Lynnelle Ediger-Kordzaia
Founder, Artistic Director
American Youth Harp Ensemble Artistic Director and Founder Lynnelle Ediger-Kordzaia has seen her dream of a high-caliber harp ensemble grow from infancy to maturity. Under her leadership, the AYHE has established and enjoyed an international reputation for musical and educational excellence.
Mrs. Ediger-Kordzaia has been an invited presenter/performer at the World Harp Conference, American Harp Society National Conferences, the International Folk Harp Conference and the International Harp Therapy Conferences. She is a recipient of the Governor’s Citation for Excellence in the Arts and has twice been named a “Top Forty Under Forty” by arts and business publications in Virginia. Most recently she was honored with the American Alliance for Performing Arts Educators 5th Annual Del Keiffner Award for Outstanding Arts Educator at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., the Teresa Pollak prize for “Excellence in the Arts” from Richmond Magazine, and was the recipient of the 2011 Distinguished Alumni Award in Music Education from Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. She holds an undergraduate degree in harp performance and a graduate degree in music education from Oberlin Conservatory of Music where she was a student of Alice Chalifoux. She also holds a masters degree in arts administration from Goucher College and is pursuing a doctorate in music education from Boston University. Along with her husband, orchestral conductor Alexander Kordzaia, she owns the Academy of Music, a Central Virginia's leading classical music school.
Aponi Brunson
Assistant Artistic Director
A 2003 graduate of the American Youth Harp Ensemble and 2007 graduate of University of Mary Washington, Ms. Brunson directs the HARPS Foundation outreach programs, serving a diverse range of students, from the urban outreach programs with the Greater Richmond Boys and Girls Club and City of Richmond Parks and Recreation to the rural partnership with Charles City Public Schools. Ms. Brunson directs the Harp Therapy Outreach Program under the careful advising of Ms. Ediger and Ms. Owens. In addition to her work with the HARPS Foundation outreach programs, Ms. Brunson assists Ms. Ediger with the various ensemble levels. As a member of the American Youth Harp Ensemble, Ms. Brunson has performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Paris Music Festival, the Edinburgh Festival, and Milan and Rome, Italy.
Alexander Kordzaia
Assistant Conductor
Professional orchestral conductor, pianist and vocal coach. Graduate studies at the T'blisi Conservatory of Music, Republic of Georgia and the Juilliard School of Music. Currently Music Director of the University of Richmond Orchestra. Past music director of the Charlotte Civic Orchestra North Carolina and the Richmond Philharmonic Orchestra Virginia, Mr. Kordzaia has conducted orchestras throughout North America and Europe and is in frequent demand as a guest conductor.