Karen Svanoe Westgate was born and raised in Fremont, OH and has recently returned to her hometown after living in Sandusky, OH for thirty years.

Karen has been playing music since age seven, beginning on the piano and adding the harp at  age 13.  She has played Harp for Sunday Brunches for many different restaurants including the Lodge at Sawmill Creek in Huron for five years, The Sheraton Inn of Sandusky for three years and plays frequently at the Sandusky Plum Brook Country Club, Sandusky Yacht Club, and the Catawba Island Club.

She is in demand for weddings, dinner parties, corporate functions, funerals, Victorian teas and Church programs as both speaker and musician.  Her repertoire includes show tunes, popular, light classics, Jewish, Celtic and Inspirational music.

Westgate has recorded seven Harp Recordings and one on the keyboard which are distributed internationally through her company, Harpgate Music Productions, New Day Christian Distributors, Henderson, TN and through several catalogues.

Westgate was inducted into the Fremont Music Hall of fame in 1992, is a member of Erie County Chamber of Commerce, The American Harp Society, and the Northwest Ohio Harp Chapter.

She is currently a Harp Instructor at Terra State College, where she is the director of the Terra Harp Ensemble, and also plays the piano for local church services.