Description
About Tomoko
Tomoko has been playing the harp professionally for twenty-years in the Los Angeles/Orange County area. As an active chamber musician, she has frequently performed in a harp/cello duo at various venues, including the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, the Nixon Library, Hosen House, and several charity concerts and disaster relief funds. As a co-founder of Harpsody Duo and Harptet, Tomoko was invited to perform for the American Harp Society Institute. She was also a featured guest musician in such publications as The American Harp Society and edible: Orange County. She is a three-time recipient of the Best Business of Irvine Award in the category of Musicians. Her works can be heard in multiple films and recordings.
As an educator, Tomoko teaches students from age 5 to 70. She has been invited several times to be an adjudicator for scholarship auditions and coachings at masterclasses at the Orange and Los Angeles Chapter of the American Harp Society. Currently, she is a harp coach at Woodbridge High School in Irvine, and a treasurer of the Orange County Chapter of the American Harp Society.
Tomoko is a graduate of Chapman University, Manhattan School of Music, and holds a DMA from the University of Southern California. She is a member of the American Harp Society, Pi Kappa Lambda, the National Music Honor Society, and the Music Teachers Association of California.
Tomoko's past performances
Booking and General Policy
- Get in touch with us via email, phone, or chat with us on our website to set an appointment.
- Choose a musician, group, or package and ask for a draft contract. For ceremony & cocktail bookings, you may opt to book online through our interactive tool. Refer to our calendar to check for an available slot for your event date.
- Secure the date by depositing a down payment of 25% through our interactive tool and pay via credit card, venmo, paypal, or send us a check.
Your booking is automatically confirmed upon receipt of the deposit OR signed contract!
Please note: If we don’t receive the signed contract OR the required deposit within 7 days from the date of the contract, we will need to re-confirm the artist(s) availability again.
Once your booking is confirmed, you will receive a username and password to access our portal. You may now create your custom wedding playlist via our interactive portal.
Please use our interactive tool to choose among thousands of songs in our playlist. There you can choose songs for your ceremony and cocktail hour.
We understand that at times, the unexpected happens. Our policy on cancellations are written below:
- For cancellations 30 days before the event, you will receive a 100% refund of the deposit amount.
- For cancellations less than 30 days before the event, the deposit is non-refundable.
Please Provide Shade/Umbrella
- We require a shade/umbrella for our musicians, instruments, and audio equipment. This is due to the extreme sensitivity of musical instruments to changes in temperature and exposure to sunlight and humidity. In some cases exposure to elements may lead to irreparable damage to the instruments.
Please Prepare a Covered/Dry Location in Case of Rain
- We require a covered/dry location for our musicians, instruments, and audio equipment in case of rain. Exposure to water or humidity is damaging to our musical instruments and audio equipment. In some cases exposure to elements may lead to irreparable damage to the instruments.
- We love playing outdoors but in lower temperatures please provide a heater for our musicians. Our musicians remain outdoors for more than an hour with an additional hour to set up before the appointment. The heater will keep them warm before and during their performance.
The strings of a harp have different colors. All of the C-strings are red and all of the F- strings are black or dark blue. While all of the other strings are white, or not colored as in the case of metal wire strings. Harp’s strings are color-coded for quick reference.This helps the wedding harp player to identify where he/she is in the octave and play the right notes.
The technique of playing both the Celtic or “lever” harp and Concert or “pedal” harp (also sometimes called Classical harp) is quite similar but they have a lot of differences in terms of size, price and repertoire. Concert harps are vastly more complex than lever harps and so come with a higher price tag. Lever harps usually have between 22 and 36 strings and are generally smaller in size while Concert harps usually have 44-48 strings and often have an extended soundboard at the bass end for added volume. Wedding Harp Players normally use Concert Harp.
Wedding Harpists are a bit like pianists. They make excellent accompanists! We have some of the most amazing wedding singers who we can pair with the wedding harpist to make it easier to go over all the details and schedule a short run-through before the performance. Keep in mind that our harp players in OMG are seasoned professionals, so they may be confident accompanying the other musician without a rehearsal. However, it’s important to check this with the harpist beforehand.
Yes, of course! Cocktail hours were also made for the wedding harpist. Just make sure to let us know early since they’ll need time to move their harp to the new location spots, and ensure that they have the appropriate space because the harp is bulky.
Nick M.
We are truly lucky to have found Tomoko. Tomoko performed at our wedding ceremony and reception and she wowed everyone with her beautiful music. From the very first consultation to the day of the wedding, Tomoko put us at ease and took care of every little detail. We cannot recommend Tomoko enough. You will not regret it.