Mary Bircher Harpist
I am a certified clinical musician, harp teacher and orchestral harpist
I am passionate about
Sharing healing music
Guiding students to become joyful & confident musicians
Connecting through music
Healing Harp Music
Music is fundamental to our communication as humans; through music we can communicate deep feelings and emotions in ways that words cannot. As a professional harpist I have played symphony concerts, chamber music and opera, performed as soloist in recitals and concerti, and provided music for hundreds of weddings and special events. Music is my life's work. Time after time I have found that the really important thing about music is communication. Music is a powerful tool to help distract a patient from pain, promote relaxation and rest, encourage the healthy release of emotions and create a calm and healing environment for patients, families and staff.
As a Certified Clinical Musician/ Artist in Residence/Music Consultant I have the highly specialized skillset to make a difference in the lives of many. My training and experience can help you create a top notch music program that has the potential to provide a truly memorable and positive healing environment for all who enter your space and would above all enhance the patient experience.
Children's Hospital & Medical Center
A dozen harpists performed at Children's yesterday, filling up the Atrium with beautiful seasonal music. It was a treat for our patients, families & staff. We are grateful for their talent and thoughtfulnes!
Omaha World Herald
Live music brings holiday cheer to patients at Children's Hospital and Medical Center
By Eric Smith / World-Herald staff writer
After spending the last two days at Children’s Hospital & Medical Center, Brandon Scott was cleared to go home on Wednesday afternoon. But when his mom, Shari Scott, pulled the car around to pick him up, the 9-year-old with sickle cell disease wasn’t ready to leave. Instead, he was mesmerized by a group of harp players in the lobby of the Omaha hospital. Brandon was one of a handful of patients who listened to a soothing holiday performance from 10 harpists from the Omaha Harp Circle. “He was glued to them,” his mom said. “He decided that he wanted to stay a little bit longer.“ With sickle cell, stress can flare his pain. This really allowed him to relax.” The Omaha Harp Circle performers played at the hospital Wednesday for the eighth year in a row, said Mary Bircher, the group’s director. She said the group looks forward to spreading holiday cheer each year with their music. Bircher also plays at Children’s by herself a handful of times a year and met Brandon a few weeks ago when he was there for an appointment. Bircher gave Brandon an up-close look at the tranquil instruments before Wednesday’s performance. “I liked them. I want to play them,” said Brandon, who moved to Omaha from Colorado seven years ago to be closer to Children’s. Sickle cell disease affects the amount of oxygen in red blood cells. The disease causes patients to get fatigued easily and also causes pain in the chest and abdomen. Brandon visited Children’s a dozen times last year but is improving. He’s been to the hospital eight times in 2015. Dressed in a bright orange sweatshirt, Brandon listed to the 45-minute performance with wide eyes as doctors and nurses stopped by for a break in their hectic day. The harpists performed holiday classics such as Deck the Halls, Silent Night and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. “We hope this helps everybody be a little bit happier,” Bircher said. “It helps people have a little break or diversion.“ Maybe it’s a scary time and this gives them a distraction for a little bit.” Dale Wratchford, the chaplain at Children’s and certified therapeutic musician, said a harp’s calming sound has a noticeable impact on helping patients heal more quickly.“ When they hear this sound and the music, it’s almost a sense of pure joy that comes over them,” Wratchford said. “You can’t give enough medication to equal this.“ It’s healing and removes pain. It gets you to think about something else for awhile." The performance was exactly what Brooke Wantoch, of Lincoln, needed. Wantoch’s daughter, Zeeanna, was born on Aug. 12 with a congenital heart defect. She was moved to Children’s when she was 3 hours old and hasn’t been able to leave the hospital. Wantoch listened to the performance and said she needed to get away from the daily routine at the hospital. Wantoch said her family expected to be at Children’s for four or five weeks following Zeeanna’s birth. Since then, Zeeanna has undergone seven heart surgeries. Wantoch stepped away to catch the annual performance. “It was just beautiful music,” said Wantoch.“ I had never listened to a harp before so I thought I’d come down and check it out. “I spent 12 to 14 hours here a day so it was kind of nice to get away a little bit. This reminded me of Christmas and brought my spirits up.”
Omaha Chamber Music Society Hospice House Musical Outreach
Twelve years since inception, the music outreach program at the Josie Harper Hospice House developed by Mary Bircher and the Omaha Chamber Music Society continues to thrive. It has come to be highly regarded, receiving praise from staff, administration, residents and families.
UNMC Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center
Harp at the Cancer Center
Beginning in 2018 I played my harp weekly as a member of the Healing Arts Program at the UNMC Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center in Omaha, NE. It was a wonderful and rewarding experience to share healing harp music throughout the the Cancer Center lobby and atrium, in clinics and on patient floors.
About Me
Mary Bircher has recently returned to her hometown of Richmond, Virginia following a successful career as an orchestral harpist. She is currently performing with the Richmond Symphony and teaching in her home studio. As a therapeutic musician, Ms Bircher serves as Resident Harpist at Bon Secours St Mary's Hospital where she can be found sharing healing music in the surgery waiting area, the main lobby and the emergency department. She is a member of the Therapeutic Musicians of the Blue Ridge, playing at Hospice of the Piedmont Hospice House.
Ms Bircher performed as principal harpist of the Omaha (NE) Symphony from 1981-2021. On numerous occasions she was featured as soloist with the Omaha Symphony. Praised for her “truly virtuoso and seemingly effortless performance”, she has performed with the Baltimore Symphony, the Grand Teton Music Festival, the Des Moines Metro Opera and the Colorado Music Festival, the Midwest Harp Festival, and the World Harp Congress in Geneva, Switzerland. Ms. Bircher enjoys the opportunity to creatively explore all types of music in a wide variety of venues. As a Certified Clinical Musician she has played regularly at Omaha's Josie Harper Hospice House, Omaha Children’s Hospital and Medical Center and the UNMC Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center. An enthusiastic and respected teacher, Ms. Bircher enjoys working with students of all ages and abilities. She has recorded for American Gramaphone Records and Summit Records and also with flutist Willis Ann Ross and trumpeter Craig Bircher.
Ms. Bircher began her journey with the harp as a student in the Richmond Public Schools harp program, and she continues to be grateful for the wonderful opportunities provided by her public school education. A graduate of the Peabody Institute of Music and a student of Jeanne Chalifoux and Alice Chalifoux, she spent six wonderful summers studying at the Salzedo Summer Harp Colony in Camden, Maine. Ms. Bircher is married to trumpet player Craig Bircher. The musical couple are the proud parents of two adult children who love music and surprised their parents by becoming a biochemist and a robotics engineer.
Check us out on Spotify!
Our very popular recording, "Music for Ceremonies and Celebrations", is now available on Spotify. I recorded this with my wonderful husband and fantastic trumpet player Craig Bircher. For this album, Craig and I chose a wonderful selection of our favorite wedding music, arranged by the two of us for Harp and Trumpet.
Another fun recording experience-in my early days in Omaha I had the privilege of performing on (as Mary Walter) the first two Mannheim Steamroller Christmas albums, "Mannheim Steamroller Christmas "and "A Fresh Aire Christmas". These albums are classic Christmas music!
We hope you enjoy listening!