Equally at home in an orchestra or in a jazz club, Boston-based harpist Charles Overton aims to create a musical environment that is accessible, exciting, and resonates deeply with audiences.
Overton performs frequently with the Boston Symphony as both a second and substitute harpist, this past season joining them on a week-long tour to Japan. Highlights in chamber music include three summers performing at the Yellow Barn Summer Music Festival, as well as concerts with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Castle of Our Skins, the Walden Chamber Players, and the Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia. He has performed as a soloist with New England ensembles including the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra, Boston Civic Symphony and Boston Landmarks Orchestra. Also an avid jazz musician, he appears regularly in clubs all over the northeast, including Jimmy’s, Scullers, the Regattabar, and Le Poisson Rouge, as both leader and sideman.
Originally from Richmond, VA, he began his musical journey with formative experiences with the American Youth Harp Ensemble and the Interlochen Arts Academy before moving to Boston in 2012 to expand his musical horizons at the Berklee College of Music. During his studies he attended orchestra festivals like the Pacific Music Festival and the Tanglewood Music Center, and also became immersed in the world of jazz and improvised music, owing much of his outlook on music to lessons from the renowned artist-faculty of the Berklee Global Jazz Institute.
Overton currently serves on the faculty of the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, and is actively writing and arranging new music for upcoming projects.