BIO
Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as “a force field unto her own, yet joined in something bigger,” Alison Bjorkedal is a Grammy Award–winning harpist and interpreter of the music of Harry Partch.
Equally at home in contemporary chamber music, orchestral performance, and studio recording, she has become a distinctive voice in Los Angeles’ vibrant new-music community while maintaining a wide-ranging career across concert halls, opera stages, and film/tv/video games recordings.
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Bjorkedal is harp faculty at the California Institute of the Arts, Occidental College, and Pomona College
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Bjorkedal performs widely as an orchestral, operatic, and chamber musician. She has appeared with ensembles including the San Diego Symphony, Pasadena Symphony/Pops, Phoenix Symphony, Long Beach Symphony, and San Luis Obispo Symphony, and has collaborated with organizations such as Los Angeles Opera, Long Beach Opera, The Industry, MUSE/IQUE, American Contemporary Ballet, and the National Ballet of Canada.
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A frequent presence in Los Angeles’ contemporary music scene, she performs regularly with ensembles including wildUP, Jacaranda Chamber Music, Salastina Music Society, Microfest, and Southwest Chamber Music. She is principal harpist of the Bakersfield Symphony and has appeared as soloist with the Pasadena Symphony, Downey Symphony, California Chamber Orchestra, and Palimpsest at UC San Diego
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Alison has performed live with Andrea Bocelli, Il Volo, Marvin Hamlisch, Michael Feinstein, and Idina Menzel.
In the studio, Alison has performed on records for artists including Sia, Madonna, Laufey, Kid Cudi, Nate Ruess, , Mary J. Blige, Adrian Younge, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad.
She records for the motion picture, video game, and television industry, including Pixar's Elio and Inside Out 2, Mandalorian & Grogu, IF, Penny Dreadful, League of Legends, Empire, Luke Cage, Finding Dory, Love, Simon, Independence Day: Resurgence, If I Stay, Lucy in the Sky, Annabelle Comes Home, IT 2, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Picard, 13: The Musical, Queens, The Adam Project, The Clauses, Disenchanted, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Mandalorian (Season 3).
On screen, she has appeared in Dancing with the Stars, Genshin Impact Anniversary Concert, two PBS Specials for David Foster and Andrea Bocelli ("My Christmas" and "Cinema"), the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and the Pentatonix's "A Very Pentatonix Christmas".
As an advocate for contemporary music, Alison's notable world premieres include William Kraft's Encounters XII for harp and percussion; James Tenney's "Changes for 6 harps"; Anne LeBaron's HSING for solo harp and LeBaron's "Some Things Should Not Move" for soprano, flute, harp and double bass; and Wadada Leo Smith's Ten Freedom Summers, a 2013 Pulitzer Prize finalist.
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US premieres include Gabriela Ortiz's Rio de las Mariposas for two harps and steel drum; Ton That Thiet's Les Jardins De Autre Monde for solo harp and mixed ensemble; Nguyen Thien Daos' Au Dessus de Vent for solo harp and strings; and Unsuk Chin's Cosmigimmicks.
Notable solo performances include Lei Liang's "Harp Concerto" with UC San Diego New Music Ensemble "Palimpsest", Eve Beglarian's "Melancholy Fate", Luciano Berio's Sequenza II.
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Her chamber recordings include Grammy-winning "Plectra and Percussion Dances", Southwest Chamber Music's "Complete Chamber Music of Carlos Chávez, Volume 4" and William Kraft's "Encounters", both Latin-Grammy nominated. As part of Just Strings, she released "Harrison: Works for harp, guitar and percussion".
Solo recordings include James Newton's "Dos Danzas para harp" (Manual of Life) and Robert Carl's "Splectra".
Bjorkedal has written one composition, "Hum," for small mixed strings and field recording. She has commissioned a trio for violin, viola, harp and electronics by Anne LeBaron called "My Beloved Spectra". Both were premiered at the Walt Disney Concert Hall as part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's "Noon to Midnight" festival in 2024.
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Alison is a member LA-based Partch ensemble, where she specializes in playing the Kithara, along with Cloud Chamber Bowls and Harmonic Canons. Partch's 2014 recording "Plectra and Percussion Dances" took home the 2014 GRAMMY for Best Classical Compendium. Learn more about the wildly unique music and instruments of Harry Partch here.
Alison is harp faculty at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), Pasadena City College, Occidental College (OXY) and Pomona College. Additionally, she teaches Music Appreciation at Pasadena City College and maintains a private harp studio. A complimentary trial lesson is available for prospective college students considering an institution where she is on faculty.
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She has been an outreach artist throughout Southern California for institutions such as USC, Southwest Chamber Music, and MUSE/IQUE.
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Alison was born and raised in Kennewick, WA. She began musical studies at age 3 with Suzuki piano. Her freshman year of high school, Alison fell in love with the harp after seeing a classmate perform in the school talent show and asked her parents for lessons. Early studies included driving to Portland, OR to study with Denise Fujikawa.
Alison received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Oregon (magna cum laude) where she studied harp with Sally Maxwell and Laura Zaerr. Alison earned her Masters and Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in harp performance from the USC Thornton School of Music, where she studied with JoAnn Turovsky.
BEYOND MUSIC
Alison is passionate about the natural world and loves exploring through hikes and educational activities (like the amazing raptor experience pictured here at Sky Falconry).
She lives in Glendale, CA where she loves to garden, swim, and savor life with her husband Phil. They are the caretakers of several hives of bees and enjoy viewing nature on a pair of Nordic skis whenever they can get away to the snow.