Camille and Kennerly Kitt

Camille Karie and Kennerly Caye Kitt (born 1989) are American harpists, who compose, arrange, and perform as The Harp Twins. The Kitt sisters have released over 100 singles online, as well as nine physical albums of both covers and original songs. They have appeared in several films.

Camille and Kennerly Kitt
Promo picture for an electric harp duet video
Born1989 (age 33–34)
Other namesCamille and Kennerly
Harp Twins
Kitt Twins
Alma materWheaton College (B.M.)
Occupation(s)Harpists, actresses, arrangers
Years active2009–present
YouTube information
Channel
GenreMusic
Subscribers753 thousand[1]
Total views149 million[1]
100,000 subscribers
Last updated: August 18, 2023
WebsiteOfficial Website

Biography

Camille and Kennerly Kitt are of Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish descent.[2] The identical twins began playing piano as children, followed by the harp in junior high school. They earned money for their first harp by taking on jobs such as babysitting and dog-walking in order to show their mom they were serious about playing the harp. Their first harp was a used lever harp.[3]

Both Camille and Kennerly hold Bachelor of Music degrees in Harp Performance and graduated with highest honors from Wheaton College Conservatory of Music.[4][5] Although they are classically trained, their true musical passion is arranging and performing contemporary music for harp duet.[6] They are also third-degree black belts in Taekwondo, and are former Taekwondo instructors.[7] While sparring, Kennerly broke two of her fingers, while Camille required stitches in her face as the result of a puncture wound sustained while holding a board that Kennerly was breaking. These incidents made them decide to stop practicing martial arts, focusing on the harp instead.[7]

Musical career
Camille and Kennerly dressed as elves while filming a video for their Lord of the Rings soundtrack medley

Camille and Kennerly perform as the rock and Celtic harp duo the Harp Twins; they are best known for their duet arrangements of contemporary songs from artists including Iron Maiden, Kansas, The Rolling Stones, Metallica, Lady Gaga, Pink Floyd, Aerosmith, Rihanna, Guns N' Roses, Coldplay, Enya and Journey,[8] as well as musical scores for video games, films, and television.[7][9]

Bailey Johnson, writing at the CBS News "Feed Blog", described their arrangement of The Cranberries' "Zombie" as "elegant, wistful and an excellent tribute".[10] Huffington Post arts reporter Mallika Rao said of their Game of Thrones theme arrangement: "Yes, there have been other attempts to cover Ramin Djawadi's haunting tune before, but this one is now the only one."[11] Megan Bledsoe, in her Doctorate of Musical Arts in Harp Performance dissertation[12] remarks that while groups like Harptallica and the Harp Twins provide a new perspective on previous instrumentation choices within these genres, "the resulting sound of these ensembles, which very closely resembles any harp duet throughout history ... ultimately perpetuates the angelic, calm, feminine stereotypes of the instrument."[8] United Kingdom-based heavy metal music magazine Metal Hammer has an alternative assessment of the Harp Twins. In a "Hot New Band" feature on the Harp Twins entitled "Harp Attack", Metal Hammer remarks: "Rather than turn their attention to obvious, classically grounded territory, The Harp Twins have made a name for themselves covering the likes of Iron Maiden, offering classics like Fear of the Dark a fascinating new lease on life."[13] Ahead of a concert tour in the summer of 2022, they started work with a set of death metal performers, the Volfgang Twins, moving increasingly into a binary light-dark alignment.

In October 2014, Camille and Kennerly represented the United States and performed at the 8th annual World Harp Festival, in Asunción, Paraguay, which brought together more than 30 national and international artists.[14]

Camille and Kennerly perform on Venus "Classic" Concert Grand pedal harps[15] and Lyon & Healy "Silhouette" Electric lever harps.

Acting

Camille and Kennerly portrayed "The Merry Christians" in the film Politics of Love, directed by William Dear, and "The Marcelli Twins" in the dark teen comedy blacktino, produced by Elizabeth Avellan. Camille and Kennerly can be seen in the trailer for blacktino.[16] Additionally, the Harp Twins had minor roles in Delivery Man, starring Vince Vaughn[17] and appeared in the season six finale of The Walking Dead.

Personal lives

When not traveling, Camille and Kennerly make their home in Northern Illinois (affectionately known as Harptopia) with their mother, Diane, and their older brother, Brian. Camille and Kennerly are both vegetarians and do not drink alcohol.

Discography

Albums
  • Harp Attack (December 2013). Harp covers of rock and metal songs.[18]
Track Length
1. Fear of the Dark 6:22
2. Send Me an Angel 4:20
3. Nothing Else Matters 5:33
4. Paint It Black 3:35
5. Don't Fear the Reaper 4:19
6. It's My Life 2:32
7. Smoke on the Water 3:33
8. Wish You Were Here 3:22
9. Zombie 2:11
10. With or Without You 3:04
11. Sweet Child O' Mine 2:36
12. Highway to Hell 2:21
13. Stairway to Heaven 4:05
14. Dream On 3:47
  • Harp Fantasy (December 2013). Harp covers of video game, anime, film and television soundtracks.[18]
Track Length
1. Game of Thrones Main Title 1:48
2. Star Trek Main Title 2:00
3. Misty Mountains (From The Hobbit) 1:43
4. Mario: Rainbow Road / Dire Dire Docks 2:48
5. Doctor Who Theme 2:02
6. The Rains of Castamere (From Game of Thrones) 2:45
7. Saint Seiya: Mime's Requiem / Abel's Harp 2:45
8. The Walking Dead Theme 1:38
9. Final Fantasy: Prelude / To Zanarkand 3:40
10. Silent Hill: Promise (Reprise) / Not Tomorrow 4:56
11. The Legend of Zelda: Ballad of the Goddess 1:44
12. Hedwig's Theme (From Harry Potter) 2:36
13. Skyrim Main Theme (Dragonborn) 3:04
14. Lord of the Rings Medley 5:14
  • Harp Attack 2 (February 2015). Harp covers of rock and metal songs.[18]
Track Length
1. Dance of Death 7:12
2. Hotel California 4:57
3. Eye of the Tiger 2:40
4. The Unforgiven 4:58
5. Every Breath You Take 3:32
6. House of the Rising Sun 3:04
7. A Tout Le Monde 4:03
8. My Immortal 4:03
9. Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) 3:39
10. Rhiannon 3:12
11. Crazy Train 4:39
12. The Bard's Song (In the Forest) 3:38
13. Carry On Wayward Son 3:16
14. Don't Stop Believin' 2:23
15. Hotel California (feat. Sonido Urbano & Kevin Bartlett) 5:08
  • Harp Fantasy 2 (May 2016). Harp covers of video game, anime, film and television soundtracks.[18]
Track Length
1. Pirates of the Caribbean 3:34
2. The Imperial March (From Star Wars) 1:59
3. Now We Are Free (From Gladiator) 2:57
4. Lost Woods (From The Legend of Zelda) 2:20
5. Big Bang Theory Theme 1:41
6. Elwynn Forest (From World of Warcraft) 2:24
7. If I Had a Heart (From Vikings) 3:10
8. Sailor Moon Theme: Moonlight Densetsu 3:15
9. My Heart Will Go On (From Titanic) 4:29
10. The Hanging Tree (From The Hunger Games) 3:24
11. My Little Pony Theme: Friendship Is Magic 1:58
12. Downton Abbey Theme 3:25
13. Into the West (From The Lord of the Rings) 4:25
14. Star Wars 3:31
  • Harp Attack 3
  • Harp Fantasy 3
  • Winter Lights
  • Harp Reflections
  • Harp Attack 4

Single releases

The Harp Twins have released many of their harp duet performances in online stores and as online videos.

Here is a partial list.

Filmography

Camille and Kennerly have appeared in several full-length and short films.

  • Delivery Man (2013)
  • Politics of Love (2011) [19]
  • blacktino (2011)
  • T is for Twine (2011)
  • Super Force 5 (2010)
  • Elephant Medicine (2010)
  • Inside America (2009)
  • The End of Lost Beginnings (2009)
  • Lost Along the Way (2008)

References
  1. "About Camille and Kennerly". YouTube.
  2. McQuiston, James A. (2015). "THE HARP TWINS". Celtic Guide. Retrieved August 27, 2020. Our heritage is mostly Nordic (Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish)
  3. "Harp Twins 'Game Of Thrones' Cover Earns Chicago Duo Fans' Praise". The Huffington Post. May 5, 2012.
  4. Collins, Dillon (March 24, 2016). "Harp Twins Hit NL". Newfoundland Herald. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  5. "Gemelas del Arpa: 'No sabíamos que teníamos tantos fans en Paraguay'" [Harp Twins: 'We did not know we had so many fans in Paraguay']. Última Hora (in Spanish). October 6, 2014.
  6. "IRON MAIDEN's 'Dance Of Death' Covered By HARP TWINS (Video)". Blabbermouth.net. May 16, 2014.
  7. Jones, Anna (May 8, 2013). "Identical Twins Who Play Harp Duets". LA Weekly.
  8. Bledsoe, Megan A. (2012). The Harp in Jazz and American Pop Music (PDF) (Ph.D.). University of Washington. p. 57.
  9. "Interview: Camille and Kennerly - The Harp Twins". Nintendolife.com. March 6, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  10. "Beautiful harp cover of The Cranberries' 'Zombie'". CBS News. March 7, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  11. "The Harp Twins' 'Game Of Thrones' Intro". The Huffington Post. May 5, 2012.
  12. "Our Twenty-third Season! 2014 - 2015". Hawai'i Vocal Arts Ensemble. Archived from the original on July 25, 2015. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  13. "HARP ATTACK!". Metal Hammer (244): 11. June 2013.
  14. "8VO. Festival Mundial del Arpa se Realizará en Asunción del 3 al 4 de Octubre Próximos" (in Spanish). Municipalidad de Asunción. October 1, 2014. Archived from the original on October 2, 2014. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  15. "Official Venus Harps website". VenusHarps.com. Archived from the original on November 27, 2013. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  16. "blacktino SXSW Trailer". Vimeo. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  17. "Delivery Man (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  18. "Harp Twins ~ Camille and Kennerly". HarpTwins.com. Archived from the original on April 23, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  19. Randeria-Leonard, Shyamal. "Mallika Sherawat Graces Naz 8 Premiere of 'Politics of Love'". India-West. Ramesh Murarka. Archived from the original on February 12, 2018. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
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