Category Archives: News & Misc.

General harp stuff and links (everything & anything, pretty much)

March 19 Celtic concert in Peterborough

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Saturday, March 19, 8pm

St. Pat’s Fancy at Sadleir House in Peterborough, ON.

The third annual concert celebrating Irish music, with some of the proceeds going towards the Market Hall to help fund its new renovations. Sadleir House is an historic house in Peterborough, near the corner of Parkhill and George Streets. Market Hall is a much loved folk music and general arts venue in the middle of downtown Peterborough. There will be lots of great music from the likes of Cairdeas, Fiachra O’Regan, and The Jenish Sisters, as well as guest spots from the usual crew of local musicians. Tanah Haney will be playing Celtic Harp on a couple of harp-and-fiddle sets with John Hoffman (hence the harp component!).

For more info, you can visit the official Facebook page for the event or email Tanah at soloharp @ celticharper.com (minus the spaces).

Harp Stork News (Updated)

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My new harp Some pics of my lovely new Dusty Strings Allegro (26 strings, Sapelle wood, built-in pickup).

The factory installed pickup is very cool, no extra wires to worry about, just plug in and go.

It’s got three points of pickup on the inside of the harp (only one is visible in the photo), so it should perfectly cover the full range of the instrument.

Update: The built-in pickup rocks! Tried it out with the little Pignose amp, and it worked beautifully.

Don’t know how it will interact with more sophisticated sound systems, but the lack of preamp didn’t seem to be an issue. Just tweaked the settings on the Pignose a bit, and it sounded great. Also could turn up the wee amp higher than before, so more volume with less feedback problems.

Now I just wish I could magically install one on my big harp (and no, drilling brand-new holes in the Wanney harp is not an option; call me paranoid).

Northern Lights Harp Fest

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Just got back this morning, and what a weekend it was!  The first ever Northern Lights Harp Fest in Ottawa was a resounding success (despite the glitches with the sound system on the last day).   I had hoped to blog “live” (as it were) from the hotel, but my computer decided it didn’t like the hotel’s “plug ‘n’ play” internet hookup and refused to play along.   Turned out I didn’t really have any free time to spare, anyhow.  I only left the hotel once, and that was to walk one door over to the restaurant (which, it turns out, is accessible by a nearby escalator, so technically I could have spent the whole weekend indoors, only seeing the sky through the rain-streaked windows.)

Much too tired to write more today, but there will be full-fledged review of the event coming up, as soon as we’ve unpacked and I’ve had a chance at a real night’s sleep.  Update Dec. ’09: Real life intervened and I never did get around to a proper review, sorry about that. Hoping to get the Blog going regularly again in January, after things calm down. – T.H.

One final note for all who are interested, the NLHF is going to be held bi-annually, so start saving now for 2011!

The 38-String Delight: Heartland’s New Light-Weight Carbon Fiber Harp

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38 String Delighty by Heartland HarpsThis is so totally going to be my next harp – as soon as we finish paying off the addition. Well, maybe this and a nice little Lewandowski Romanesque harp on the side. Hey, I can dream, can’t I? (Click on the picture to visit the Delight on the Heartland site).

Ten pounds! Just think of how much easier it would be, trudging across fields and golf courses to get to the bride’s ideal wedding location. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still love my wooden harps, but this way I get to love them in nice safe, dry locations. With a nigh-indestructible harp, just think of the possibilities! Oh, the places we’ll go… I’d definitely pick another colour than black though. Maybe midnight blue, or neon purple, or ocean green.

(Apologies to my fellow Canadians re: the spelling of “fiber”, but that’s the way it’s spelled on all the American sites; exceptions must be made sometimes to avoid confusion!)

October Northern Lights Harp Fest in Ottawa: Deadline July 15!

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The folks organizing the Northern Lights Harp Fest in Ottawa in October (Oct. 2-4 2009) are trying to encourage everyone who is interested to register ASAP, so they can meet their minimum number of 60 participants by July 15.  It would be truly excellent to be able to have a regular harp conference in Ontario, since for most of us, travelling to the bigger conferences in the USA often isn’t feasible.  But, in order for that to happen, they first need to make this year’s conference a success.

Please pass this info along to any harp players you may know.  Students and beginners are welcome – there will be harp classes for all levels at the conference.

For more info, check out the official website:
http://www.northernlightsharpfest.com/

Let’s make this happen!

Cynthia Valenzuela on Metallic Harp

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meueuXTcczg

Live performance at Encuentro de Arpa de Durango 2005 “Diva’s Harp”.  And yes, the actual harp itself is made of metal, not just the strings. Certainly makes for a unique sound! Too bad it gets cut off at the end.

You can see another short video of Cynthia demonstrating the “Vera” metallic harp below.

Sarah Deere-Jones: By a Woodland Stream

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BCPVjQqm9A

According to phantombagpiper:

“By a Woodland Stream” was written by Sarah as a ‘classical’ piece for Celtic Harp. It is in the style of Marcel Tournier from the turn of the last Century. He taught Sarahs’ Teacher, Renata Scheffel-Stein, so the piece has a link to the past. The sheet music is available at www.cornwallharpcentreshop.co.uk

Robin Ward plays Suite Royalle on Triple Harp

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmTJYj-k_MY

According to Mr. Ward:

An arrangement of Robert de Visee’s Suite Royalle in Dm. Originally for Lute/Theorbo. Performed on an Italian styled triple harp, built by the performer.

You can see more of Robin Ward’s playing here, and visit his website at www.earlyharps.com. (Along with performing he also teaches and builds harps).