Allegra Lilly was appointed Principal Harp of the Houston Symphony in February of 2023. She previously held the Principal Harp position with the St. Louis Symphony for ten seasons. She has appeared as Guest Principal Harp with the Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Toronto Symphony, and Charlotte Symphony, and has also performed with the New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, and All-Star Orchestra.
Since making her solo debut at the age of twelve with the Detroit Symphony, Lilly has performed as soloist with the Lexington Philharmonic, Juilliard Orchestra, National Repertory Orchestra, International Symphony, Camerata Notturna, and numerous ensembles in New York and her home state of Michigan. During her tenure with the St. Louis Symphony, she appeared as soloist three times, performing Debussy’s Danses sacrée et profane, Mozart’s Concerto for Flute and Harp with flutist Mark Sparks, and Ginastera’s Harp Concerto. Her festival appearances have included Brevard Music Center, Grand Teton Music Festival, Arizona Musicfest, Tanglewood Music Center, Artosphere Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi, National Repertory Orchestra, and Castleton Festival. Lilly is an active chamber musician and has performed as a featured guest artist with the Chamber Music Festival of Lexington, Missouri Chamber Music Festival, Innsbrook Institute Music Festival, Missouri River Festival of the Arts, Argento New Music Project, and Carnegie Hall’s EnsembleConnect.
In addition to holding the harp faculty position at Brevard Music Center since 2017, Lilly has given masterclasses at many of the top conservatories and universities in the United States. She has also coached orchestral and chamber music for NYO-USA, NYO2, New World Symphony, Tanglewood Music Center, and the preparatory divisions of The Juilliard School and New England Conservatory. Born in Detroit, Lilly began her study of the harp with Ruth Myers at age seven. She was also a competitive pianist as a child, winning numerous state and local awards before electing to focus exclusively on the harp in college. She went on to join the studio of New York Philharmonic Principal Harpist Nancy Allen at The Juilliard School, where she earned Bachelor and Master of Music degrees.