Jim Palmer, harpist, performed in many prestigious settings in his home state of New York including the United Nations, Guild Theatre, the TOBAY Distinguished Artists Series, and numerous community and college concert series. Before moving to Missouri, he taught harp at Hollins University and at his studio in Greensboro, NC, and freelanced in orchestras including the Roanoke Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, and Greensboro Symphony.
He is a skilled arranger and has transcribed works by Bach, Villa-Lobos, Debussy, and others for harp and various chamber music combinations. Mr. Palmer founded Harpistic Publications, the catalog for which includes works for lever and pedal harp from beginning to advanced levels. Included in his published works are jazz standards and two collections of songs by Lennon/McCartney and George Harrison. His “Beatles for Harp” CD has been released on Centaur Records. “Jim Palmer has brought [the Beatles] music into the parlour in what could be described as a class journey of unprecedented dimension.” – MusicWeb-International, June 2006
He has also recorded two other CDs, “Favorite Harp Solos” (classical), and “Jazz for Harp.” You can order these CDs as well as sheet music, and you can listen to audio samples from the CDs.
Jim also operates Reel Recording, an on-location recording service using a professional reel to reel analog recorder, specializing in the recording of live, classical/acoustic performances.
He was Artistic Director and composer for the new music ensemble, Lothlorien, which received support from New York State Council on the Arts, Meet the Composer, and other cultural funding organizations. Having studied with Vasant Rai at The Alam School Indian Music, his compositions for the ensemble were a blend of East and West, incorporating sarod, tabla, and santoor with flute, harp, cello, and bass.
Mr. Palmer continues to give workshops on the classical music of North India, performing on sitar and sarod.
