VeeRonna Ragone
VeeRonna has had the privilege of sitting under many celebrated musicians, starting with her father who was an excellent Boogie Woogie and jazz pianist. It was the joy of watching her father play that inspired her to pursue the harp in an uncommon manner.
While passionate about playing pop and jazz forms of music with the harp, VeeRonna's parents knew she would first benefit from classical music education. This brought her under the tutelage of harp educator, Karen Miller. Private instruction continued through college and beyond with nationally acclaimed harpist and legendary harp master, the late Suzanne Balderston. Harp and music performance would become a way of life at the Music Academy of the West and later at the University of Nevada, Reno.
VeeRonna excelled in the Classical music setting, playing professionally for the Phoenix and Mesa Symphonies and the Phoenix Bach Choir. For nearly 30 years as a freelance soloist, VeeRonna has entertained on stage in settings such as Caesar's Palace and with professional entertainment troupes such as the Bolshoi Ballet. She has performed for several professional theatre productions including The Sound of Music, Once Upon A Mattress, and A Child's Christmas in Wales. VeeRonna has also served as a TV guest by premiering her new "Southwestern" sound on "Your Life A to Z," an Arizona morning show. In addition, she has played at the 2008 "Superbowl NFL Experience" and the "Sonoma Jazz Festival." She was also a featured performer for Desert Botanical Gardens' Noche de las Luminarias.
With a solid classical music foundation in place, VeeRonna felt it was time to branch out into the area of music virtually untapped by the harp. Driven to take her harp to new and unprecedented levels, VeeRonna continued to seek out teachers that could offer her more than traditional musical education, so she sought out various Grammy and Grammy-nominated artists for insight and instruction. She has had the honor of studying with artists such as Deborah Henson- Conant, the late Harvey Griffin, Frank Voltz, and Park Stickney, to list a few.
But that wasn't enough, VeeRonna has even gone to extent of studying under accomplished guitarists and percussionists to see what "out of the box" music she could create. Over time, her musical styles have become diverse and numerous. Today, it isn't uncommon to hear influences from Latin, Flamenco, Blues, Jazz and Pop traditions.