BEHIND THE MUSIC OF
KARI NOVILLA

Past. Present. Future.

An internationally recognized multi-genre artist, Kari Novilla strives to promote inclusivity and diversity throughout all facets of her musical career. Her extensive background in classical music has aided in her journey to reach new horizons with the harp, now including the world of electronics, jazz, and hip-hop. Kari currently serves as Principal Harpist of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and as a Fellow and Principal Harpist of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.

Collaboration sits at the center of Kari's artistic life, and her work moves fluidly between genres. Her recent studio work reflects the full range of that versatility: she will appear on the forthcoming jazz album by Isaiah Collier, saxophonist and composer named one of DownBeat Magazine's 25 rising jazz stars in 2024, and she both composed for and is featured on the upcoming new album from Chicago rapper, Vic Mensa. Having appeared as a soloist with Google and NBC News, she has also worked as a solo harpist on other sessions, albums, and movie soundtracks in America and in Europe. Her jazz ensembles, The Kari Novilla Sextet and Trio, can be found playing all across the United States and United Kingdom, highlights including at the Regent's Park Summer Jazz Festival and the Spice of Life Jazz Club in Soho. Having played with bandmates of Tony Bennett and Ella Fitzgerald, she continues her jazz career and continues to record in her home studio for exciting upcoming projects.

As a classical soloist and orchestral musician, Kari was a finalist in the American Harp Society's National Competition and a featured concerto winner at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. with the Glière Harp Concerto. Orchestral experience includes performing as Guest Principal with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Johnson City Symphony, University of Tennessee Symphony and Wind Ensembles, and Royal Academy Symphony Orchestra, amongst others. She has performed under such conductors as Aram Demirjian, Thomas Wilkins, Erina Yashima, Manfred Honeck, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Ken-David Masur, Giancarlo Guerrero, Ryan Bancroft, Larry Livingston, and Ludovic Morlot. This past summer she served as Principal Harpist of the National Repertory Orchestra in Breckenridge, Colorado, where she gave the American premiere of Concerto Romantico, a new jazz harp concerto by American composer Gary Guthman. From playing for the Bishop of London to making her Wigmore Hall solo concert debut, she is a sought-after soloist internationally. She has appeared as a soloist with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, where she now holds the principal harp chair, and has served as Principal Harpist with the Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra. Summer engagements have included the Ravinia Festival, the Kennedy Center/National Symphony Orchestra National Trustees Summer Music Institute, the Idyllwild Arts Academy in the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and the Bowdoin International Music Festival.

At the foundation of Kari's work is her practice as a civic artist, using the harp and collaborative storytelling to widen access to classical music and honor voices that deserve to be heard. She is the creator of Chamber of Change, a project uniting formerly incarcerated individuals with classical, jazz, and hip-hop musicians to compose and perform original works built on the harmonic foundations of classical music. The inaugural concert, presented by the Negaunee Music Institute in partnership with UCAN's FLIP Program, took place in June 2025, with a second installment following in 2026 through Kari's Individual Fellows Project. Alongside this work, Kari is committed to reaching under-served communities and produces her own charity concerts and educational programs internationally.

Kari completed her Masters of Music in harp performance with Distinction and LRAM at the Royal Academy of Music in London, England under the tutelage of Professor Emerita of Harp, Skaila Kanga and Professor of Jazz Harp, Park Stickney. As a dual major in both classical and jazz, she leads a busy career pursuing both music worlds. She began her harp studies in Tennessee under the guidance of William Lovelace, former president of the American Harp Society, and earned her Bachelor of Music in Harp Performance from Indiana University in May 2021, graduating with the highest academic honors as a Barbara and David Jacobs Scholar and studying with Professor Elzbieta Szmyt, Chair of the Harp Department.

Based in Chicago and Tennessee, Kari maintains a vibrant private teaching studio, offering both virtual and in-person lessons to a growing roster of dedicated students. Alongside her teaching, she performs regularly as a soloist and orchestral harpist in concerts across the United States and internationally. Her versatile career also includes performances at weddings, worship services, and civic events throughout America, her home state of Tennessee, and the United Kingdom.

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