford and got my undergraduate degree in comparative literature and masters in Chinese.

3. How do you balance having a tech career and a harp career?

It’s essential to set up important guardrails. For example, since I have a job in tech, I won’t take gigs during work hours, and I won’t do work during weekends. Also, try to surround yourself with people that support you. I have a very supportive partner who encourages me to do the best in both careers. Supportive does not mean saying yes to everything, and it’s helpful to have an outside perspective on if you are taking on too much or getting overwhelmed. We started doing something we call protected days on weekends or Friday nights to be mindful of recovery and rest. It’s a sort of balancing act of having a mindset of not feeling like you have to do something, but that you love every minute of it.

4. What kinds of traits or qualities are helpful to develop when pursuing a performance career in music?

It depends on the type of performance career you are pursuing. For me, it’s important to put yourself in the shoes of the wedding couple. As an events harpist, you are thinking about what they imagine the ceremony to be like, fulfilling the client’s needs, and how to become an asset. As a soloist, you might have priorities, but things like listening to feedback, taking it seriously, and being humble in your own processes overlaps.

5. How do you transport your harp to events?

I need a car that can fit the harp lying flat. I like to bring my own chair and music stand. I take off the protective cover once we get there and have a dolly I use to wheel it around. One time I had to take my smaller harp on a flight with me and we got it its own seat. 

6. Who are some of your musical inspirations?

One of my biggest inspirations is Henriette Renie, who took the love of contemporary classical music like Debussy that was performed on piano and brought it to harp. She brings music that so many people love to her instrument. In general, people who love music inspire me. We all have different pasts and different languages, but can be united through music.

7. What is the hardest part of your job?

Being able to balance the tech world and the harp world is always challenging. Getting to the wedding and playing is the easy part, but things like administration and strategy are the hardest part. All the little steps that lead up to the moment, outside of the playing part like setting up a website, repertoire, photography, social media, and more. It’s difficult to set up but equally important to maintain.

8. What would you say to younger musicians interested in a career in music?

It can be such a fulfilling career when you think outside of the box and say yes to opportunities that are presented to you. A lot of the time, you think you are forced to choose between careers, but you don’t have to pick. The world is changing to accommodate a wealth of talents and interests. If you want a career in music, you can still be a brilliant engineer and have thriving careers in both. As long as you are happy and passionate about it, the care is what you make out of it. There are so many different musical careers being formed.