I've used Bertina for several events and have found her to be professional in every way, not to mention a brilliant musician. European trained and with an enormous repetoire, Bertina played ambient music for everything from an art opening to a fund raiser dinner and a cocktail party held at my home. Everyone loved her music as well as her lovely manner. I would definitely recommend using her for your special event. read more

My husband and I hired Bertina to play for a couple of hours at our wedding just this past March at Auberge du Soleil mainly because she was a preferred vendor. From the moment we met her in her home office in Novato, we knew we made the right decision. She is such a beautiful and professional harpist, not to mention a very kind and generous person. I immediately felt like we had a connection and felt like I've known her for years. At my wedding, my guests had nothing but kind words to say about Bertina. The kids were drawn to her gorgeous harp and heavenly music. I remember walking down the aisle with my father while Bertina was playing the harp and everything felt magical. Thank you again, Bertina! We love you! Check out our wedding trailer for a sneak peak at Bertina's beautiful technique and harp! https://vimeo.com/92557108 read more

I have used Bertina so many times at weddings and special events as she is hands down an amazing artist and a fantastic person to work with. If your looking for wedding harpist or a harpist for a special event look no further as Bertina is the best of the best. As owner of Allegra Entertainment & Events (www.allegraevents.com) I use Bertina any chance I can. So, you can either call her direct like i do, or call me for a harpist and your lighting needs. If thats what you want, that is you want great service prior and during event then Bertina is the right choice. That's why I have been using her for over a decade. I give her an A+ and 6 stars! Kier LaCrosse President of Allegra Entertainment & Events www.allegraevents.com read more

We asked Bertina to play at our wedding in Napa at the recommendation of our officiant, and we were not disappointed. Bertina is a warm, lovely person whose personality is matched by her musical talent. She was very responsive and knowledgeable during our planning, making several beautiful recommendations that perfectly captured what we wanted for our ceremony, and she was patient and flexible when we had to make some schedule adjustments for our big day. Her expertise and professionalism were evident and allowed us to feel very reassured. As the bride, I did not get to fully appreciate all of the selections during the ceremony, of course, but her beautiful music brought a very special element to my entrance, and to the rest of the ceremony and the cocktail reception. In reviewing some of the raw video footage of our ceremony afterwards, I was finally able to hear what I had missed in person, and could not have been more pleased. Having Bertina play at our wedding truly made it an even more special and memorable day. read more

I've seen Bertina Mitchell many times at wedding ceremonies at quality Bay Area venues and have become impressed with the kind of personal dimension she brings. That she's a highly accomplished musician with a professionalism to match is at once obvious, but there's more; she has presence and passion, an emotional connection. I love to see that among people I work with at weddings. It's a quality that exceeds competence, that goes beyond merely fulfilling one's obligations; it's the kind of enhancement that one can only bring through personality, attitude, maturity. Bertina has this. Vendors are rightly judged by how they make the couple and their families relax, by how they remove all pressure and distraction, by how they don't just do a job but support an event and add to its joy. This is Bertina Mitchell. Reverend Tim Mills read more

If I could give Bertina no star, I would!!! I saw her at a wedding show, and decided to check her out to play for my wedding ceremony. My initial appointment with her was lovely, she played samples of the songs I was interested in and even gave me some good suggestions of other songs. The problem I had with her did not start until I made my final payment about a month before the wedding. After the final payment was made, she stopped responding to any of my emails. The worst thing was, she did not even come to play at my wedding, she sent someone else without even informing me. If I am paying someone a good amount of money to come play for an hour at my wedding, AND paying for their travel expenses, I would expect them to show up, or at least let me know if they are sending someone else. The person she sent was obviously not as experienced (it was probably one of her students). I got married outdoors next to a cliff. With the direction the wind is blowing, a professional musician should know to situate in a section where the wind will carry the music to the audience. Instead this dumb lady sat right next to the alter and nobody past the 2nd role can hear any music. I basically walked down the aisle without any music. I would not suggest anybody to ever work with this lady. She basically ruined the one moment that I have been looking forward to my whole life!! read more

Bertina Mitchell, Harpist - Musicians Near Me

Bertina has helped fill my house with music. I have two children who have been taking lessons with Bertina for years (she teaches both harp and piano) and she has been a wonderful teacher. Bertina has managed to engage with two very different personalities and each has learned much more from her than they did with other teachers that we've used in the past. read more

We hired Bertina for our wedding in July. She was great and professional. We met with her at her studio to review music for our ceremony. She suggested music and we went with most of her suggestions. As a bride it was hard to tell what she actually played because I was the last to walk in. I didn't not hear any complaints. She arrived on time and looked very angelic. She was very professional. Although I must say Her prices are pretty steep for the one hour we hired her. read more

My mother in law passed away on December 24, 2013. In keeping with Jewish Tradition we wanted to have the funeral as soon as possible. Our vision was to have a harpist play at the service. It was the holiday season and so many people were out of town. I was given Bertina's name on December 26 - The funeral was scheduled for December 27. When I called Bertina was at the Monteray Aquarium with her family. She was more than gracious. We spoke about the vision for the service and several specific pieces. Bertina said it was not a problem; she would be home that evening and would find the music. She is more than just a wonderfully talented professional. Bertina is warm, compassionate, and brings a gentle presence to the music. To sum it up - She brought a special dimension to the funeral, and encouraged me to sing. She was a gift to all of us during this difficult time. read more

I normally don't like to write bad reviews but in this situation I would be remiss not to. We read these bad reviews of Bertina on Yelp but because we were referred to her by our wedding venue and liked her music samples we decided to give her the benefit of doubt thinking maybe these were old reviews. We were badly mistaken. She is a very dishonest person. We visited her in her studio one month before our wedding to plan our music. She seemed nice enough and we liked her music suggestions. She told us she would be traveling to Hungary to visit family but not to worry she would be back in time for our wedding. We paid her all the fees in advance. We got married this past Sat. only to find out that she sent a substitute! She did not bother to inform us that she would be doing that and the substitute told us she was still in Hungary. We paid her $500 but she told that substitute that the service was $320, so she profited from not even being there. Please take the advice of all of these reviews and do not hire this person! You will definitely get scammed! read more

I feel compelled to warn other prospective clients to avoid Bertina Mitchell at all costs. After contracting with Bertina to perform at our wedding on August 1, 2010 we read the negative Yelp reviews about Bertina. We confronted her and she promised that she would personally be appearing at the wedding. Two weeks before the wedding she confirmed her appearance and we paid her the balance of the $500 contract. Then, just three days before the wedding, we emailed Bertina to discuss the music. Only then did she inform us that she would not be playing at the wedding and that she had arranged for another harpist to appear. We later learned that Bertina only paid the substitute harpist $320. After reading the other reviews I am convinced that Bertina is running a scam and never had any intention of performing at our wedding. Last week we were contacted by another couple that had hired Bertina for a wedding to occur on the same day as our wedding. She pulled the same scam on them. They paid $500 dollars and the substitute was also only paid $320. All I can say is DO NOT hire Betrina Mitchell. read more

Bertina Mitchell played at the wedding of our daughter in San Francisco and she did a wonderful job. When I got married 30 years ago I had harp music at my wedding and wanted that for my daughter. We asked for very specific modern music that my daughter picked out, as well as the classics for the wedding and she played everything perfectly. I would highly recommend her and would hire her again. The music was elegant and so was she! read more

Bertina has been giving my two step daughters piano and harp lessons for a very long time. She is so loving and patient with them and their love of her is part of the reason that they continue to play. I have a number of friends whose children also take lessons from Bertina and they too love her. She is a lovely woman who always greets you with a smile and a hug. read more

Bertina Mitchell is a beautiful harpist, both in spirit and in music. Her classical training from one of the finest music schools, Indiana University, is clearly evident as she plays with great virtuosity. Her professionalism at my wedding was greatly appreciated, as she was punctual, beautifully dressed, and played perfectly. We were thrilled with Bertina in every way! read more

Bertina is a wonderful musician and has a warm, engaging personality. She recently performed at our wedding in Sonoma, and we could not have been happier. She was organized, punctual, and professional. We met with her a few months before the wedding, so she could get to know us better and understand our preferences and styles and perform some pieces from her repertoire. When we emailed her our final selections for the ceremony music, a week before the wedding, she responded promptly and confirmed that she would be prepared. She arrived on time, set up quickly and quietly, and performed beautifully. No fuss, no muss. Highly recommended. read more

I should have read your review first! Same experience. This woman is dishonest and shameful. She wrote on her contract with me that she "waived" her deposit, but asked me to pay half ($750) for upcoming services in June 2010. I gave her $350 on November 29, then was forced to cancel the wedding plans 30 days later. I notified her - she has SIX MONTHS to reschedule the most popular wedding month if not weekend in June! - and she refused to give me ANY of my money back!!! Do NOT give this woman your business! read more

Read no further than this review. The bad reviews were the complete opposite of my experience with Bertina. I met Bertina at a wedding fair in September 2009, a full year before my wedding. Originally I really wanted a Harpist to play Cannon in D while I walked down the aisle, so she played it for us beautifully and we started talking about booking. Bertina is so sweet and kind and offers suggestions on music and even found a violinist to play with her at our wedding. At the last minute, literally a week before the wedding we had a great idea to do modern music in the classical sense and Bertina and her violinist learned four new songs for us. She played: "secret" by One republic, "sunrise sunset" from Fiddler on the roof, "Dont stop believing" by Journey , "Somebody to love" by Queen and "Such Great Heights" by Postal Service. It all sounded so beautiful and elegant in Shakespearse Garden in the Park. She and her violinist were dressed amazingly and we had a huge issue with the microphones and she got up and helped my mom with them. She is so helpful with music selections and so talented at the harp. One of our guest is a composer and his daughter used a different harpist at her wedding and he told us he wished he knew about Bertina, because not all Harpist have the same talent and natural grace. I completely recommend her to anyone who wants beautiful music played at their wedding. You would be so lucky to have Bertina as you harpist. read more