“Frances Duffy’s harp playing in “Dances Sacrée et Profane” was somewhere between ethereal and haunting, as she channeled Debussy at the height of his colorful powers."

-Altoona Mirror

Frances Duffy, DMA, has spent six seasons at Radio City Music Hall as harpist for their Christmas Spectacular and is Principal Harp of the Wheeling and Allentown Symphony Orchestras, the Hudson Valley Symphony Orchestra (formerly Philharmonic) and performs regularly with the American Ballet Theatre at both the Koch Theater and Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center. Recently she finished a seven-month engagement performing as harpist for the Broadway show Wicked and was temporary instructor of harp at the Eastman School of Music during the 2019 fall semester. 

Ms. Duffy has performed with the New York Philharmonic, New York City Ballet, American Symphony Orchestra,  Syracuse Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony,  Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra,  New Jersey Symphony, Albany Symphony, and Hartford Symphony under conductors including JoAnn Falletta, Michael Tilson Thomas, Keith Lockhart, Marin Alsop, Leon Botstein, Kurt Masur, Charles Dutoit, and Lorin Maazel. She is an active freelance musician in the NY Metropolitan area, playing Broadway shows including Wicked, Sweeney Todd, Camelot, My Fair Lady, Mel Brooks’ The Producers, Beauty and the Beast, and The Fantasticks.  In addition, Dr. Duffy has served as harpist with the Pittsburgh Opera and Civic Light Opera and as Acting Principal harpist of the Pittsburgh Ballet Orchestra. 

As a soloist Ms. Duffy has performed concertos with the Allentown Symphony, the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Pennsylvania Sinfonia, Wheeling Symphony, Pittsburgh Civic Orchestra, the Altoona Symphony and the Lyric Orchestra, and performed as the first and only harp soloist with Pittsburgh's River City Brass Band. She has performed recitals at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Concert Hall and Trinity Church in Manhattan and is in demand as a chamber musician, collaborator, and recording artist. Recent recordings include world premieres with the Albany Symphony and Nonesuch records. An ongoing project will be a CD of the works and transcriptions of Marcel Grandjany not previously recorded. 

In July of 2025, Ms. Duffy was a performer, panelist, and teacher at the first annual Toronto International Harp Festival alongside legendary harpists and pedagogues Catherine Michel and Kathleen Bride. In addition to teaching technique, theory, and private lessons, Ms. Duffy performed the music of Marcel Grandjany and conducted a masterclass on orchestral repertoire alongside Ms. Michel and retired Vancouver Symphony Orchestra harpist Elizabeth Volpe Bligh. Ms. Duffy continues work with Andrew Chan, founder of the Festival, and artistic directors Bride and Michel, to collaborate and plan for the 2026 festival. Formerly, she has served as faculty at the Brevard Music Center, Hartwick Music Festival, and ASTA NJ Chamber Music Institute. Currently she is on the faculty of Blair Academy in Blair Township, NJ and has been a guest at Mannes School of Music.

Specializing in the technique, pedagogy, and compositions of Marcel Grandjany, Ms. Duffy has conducted masterclasses and lecture recitals on the legendary harpist and long-time Juilliard faculty member. Grandjany's compositions and transcriptions were the subject of Dr. Duffy's doctoral dissertation, which has since been published in the World Harp Congress Review and was the basis of her lecture recital presentation at the 2020 American String Teachers Association National Conference.  Additional publications include articles on Debussy's Trio Sonata (Harp Column Magazine) and C. P. E. Bach's Sonata for Harp (Historical Harp Bulletin). 

A long-time life member of the American Harp Society, Ms. Duffy serves as the North Jersey Chapter treasurer and is the Treasurer and Competitions Director on the American Harp Foundation Board of Directors. She is an officer of the Historical Harp Society and a member of ASTA, the World Harp Congress, and the American Federation of Musicians. Ms. Duffy received BFA and MM degrees in music performance from Carnegie Mellon University, and a Master of Music in Orchestral Performance degree from the Manhattan School of Music. She completed her doctorate at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts under the guidance of André Tarantiles.  Her other teachers have included Kathleen Bride, Jane B. Weidensaul,  Anne-Marguerite Michaud, Deborah Hoffman, Sarah Bullen and Christa Patton.

" …a few strokes of Frances Duffy’s enchanting harp took us to a higher place, with a note of hope. "   

 Morning Call, Allentown PA