BIOGRAPHY

An internationally recognized harpist, Margaret Anne Altagen is driven by curiosity and enthusiasm. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree under Dr. Noël Wan while serving as teaching assistant for the harp studio at Florida State University (FSU). She previously studied under Dr. Jaymee Haefner at the University of North Texas (UNT) where she was awarded the 2025 Undergraduate Presser Scholar Award.  Margaret Anne is a firm believer that music is for serving others, and she enjoys a multi-faceted approach to honing her gifts so that she is best prepared for not only a career in performance, but also in teaching, administration, and service.

Margaret Anne represents one of only four Americans chosen as performers for the World Harp Congress’s Focus on Youth 2024 Program. As an up-and-coming soloist, she won the Prix Renié in the Young Professional Division of the 2025 American Harp Society (AHS) 26th National Competition, first prize in the Advanced Division of the 2023 AHS 25th National Competition, and has given concerti performances as a winner of both the 2023 UNT Concerto Competition and the 2022 Jacqueline Avent Concerto Competition at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival (Tennessee). Equally at home behind the orchestra as she is in front, Margaret Anne has performed with the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, FL and served as principal harpist for the renowned North Texas Wind Symphony and the Lone Star Wind Orchestra (Dallas, Texas), both under the baton of Professor Eugene Migliaro Corporon. She has performed at the Midwest Clinic (Chicago, IL), Texas Music Educators Association Convention (San Antonio, Texas), and College Band Directors National Association Convention (Fort Worth, Texas). An enjoyer of new music, she was awarded a feature spot in the World Harp Congress’s Spectrum Program in March 2024 for her performance of Kati Agóc’s Every Lover is a Warrior. At UNT she assisted composers in learning to write for harp and has taken part in a dozen premiers and readings by students and faculty, including the 2024 world premiere of Dr. Kirsten Soriano’s Canticles for SATB Choir and Orchestra.

Margaret Anne garners inspiration that aids in her performance from the work that she does off the stage and outside of the classroom. She is from Opelika, Alabama (USA) and frequently returns to her musical roots through local volunteer concerts. She enjoyed bringing harp into campuses within Dallas Independent School District by teaching through UNT’s Virtual Private Music Lessons Program. With three years of experience as the student representative for the UNT College of Music Undergraduate Curriculum Committee and two years as an official UNT College of Music Ambassador, Margaret Anne hopes to use her professional skills, performance training, and passion for service throughout her career.