Laurel Harned of Redlands, an 18-year-old classical guitarist, is one of 21 recipients of From the Top’s 2024 Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Awards.
As a Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist, Harned is receiving a $10,000 award, and she will appear on an episode of From the Top’s radio program that features young classical musicians and airs weekly on nearly 200 stations nationwide.
In Southern California, the From the Top episode including Harned will air at 6 p.m. May 5 on KUSC, 91.5 FM.
Harned and the other 2024 Jack Kent Cooke Young Artists were chosen from more than 250 applicants who are promising pre-college musicians with demonstrated need, according to a news release. In addition to receiving financial awards and performing on a radio broadcast, the winners also participate in From the Top’s Learning and Media Lab.
Harned plans to use her award to spend a month studying guitar in Spain during the summer and to participate in festivals and competitions, according to the news release.
From the Top is a national organization celebrating young classically trained musicians and seeking to fill gaps in classical music training by giving young musicians experiences in media and technology, community engagement and more.
Through its partnership with the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, more than $4 million has been awarded to more than 400 young musicians since 2005, according to the news release. The awards are used to help offset the costs of studying classical music at a high level.
Harned, daughter of Jason and Abby Harned, has grown up on her parents’ Three Sisters Farm in San Timoteo Canyon in Redlands. She began studying guitar with Susan Graves when she was 9 and recently began studying with Jack Sanders, according to From the Top’s .
In 2023, she received first prize in the Denver International Youth Competition, held during the annual Denver Guitar Festival, where she was also a semifinalist in the Josefina P. Tuason International Guitar Competition. She was also selected as a semifinalist in the 2022 and 2023 James Stroud National Classical Guitar Competition at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
In June 2023, she attended the Celedonio Romero Guitar Institute at Oklahoma City University, where she studied with the Romero Quartet, participated in masterclasses and private lessons and performed solo and in ensembles.
In addition to studying guitar, she teaches a few beginning guitar students and enjoys outdoor activities such as backpacking and running.
To listen online to the From the Top episode featuring Harned, which was released April 29, see a video of Harned and more, go to .
