JoAnn Cerdenia is a passionate harpist and educator with extensive training in music composition and harp performance. She completed her studies in music composition at the University of the Philippines and her harp studies at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Her passion for the harp began at an early age when she saw a street harpist in her hometown in Cebu, Philippines. Though she lacked the means to pursue the instrument, this early exposure to the harp was to stay and grow in her heart.
Upon college, she went to Manila to test her mettle at the University of the Philippines. While studying there, she came across Professor Lourdes De Leon Gregorio who, incidentally, was the only professional harp teacher in the Philippines at that time. The good professor took her under her wing as her personal scholar in learning the harp. For years, Jo-Ann had to commute from UP to CCP and back - up to four hours travelling time - just to have some practice time with the harp, as access to the harp was very hard at that time.
As her passion and determination for the harp grew, she sought further studies in faraway lands. Several years after graduating from the UP College of Music, she studied the German language and became proficient enough to be able to go to Germany and enter one of the many wonderful conservatories in that country. After some time of searching, she was able to enter the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Dusseldorf where she studied under the wise instruction of Italian harpist Fabiana Trani. With teaching being her ultimate mission in life, she majored in harp pedagogy and was mentored by pedagogue Prof. Wolfgang Rüdiger. She also attended master classes with world-renowned harpists Alice Giles, Irina Zing, and Olga Shevelevich. Furthering her studies, she also received harp methodology instruction from harpists Hye-Young Kim and Susana Feige.
After Jo-Ann returned to the Philippines from her studies in Germany, she and her husband Hans Cerdenia founded HarpRoom—the first and only harp school in the country at the time. With a heartfelt mission to make the harp more accessible and to nurture a growing community of harpists, they set out to bring quality harp education to those who had little to no access. In the early years, HarpRoom reached out to aspiring harpists from across the country—often flying the harp to the southern regions of the Philippines to provide access to both the instrument and quality instruction. These efforts allowed students in remote areas, where harp teachers were unheard of, to begin their own musical journeys. This commitment to accessibility and excellence became the foundation of HarpRoom's identity. When the pandemic hit, HarpRoom seamlessly transitioned online. This shift not only kept lessons going but opened doors for students from all over the world to learn from Jo-Ann. Many of them thrived—some even excelling in competitions—proving that distance is no barrier to meaningful music education.
Now based in North Sydney, Australia, Jo-Ann teaches harp through online and face-to-face lessons. Each session is personalized, meeting the student where they are and helping them grow according to their goals and pace. Alongside teaching, Jo-Ann is actively composing new music for harp, pursuing her master’s degree in composition at the Australian Institute of Music, and working on her debut album of original compositions for voice and harp. She is also launching a program called Harp for a Cause, which uses harp music to support meaningful causes and charitable initiatives. Jo-Ann serves in the music ministry of Christ Church Lavender Bay and performs in private functions, sharing her music in both sacred and intimate settings. Her journey—marked by dedication, creativity, and compassion—continues to inspire harpists of all ages around the world.
Jo-Ann Cerdenia belongs to a very rare and small group of harp players in the Philippines. Even rarer, she is one of less-than-a-handful professionally-trained harp teachers in the country. She finished her studies in music composition at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, and subsequently completed her harp studies at Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Her passion for the harp began at an early age when she saw a street harpist in her hometown in Cebu. Though she lacked the means to pursue the instrument, this early exposure to the harp was to stay and grow in her heart.
Upon college, she went to Manila to test her mettle at the University of the Philippines. While studying there, she came across Professor Lourdes De Leon Gregorio who, incidentally, was the only professional harp teacher in the Philippines at that time. The good professor took her under her wing as her personal scholar in learning the harp. For years, Jo-Ann had to commute from UP to CCP and back - up to four hours travelling time - just to have some practice time with the harp, as access to the instrument was extremely hard at that time.
As her passion and determination for the harp grew, she sought further studies in faraway lands. Several years after graduating from the UP College of Music, she studied the German language and became proficient enough to be able to go to Germany and enter one of the many wonderful conservatories in that country. After some time of searching, she was able to enter the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Dusseldorf where she studied under the wise instruction of Italian harpist Fabiana Trani. With teaching being her ultimate mission in life, she majored in harp pedagogy and was mentored by pedagogue Prof. Wolfgang Rüdiger. She also attended master classes with world-renowned harpists Alice Giles, Irina Zing, and Olga Shevelevich. Furthering her studies, she also received harp methodology instruction from harpists Hye-Young Kim and Susana Feige.
At a music festival in Frankfurt, she came accross harps made by Camac Harps France, one of the best harp makers in the world. Impressed with the quality and beauty of the instruments, she quickly struck a friendship with Camac's CEO, Jakez Francois. Upon returning to the Philippines after several years of hard work, she and her husband founded HarpRoom in Diliman, Quezon City with the mission of multiplying harpists and harp teachers in the country, and increasing the love and appreciation for the instrument. They began a partnership with Camac Harps France in order to make harps more accessible to anyone who wants to learn. After just one year of partnership, HarpRoom became the exclusive distributor of Camac Harps France in the Philippines and have increased the number of harp ownership and proficiency in the country.
Recently, she has fostered a special friendship with Katryna Tan, Singapore's finest harpist, who is also the founder of Rave Harps - the company behind the Singapore Harpfests. HarpRoom produced Katryna Tan's first-ever harp concerto in the country, co-presented by the Singapore Embassy in Manila, BDO, and Camac Harps France. The Philippines was also represented during the 6th Singapore Harpfest last September 2019, with HarpRoom sending young harpists from Metro Manila, Cebu, and Cagayan de Oro who won various competition awards - another unprecedented achievement for the Philippine harp community.
Jo-Ann Cerdenia's life journey thus far does prove that attaining one's dream is possible despite hardships and lack of opportunity. And that so long as you keep your trust in God, he will see you through.
