BIOGRAPHY
Award-winning Belgian harpist and vocalist Pia Salvia is a unique artist in the world of modern harp. After graduating summa cum laude from Berklee College of Music, she moved to NYC for several years and recently relocated to Los Angeles. Salvia has travelled the world, exploring different musical traditions and infusing elements from those diverse genres into the world of the harp which creates a new sound unlike anything heard before. Her original music merges elements of Jazz, Pop and World Music. She was invited to perform in numerous festivals such as the Festival Mundial del Arpa in Paraguay; Vancouver Island Music Fest in Canada; Festival Internacional Arpa Sentmenat in Spain, Encuentro International Maestros del Arpa in Colombia, Boston Harp Festival in the USA and Gaume Jazz Festival in Belgium, to name a few.Pia Salvia is a harpist/singer from Belgium, based in Los Angeles.
Salvia started playing the harp at the early age of 6 – she had been classically trained for 10 years and later on decided to dedicate her life to changing the function of the harp in music. Salvia is one of those artists who incorporate the classical harp in various styles of music outside of the classic tradition. She composes, arranges and performs original compositions that feature the harp in different settings and styles of music.
Salvia has performed in the United States and around the world in prestigious venues and festivals, such as the Boston Harp Festival, Boston Symphony Hall, Berklee Performance Center, Second International Harp Festival in Bogota, Festival Internacional Arpa Sentmenat in Spain, Festival Mundial del Arpa en El Paraguay, Vancouver Island Music Fest in Canada and many more.
Her latest album "Blissful Sigh" was released in July 2020 and is available on all platforms. Her new album of covers is coming out this year as well as new original songs.
Throughout her career, Salvia has won numerous music competitions, such as the National Competition of Belgium Dexia "Axion Classic" in November 2008 (1st prize), the competition Ufam in Paris in 2000 (class honors) and 2006 (the first medal), and the competition Felix Godefroid in 2003 (1st prize)—to name a few.
Salvia has released her first solo cd (harp and vocals) in March 2010.
Additionally, Salvia has worked with the duo HADA (harp, vocals and percussion) in 2009, with which she won first prize in the Francophone Imagine Competition, performed in prestigious venues and festivals such as the Wapi Jazz Night, Gaume Jazz Festival and recorded an album.
During this time, Salvia moved to Cuba for a few months to study the local musical tradition and culture, a trip that has changed her perspective on music and led her to further experiment with the harp.
Salvia has studied voice and harp in Belgium, France, Holland and Norway. She began studying in the Music Academy International of Nancy in September 2010. During this time she participated in several programs of the famous French channel TF1, formed a band “Satyameva” with which she performed in many venues and recorded an album. She also formed a duo project, “Takk Two”, that performed in the Wapi Jazz Night in Belgium. Salvia graduated with the highest distinction from the Music Academy International of Nancy.
Right after graduation, in 2011, Pia was invited to perform for the Festival Esperanzah and the Tournai Jazz Festival in Belgium, as well as in the show « Lorraine de chœur, 2000 choristes: La folle histoire des comédies musicales » at Galaxy d’Amnéville in France as a harpist and singer-soloist alongside several famous French artists.
After that, in 2012, Salvia was selected to participate in the famous TV show: “The Voice” in France, and made it to the top 20.
Later on, Salvia began her studies at Berklee College of Music with a major scholarship, from which she graduated, Summa Cum Laude, in May 2017.
During her time in Boston, Salvia has further developed her style and began new collaborations. She spent a semester in Valencia, studying Spanish music, and travelled to Brazil and Colombia to learn about Brazilian music and the Colombian harp tradition. Following this visit, Salvia was invited back to Colombia to perform and give master classes at the "Second International Harp Festival" in Bogota (Colombia).
After graduating from Berklee College of Music, Salvia moved to New York City where she lived and performed for 3 years. Following that time, she reconnected with her home land, Belgium, for 2 years, where she performed and taught pop & jazz harp at the Royal Conservatory of Liège.
She recently moved to Los Angeles where she performs and teaches.