Sharon Hanjian Rondeau began the study of the harp at the age of eight with Dr. Aristid von Wurtzler at the Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford. Her first public performance was at the age of 9 on Channel 3 in Hartford as a member of the Hartt College Harp Ensemble and as a soloist.

Sharon was a four-time winner at the Festival of Irish Culture in the Bronx, NY, and at the age of 15 performed for David Rockefeller in New York City. At the age of 16, she performed as a member of the orchestra with Tony Orlando & Dawn at the Hartford Civic Center, where Mr. Orlando addressed her by name and requested that she play a short “surprise” solo during the show.

In 1975 she was awarded a full scholarship to the Eastman School of Music to study with Eileen Malone.

For 28 years, Sharon performed extensively throughout New England as a freelance harpist at a wide variety of venues and events including weddings, receptions, orchestral and choral performances, memorial services, and other special events.

Sharon was twice an orchestra member for the Connie Francis Show at Mohegan Sun Casino and has worked under the batons of Victor Borge, the late wind ensemble conductor and arranger, Frederick Fennell, and the late Peter John Sacco at the University of Connecticut.

From 1993 to 2007, Sharon was harpist with the University of Connecticut Wind Ensemble and Orchestra. In November 2004, she participated in a performance with the University of Connecticut Studio Orchestra at Carnegie Hall in a commissioned work honoring the fallen of 9/11.

From 1998 to 2015, she was solo performer at the annual UConn Physics Department Katzenstein Dinner.

From 2001 to 2016, Sharon was solo performer at the annual Diaconate Convocation for the Archdiocese of Hartford.

For 22 years, Sharon was harpist with the Manchester Symphony Orchestra & Chorale (MSOC).  She was principal harpist with the New Britain Symphony Orchestra from 1998 to 2010, when the organization closed for several years, and also performed with the New Britain-based Connecticut Virtuosi Orchestra.

Sharon has appeared with the Hartford, Farmington Valley, Waterbury, and Willimantic Symphony Orchestras as well as the Greater Middletown Chorale under the batons of Larry Allen and his successor, Joseph D’Eugenio.

Her CD, “Celtic Reflections,” is a compilation of lesser-known Irish, Scottish and Welsh songs which she interpreted and arranged for harp.  A number of those selections appear in her collection, “Easy Scottish Harp Music,” published in April 2009 by Mel Bay and carried by a variety of music retailers.

In 1999, Sharon personally gave a copy of the CD to Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, at a special event in Hartford, CT where she was guest speaker and Sharon was chosen to provide background music.

Sharon’s 2014 interview with Jack Price, founder of PriceRubin&Partners, can be heard here.

Since retiring, Sharon has been publishing arrangements for lever and pedal harp at SheetMusicPlus, Harp.com, harpcolumnmusic.com, and in the store.