Samantha Wittchen

The Wittchen Initiative

Way back in 2007, during the dark days of the George W. Bush presidency, three Wittchen women put their heads together to come up with a way to make the world a better place through music.  They decided their best shot was to combine Andrea and Samantha’s fierce harp playing with Alexandra’s huge voice to play songs that shock and awe (to use a favorite W-era phrase).  In early 2008, they launched The Wittchen Initiative.  Multi-instrumentalist (but mostly tubist and token non-Wittchen) Dan Nosheny, was quickly added to the roster, and thus was born the world’s first two harp, tuba and voice act.  (And there was much rejoicing.)

Since then, the band has been on a mission to surprise audiences by the harp’s versatility beyond traditional music genres. To that end, they have created arrangements of an eclectic mix of tunes that run the gamut from jazz standards to country, pop, Broadway and hard rock. Their first, self-titled CD of jazz standards and covers was released in November 2009. Most recently they’ve been working on writing and arranging original works that can spark a revolution in what the harp can deliver – acoustically, amplified, or altered. Their EP, Unrequitable, released in 2011, includes all original tunes written and arranged by the band.

The group’s eclectic style and upbeat shows have earned them a loyal following in and around Philadelphia.  In addition to playing myriad private parties in the region, they’ve performed at the following:

TEDxPhoenixville
The Mid-Atlantic Regional Harp Conference (Virginia)
Zoellner Arts Center
Ortlieb’s Lounge
The Maas Building
Melodies Café
Underground Arts