The Harp Consort, with Andrew Lawrence King on harp, performing in York in 2011. And yes, he is indeed using the pinkie of his left hand when he plays! First time I’ve seen that technique in action. For more on the Harp Consort and early harps, you can visit their website: www.theharpconsort.com/
We’ve finally completed our (long overdue) new year’s update of the Celtic Harp Page, including the Harp Events section, which now lists upcoming 2013 events along with our usual list of ongoing and annual events and other related links.
If you have an event, listing, or other link you would like to recommend, leave us a comment here. Ditto if you would like your page, organization, band or event to be featured on the Harp Blog. We’d love to hear from you! – T.H.
First entry in the Urban Harp series. This one was taken during the infamous “Harp Quest” of 2002. (Boy, does that old page look dated now!)
The goal of the Millennium Harp Quests (which took place around the world after the turn of the new century) was to expand awareness of the instrument, encourage people to play in public, and generally spread lots of warmth and good feelings (Peace on Earth through harping – not a bad sentiment).
As a reward for finishing my personal quest (which was to play at 25 bridges and locks throughout central Ontario) I received a lovely little 19-string hand-made collapsible (!) Paraguayan-style harp. It has had a place of honour on top of my piano ever since, and still gets played regularly. It was even used to compose several tunes for small harp for my book, “A la Mode”.
You can click on the picture for a bigger version of the image.
Updated to add: Here’s the website of the guy who started it all: http://harpingforharmony.org/
I feel like I should have heard of this group before now. Such a great idea! I wish I was in a populated enough area to start something like this. The mission of the Urban Youth Harp Ensemble is “to deliver quality musical instruction on the harp, develop music reading skills and musicianship to at-risk, urban youth.” You can visit their official website at http://www.urbanharp.org/.
Here are some members of the group playing “What a Wonderful World” (the sound is a bit fuzzy but it’s still way cool):
Music to listen to by the fire while the snow whirls outside.
Harp & Arr. by Lee Che-Yi.
"Harpist Catrin Finch takes a musical journey to discover the ancient and fascinating history of the harp in Wales and the world, with interviews and performances from internationally-renowned guests including Alan Stivell, Carlos Orosco, Alemu Aga, Isabelle Perrin and Elinor Bennett." (courtesy of BBC4 and SkitlerRemix).
Old meets new: electroharp played in the midst of extinct volcanoes. Visit rockimmer’s channel for more.
Harp & Soul doing a great mash-up of Come Together & We Will Rock You at Crocodile Shibuya. Visit harperkaoru’s channel to see more live tunes.
What: Ottawa Harp Concert November 3, 2012
Who: Lucile Hildesheim, Gordon Johnston, Acacia Lyra and Zephyr Harps
Place: St. John the Evangelist (154 Somerset West at Elgin Street)
Time: 7:30 pm / Tickets: $20
Reception following the concert
Exhibit tables of harp accessories will be in place. This concert will formally kick off the Northern Lights Harp Fest scheduled for October 2013. Registration will begin soon with a Christmas special in December. The line-up of presenters for the fest will be announced at intermission.
Info courtesy of Joanne Griffin.
HARP WORKSHOPS & CONFERENCES
Oct. 5-7 – 19th annual Harpers Escape Weekend, New Brunswick, NJ
Oct. 26-28 – Southeastern Harp Weekend, Ashville, North Carolina
Nov. 2-4 – Seattle Harp Symposium, presented by Dusty Strings
HARP CONCERTS (courtesy of the Sylvia Woods Harp Center)
Legends of the Celtic Harp: Patrick Ball, Lisa Lynne and Aryeh Frankfurter
Patrick Ball’s website
October 2012 – Anchorage and Valdez AK and Shoreline WA |
November 2012 – Toledo and Port Clinton OH, and Detroit MI
Patrick Ball
Patrick Ball’s website
October 2012 – Winston-Salem NC, Norfolk VA, Rockaway Twp NJ, Cumberland RI and Canton CT
November 2012 – Palm Beach, Tequesta, Jupiter, Loxahatchess, Belle Glade, South Bay, Boynton Beach, Pahokee, Lake Worth, St. Petersburg, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Greenacres, Boca Raton, and Wellington FL
Grainne Hambly and William Jackson
Grainne Hambly’s website
William Jackson’s website
October 2012 – New Brunswick NJ and Midlothian TX