Jo Ann Smith
Prepare to be transfixed by the ethereal sounds of a sweetly tuned diatonic autoharp in the hands of a true master. Well-known for her expressive and melodic playing style, Jo Ann Smith has charmed audiences and won legions of followers world-wide. Her YouTube videos featuring autoharp have a combined viewership of nearly two million views to date.Jo Ann is a two-time International (Winfield) Autoharp Champion, having won the title in 1999 and 2013. She has also won the 2003 Mountain Laurel Autoharp Championship.
In addition to being considered one of the world’s premier autoharp players, Jo Ann is a passionate promoter of the autoharp and uses her skills to enlighten and teach others about the untapped potential of this unique instrument. Her creative instrumental arrangements cover a broad spectrum of musical genres, from folk ballads, bluegrass, country and classical to Gospel, Celtic, Old-Time and beyond. She has performed at notable venues such as the Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour in Lexington, KY, the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, KS and Sore Fingers Summer School in Oxfordshire, UK. She has also taught and performed at numerous folk music festivals throughout the US.
Visit Jo Ann’s website at http://www.autoharpist.com for links to her albums, videos, instructional articles and more. You’ll discover, along with scores of others who have seen and heard Jo Ann perform, that you will never see an autoharp the same way again.