Harpist Ruth Mertens is passionate about sharing her love of beauty and music with the community and is an active writer, teacher, and performer. An avid promoter of harp history, Ruth has published multiple articles, including a piece on French concertante works in The American Harp Journal. Ruth is currently the teaching fellow for the University of North Texas harp studio and has previously served as the harp teacher for the UNT String Project program. Ruth performs regularly and has played with numerous chamber groups and large ensembles, including the award-winning UNT HarpBeats.
As a member of the UNT HarpBeats, Ruth has traveled to Hong Kong to perform at the 13th World Harp Congress, to Chicago for the 2017 Lyon & Healy Summer Concert Series, and to San Antonio for the 2016 Texas Music Teacher’s Association conference. These concerts featured several of Ruth’s arrangements for harp ensemble, including “Orinoco Flow” by Enya and “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction. In addition to her ensemble work, Ruth performs frequently as a soloist. She was a 2016-2017 UNT Concerto Competition winner and was awarded third prize in the Lewisville Lake Symphony Competition for Strings and Harp in 2017.
Ruth has been recognized numerous times for her accomplishments on and off the stage, receiving honors such as the 2017 UNT Outstanding Undergraduate Student in Strings Award, 2019 UNT Outstanding Undergraduate Student in Musicology Award, and the 2018-2019 UNT College of Music Presser Undergraduate Scholar Award.
Follow Us