It takes more than just practice to make it as a musician.
You need to be persistent, develop a unique approach, harness the technology of the times – and probably have something of a backup plan.
Renée Qin, a 22-year-old harpist from West Vancouver, has all of these qualities.
Recognizing her exceptional talents, CBC Music recently named Qin to its 2024 edition of 30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30.
Starting piano at age four, she became fascinated with a traditional Chinese instrument called the konghou and, later, its Western cousin the harp.
While attending Sentinel Secondary School, Qin began playing with the Vancouver Youth Symphony. During that time she won numerous awards for her harp playing, one of which landed her a spot at the world famous Carnegie Hall in New York City.
Qin’s trajectory has only crescendoed since then. After graduating high school, Qin was accepted to Stanford University in California, where she’s continued to study harp as well as composition.
Gaining renown for her artistry on 47 strings, she’s been featured in performances with the Vancouver Philharmonic Orchestra, and is currently principal harpist for the Stanford Philharmonia. Qin has also collaborated with Juno-Award-winning Canadian composer and fellow North Shore resident Michael Conway Baker.
In May, Qin had the honour playing at Stanford’s acoustically high-tech Bing Concert Hall, where she performed Mozart’s Concerto for Flute and Harp.
Not content just to flourish at music, the young student has pursued a double major in economics. This spring, she worked as a teaching assistant for professor Paul Milgrom, who received a Nobel Prize for Economics in 2020.
When she was named to the CBC 30 under 30 list in late July, Qin said she was deeply honoured and humbled by the news.
“This recognition is incredibly meaningful,” she said. “It’s not just an honour, but also a motivation for me to continue dedicating myself to music.”
Qin's approach to composition inspired by Juno-winner Michael Conway Baker
Stanford has proved to be fertile grounds for growing Qin’s musicianship.
“It feels like everybody knows how to play at least one instrument,” she said. “There are so many chances to engage with other students, and sometimes the professors also join the students in performing. That’s really special.”
While Qin’s mellifluous touch on the harp is plain for anyone to hear, she’s equally enthusiastic about marking the musical staff with her own melodies.
One of her biggest inspirations in composition has been Baker, who was named to the Order of British Columbia in 1997 for his contributions to music.
Qin has had the opportunity to perform Baker’s Intermezzo for Flute and Harp, his Harp Concerto and a piece that he wrote specifically for Qin called Another Time, a duet for guitar and harp.
Those experiences have inspired her to expand the harp repertoire, Qin said. “Because there aren’t many pieces of music for the harp compared to a lot of other instruments.”
“That really inspired me to look at the path of composition while also maintaining my harp playing,” she said.
In 2022, Qin received the Chappell Lougee Scholarship, which she used to write a harp composition in hopes of raising awareness for the California least tern, an endangered bird.
The Ternaround is composed in three parts, illustrating the damage done to the tern’s habitat, the danger from the bird’s perspective and concluding with an expression of what it would be like if there were no human-caused destruction.
Repeating low-pitched notes with her left hand, she uses her right to play harmonics and higher-pitched patterns.
“I wanted to use these two distinctly sounding tones to describe the destruction and the birds cry, or their way of seeking help,” Qin said, adding that she employed some of the tern’s calls as musical motifs.
Young musician blending studies in acoustics and computer science
In her future career, Qin said she’s interested in scoring films and creating other compositions with visual components.
To that end, the California campus is studded with boundary-pushing venues for innovation in audio-visual engineering. That blend of art and technology was a draw for Qin, who has already begun earning credits for a master’s degree in computer science as an undergraduate student.
“We have this special computer acoustic research facility. It’s called (Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics) CCRMA – ‘karma’ – and there, they combine music and computer science,” Qin said.
Exploring the possibilities related to spatial sound and other forms of acoustic art were things she was considering even before coming to the school.
“Stanford really being at the [leading edge] for technology,” she said. “It’s able to combine so many different fields. So besides the traditional performance opportunity, there are always chances for further research as well.”
