Podcasts · Episode
Ann Hobson Pilot
Program: NoteWorthy
Aired: Monday, March 9, 2026
Hosted by Loki Karuna
What does the harp make you think of? Lush fields of green? Angels carelessly floating around the heavens? Things like that, right? I tend to have those thoughts too, sure, but it’s important to note that for some harp players, there’s a lot of challenge behind that musical serenity. I’m Loki Karuna, and for this edition of Noteworthy we’re gonna explore a little harp history, through the life and career of Ann Hobson Pilot.
Ann Hobson Pilot showed unique talents with the harp almost immediately. By the time she was a senior in high school, she was well beyond professional level, but was rejected from a number of opportunities because of her race. Despite this, she stayed the course, and was eventually invited to serve as master harpist for the National Symphony Orchestra, becoming its first Black member, and one of the first four Black musicians to play with professional orchestras across the entire country. As you can hear in this harp arrangement of “The Lord’s Prayer”, her skills speak for themselves.
Her duties with the National Symphony led to other orchestral appointments, including one with the Boston Symphony, where she retired in 2009. The beauty of Ann Hobson Pilot’s musicianship was matched with many challenges, but all in all, she persisted, and will forever be celebrated as one of history’s most Noteworthy.
Noteworthy is a production of WDAV classical public radio.