Originally from Chicago, harpist Stephanie Gustafson now resides in Houston, where she is an active performer, educator, and writer. An experienced orchestral musician, she was principal harpist with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra from 2015–2022, and is a regular guest of the Houston Symphony. This past 2022–2023 season, she joined the symphony on several programs, including Holst’s Planets with Gemma New, Sibelius No. 1 under Osmo Vänskä, and Rosenkavalier with the symphony’s music director Juraj Valčuha. She has also worked with Austin Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in New Orleans, Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra, and El Paso Symphony and Opera. In Houston, she has performed with Theatre Under the Stars, the city’s premiere musical theatre company, most recently playing harp for Beauty and the Beast during the 2018–2019 season. Other recent Houston features include performances of My Fair Lady with Broadway On Tour at the Hobby Center and a concerto performance of Glière’s Concerto for Harp with the Galveston Symphony at the Grand 1894 Opera House.

Prior to her move to Houston, Stephanie lived in Washington DC where she held the position of principal harpist with the Annapolis Symphony. Outside of the United States, she has performed with orchestras on stages in Europe and South America. In 2013, she worked with Maestro Kurt Nagano and the National Orchestra of Sweden before spending the 2013-2014 season as Acting Principal Harpist of the Orquesta Filarmónica de Santiago, performing numerous symphonies, ballets, and operas at the historic Teatro Municipal de Chile and other venues throughout Santiago.

She is a founding member of the Lagniappe Trio (Rachel Taratoot Ciraldo, flute, Chris Lowry, viola, and Stephanie Gustafson, harp). They have been performing across the south since 2017, offering expansive and unique programming for audiences of all ages. Their versatility has contributed to vast creative offerings, from educational performances for youth and virtual world premieres and performances, to interdisciplinary projects and newly commissioned works by their very own, Christopher Lowry. They have received grant support from the Mississippi Arts Commission for their projects and have received repeat engagements at the Natchez Music Festival, FestivalSouth, and the Lamar Chamber Series of the Baton Rouge Symphony.

A passionate educator, Stephanie is a harp specialist with Fort Bend ISD, where she works with over 40 students across five middle and high schools. She co-founded the Houston Youth Harp Ensemble in 2018, a Saturday morning program that helps harp students in Houston further their musical growth and build a harp community. She launched the ensemble with Naomi Hoffmeyer, and it is now in its sixth season. Additionally, Stephanie was on faculty at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Twin Lake, Michigan, where she taught private lessons, coached chamber groups, and conducted the harp ensemble for several summers. From 2016–2018, Stephanie was a Young Artist with Da Camera of Houston, which allowed her to teach in public, private, and charter schools all across Houston. Through Da Camera, she held musical residencies with the students of The Monarch Institute, a school for kids with neurological disorders, and the TREK program at Travis Elementary. In addition to teaching and performing, Stephanie received a grant through Da Camera to develop a program at Meyerland Performing and Visual Arts Middle School to help combat school bullying.

Since moving to Houston, Stephanie has performed all throughout the city, at venues including Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, Wortham Center, the Hobby Center, MATCH, Miller Outdoor Theatre, Smart Financial Centre, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Menil Collection, the Menil Drawing Institute, Rothko Chapel, the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, and St. John the Divine.

From 20170-2020, she was on staff at Harp Column, a bi–monthly print publication serving the international harp community. As News Editor of the magazine, Stephanie regularly interviewed harpists around the world, and covers auditions, appointments, album releases, and competitions. She also served as secretary of the Houston chapter of the American Harp Society from 2018-2021.