|
AMERICAN HARP SOCIETY
SOUTHERN REGIONAL NEWSLETTER, SPRING 2008
submitted by Patrice Fisher, Regional Director
NATIONAL HARP NEWS
THE AMERICAN HARP SOCIETY 38th NATIONAL CONFERENCE
June 23-26, 2008, Hyatt Regency, Dearborn, Michigan
From Christa Grix, Conference Chair:
Join us in Metro Detroit, the city that put the world on wheels and
dancing to the Motown beat! Detroit, as a twentieth century industrial
powerho use, used its wealth to create cultural legacies like the
Detroit Institute of Arts, the Henry Ford, Cass Tech High School, and
the Interlochen Arts Academy. Now, you can experience these
outstanding institutions, when you join us at the Hyatt Dearborn, a
full-service, four-diamond hotel, for a week of health, fitness,
personal growth and discovery.
Detroit - a destination city that's one of the nation's best-kept
secrets! Come Discover Detroit - and Discover Yourself.
"The mission of the 2008 AHS National Conference is to inspire,
invigorate, challenge and refresh harpists as they aspire to reach
their full potential, by presenting concerts, workshops, and
recreational events that promote the mind-body-music connection, and
encourage creativity and learning."
For more information, please visit www.ahsdetroit.org
Your own Southern Regional Director, Patrice Fisher, will be teaching
a class on Improvisation at the AHS Natio nal Conference on June 25 at
3:30pm. Come say hello!
Southeastern Harp Weekend Oct 10-11-12, 2008, Asheville, NC
Experience an amazing weekend (and two optional days) of world-class
presenters, workshops, and concerts at a wooded retreat in Asheville,
North Carolina. One of the largest lever harp vendor halls in the
country will help you find the harp of your dreams.
Asheville, North Carolina is a beautiful setting and easy driving
distance from most of the Southeast. October is a lovely retreat
time! This year's presenters are Janet Harbison of Ireland, Ray Pool,
Christina Tourin, Christine Van Arsdale, Eve Watters, Pamela Bruner,
Nancy Clark, William Rees, Frank Clark, Stella Benson, Ian Henry,
Marta Cook, and more. The tuition for the weekend of workshops is
$198.
Janet Harbison will be staying Monday after the weekend to do an
all-day intensive called "Ireland in Asheville." Ray Pool will be
staying Monday to d o an all-day intensive called "A Day with Ray."
The website is www.southeasternharps.com or call Nicole Riley at Verge
Events 828-398-0732.
ANDERSON SCHOLARSHIPS
Anderson Group, the endorsed provider of Harp Insurance for members of
the American Harp Society, is pleased to announce the 2nd Bi-Annual
Anderson Group AHS National Conference Scholarship. The awards will be
given on the basis of financial need and musical promise in the study
of the harp and will be awarded on or before April 1, 2008. Award:
Two individual scholarships in the amount of $1,500 to attend the
American Harp Society 38th National Conference, June 23-26, 2008 in
Dearborn, MI. Application Deadline: February 29, 2008
REQUIREMENTS: Applicants must be active members of the American Harp
Society. Maximum age limit of 40 years old by February 29, 2008.
Attendance at the National Conference June 23-26, 2008. Applications
must be received by February 29, 200 8
APPLICATION MUST INCLUDE: Biography: Including applicant's full
name, legal residence, present address, telephone number, email
address, proof of age, musical and academic education, personal
profile, general outline of financial need and long-range goals for
your harp-study. Handwritten Statement: Two pages or less about why
this award is desired and why the applicant otherwise would not be
able to pursue immediate goals. Recording: 5- 15 minute recording of
applicant playing (CD preferred). Letter of Reference: From
present instructor evaluating candidacy for award.
Registration and housing will be paid directly to AHS in the award
recipients name. Remaining balance for travel and meal expenses will
be paid directly to award recipients. Please send application
materials in confidence to: Anderson Group, Attn: AHS Scholarship, 933
Webster St, Marshfield, MA 02050.
For more information about Anderson Group scholarships ( Including the
Summer Institute Scholarships), please visit our website at
www.andersongroup.us / Our Products / Instrument Insurance / Anderson
Group Scholarships. www.harpinsurance.com
LOUISIANA: NEW ORLEANS CHAPTER
The New Orleans Chapter is participating with other local musicians in
a memorial concert honoring Mary Abbey Sayle on April 6, 3:00 p.m., St
Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church. The program will consist of
performances by Suzuki students, and of a pedal harp quartet called
Harpeggio which the officers of the New Orleans Chapter have started,
and of the New Orleans Trio, a harp-viola-flute ensemble.
On Saturday, April 5, the Chapter is hosting the annual LMTA Harp
Rally with guest clinician Delaine Fedson at Tulane University. Ms.
Fedson will also give a masterclass on April 4 at 7:00 p.m. All
students are welcome. Please contact Cathy Anderson for more
information at cathharp@aol.com.
Members of th e New Orleans chapter will participate in several Spring events:
Cathy Anderson will play with Musaica, a chamber group of musicians
from the LPO, on May 21 and 24. Cathy will be featured performer in
the Villas-Lobos "Quintet for Harp."
On June 1, students from the studios of Cathy and of Patrice Fisher
will play in the annual Spring Student Recital at the Dixon Hall Annex
at Tulane University.
The Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestra will hold their annual Summer
Camp at Loyola University the second week of June. Harp students from
3rd through 12th grade are welcome to attend. Harp students or
potential harpists are also invited to attend the Suzuki Summer Camp
July 14-18.
Also on June 19th, Cathy Anderson and husband Dave, who is principal
bassist with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, will perform on
the summer concert series in New Orleans City Park. They will play
several of Dave's compositions.
Other performa nces by members of the Chapter include a recital by Jean
Matkin and Helen Maxwell on March 19 for a local music club and on
June 27 a concert by the Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestra.
The New Orleans Celtic Harp Ensemble (NOCHE) performed a program of
Old English Music at the Jane Austen Festival in Mandeville, LA on
February 17, which was reviewed by the New Orleans Times Picayune
newspaper, which called the performance "a perfect ending to the Jane
Austen Festival."
NOCHE will also perform at the Bach Around the Clock Festival at
Trinity Church in New Orleans on March 29, at the Tartan Day Scottish
Festival on April 5 at the East Jefferson Regional Library and at the
New Orleans Children's Museum on May 10. For more information, please
contact director, Patrice Fisher, at ecoslatinos@gmail.com.
New Orleans Latin jazz harpist, Patrice Fisher, will perform with her
group, Arpa, at the New Orleans French Quarter Festival on A pril 12,
the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival on April 27, the Twilight
in the Gardens Series of the New Orleans City Park Botanical Gardens
on May 1, the Baton Rouge Fest For All on May 4 and the Jean Lafitte
National Park Service Women's Festival on June 14.
Jessica Meltz is trying to sell her Dusty Strings Lever Harp, in case
any of your students are interested in purchasing a lever harp. It is
4.5 years old, 36 strings and made out of Bubinga wood. It is quite
beautiful, and if you would like some pictures she can e-mail some to
you. It retails new for $5995 and she is trying to get $4800 for it.
contact Jessica at jardinofsong@yahoo.com
Rachel Van Voorhees is delighted to be back in New Orleans full time
again. Last year she played with the St. Louis Symphony, the Los
Angeles Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony and many other orchestras
and toured around the country with violinist, Gregory Fulkerson. In
January t hey performed a program of French violin and harp music at
Loyola University where Rachel is on the faculty. They will be
recording a CD of this music during the first week of June. Rachel is
thrilled to be back after her sabbatical playing Principal Harp with
the Louisiana Philharmonic and the New Orleans Opera and Solo Harp at
the Windsor Court Hotel.
If you would be interested in having the program of French violin and
harp music played for your harp chapter, please feel free to contact
her at RachelVV@aol.com.
Harpist Meredith Arnold will be giving her Senior Recital at Loyola
University on Saturday, April 19th at 3PM in Nunemaker Hall. The
concert will include music by Handel, Grandjany, Massenet, Vivaldi,
and Debussy. Besides her harp studies, Meredith is the Grammy student
representative for the Memphis Chapter of NARAS.
LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA
Although relatively small (10 members), the Louisiana Chapter had so me
big happenings:
In the fall of 2006, we commissioned composer Keith Gates to write a
suite for three harps of moderate difficulty (so all could perform),
with one part specifically playable on lever harp. His four-movement
work was delivered to us on New Year's Eve (afternoon), and we were
thrilled. The Chapter premiered movements I, Wintertime Waltz, II,
Springtime Ceremony, and IV, Fall Farewell, as the "centerpiece" of
our annual Spring Concert on March 4, 2007, with Gates in attendance.
Lynette Babineaux, Katie Evans, Hannah Lanier, Noah Lanier and Marlene
Mullenix shared the first harp part, while Barbara Belew played the
second and Patricia Horvath took the third. We are so thrilled to have
this work from the pen of our dear friend, who died May 22, 2007. The
third movement, Summertime Scherzo, is to be premiered this year as
the entire suite will be presented by the ensemble of State University
of New York at Pot sdam.
A more recent happy bit of news is that our president, Patricia
(Patty) Horvath, and vice-president/advisor, Barbara Belew, have
teamed up to develop a performing harp duo, which premiered on October
14, 2007, on McNeese State University's concert series. They performed
the fourth movement of the Keith Gates Suite as their opening number.
It is scored "a 3," so any number can play it, or it can be a solo.)
This has been an exciting adventure for them and they plan to continue
exploring duo-harp literature.
A disheartening event occurred four days later, when Barbara Belew,
who was attending the Louisiana Music Teachers Association convention
in Hammond, fell (hard) and broke her right elbow, which necessitated
surgery to install two pins. The pinned-back-together joint has
healed well and physical therapy has helped. In fact, the therapists
now say playing is part of the exercises.
Two of our members, Lynette Babinea ux and Nancy Borel, played in an
end-of-semester recital (along with several piano students) at McNeese
on December 13, 2007.
Our next event of importance is the Louisiana State Harp Rally,
sponsored by LMTA, slated April 5 in New Orleans. Two students of
Barbara Belew's and one of Patricia Horvath's are entered this year.
We are pleased with past successes of our members! Lynette Babineaux
was named the Alternate (runner-up) in the Adult A level of the 2007
Rally.
Future plans for the Chapter include the annual Spring Concert,
scheduled for May 4, at 3 p.m., in McNeese's Ralph Squires Recital
Hall, and the ninth annual McNeese State University Harp Camp, set for
August 5 - 9, 2008. Last year's highly successful camp involved almost
all of the Chapter members.
We join all of the Lake Charles and MSU community in joyous
anticipation of the new-to-be addition to the Shearman Fine Arts
Center, since work began (the "d irt-moving" activity) February 11,
2008. The facility will include an acoustically balanced, 500-seat
performance venue. Everyone is excited, even though it will take
about two years before it is available!
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
I just wanted to get the word out about harp opportunities available
at Louisiana State University. www.music.lsu.edu. We still have
financial aid options for students for Fall 2008. Thank you for your
time and feel free to contact me with any questions. Kimberly Houser,
DMA, Professsional in Residence, Harp, Louisiana State University, 225
329 9885, khouser@lsu.edu
Kimberly Houser is finishing her second year as Professional in
Residence, Harp at LSU and is planning on continuing on at LSU. LSU
currently has three harp students. Kimberly is also currently working
on a deal to acquire new harps for the LSU School of Music with Lyon
and Healy harps.
Last fall Kimberly completed composing an d performed a new set of
pieces for harp and clarinet called "Night Dances." Dr.Justin O'Dell,
clarinet encouraged her to write these pieces and they were premiered
on his faculty recital in October and later in November at the
Southern Clarinet Symposium in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Upcoming performances featuring Kimberly & the harpists at LSU are as follows:
April 16 8:00 LSU Recital Hall, Pelican State Chamber Series;
featuring Kimberly Houser, Harp on Ravel, Introduction and Allegro;
Debussy, Sonata for flute, viola and harp and Ravel, Le Tombeau de
Couperin.
April 17 6:00 LSU Recital Hall, Amanda Mangrum, Senior Recital.
April 18, 7:00 New Roads Poydras Center, Pelican State Chamber Series
(repeat of April 16th program.
April 27th 2:00 First Baptist Church, Baton Rouge. Louisiana
Sinfonietta, Kimberly Houser, Harp. Debussy, Danses Sacre et Profane.
Nov. 9 2:00 First Baptist Church. Louisiana Sinfonietta, Kimberly
Houser, harp; Sarah Beth Hanson, flute. Mozart, Concerto for harp and
flute.
Dec. 7 2:00 LSU School of Music Recital Hall. Louisiana Sinfonietta,
Kimberly Houser, harp; Gabriela Chihaescu, harp. Malecki, Concertino
in Old Style for Two harps and String Orchestra.
HARLAN, KENTUCKY
Louisiana State University professor of Harp Kimberly Houser will be
performing at the Pleasant Mountains Music Festival to be held in
Harlan, Kentucky on May 8, 9 & 10, 2008. The featured composer for
this year's festival is Alexander Scriabin. Works by Scriabin, as
well as other Russian composers will be highlighted. Thursday, May 8
will feature a concert in the remote village of Hyden, in Leslie
County Kentucky. Friday evening will present a Dinner/Concert at the
Harlan Country Club; Saturday is the Student Festival Day, to be held
on the campus of Southeast Community and Technical College in
Cumberland, Kentucky. More information about the festival can be
obtained by visiting the website www.pianofinearts.com. Click on
Pleasant Mountains Music Festival.
Original works for Celtic Harp by Clara Atkins-Pope can be explored by
visiting the website www.pmpublishing.net. An award winning harpist,
several of the works available for purchase have been commissioned by
Individual Artist Grants awarded by The Kentucky Arts Council. Clara
will be performing at Mont Eagle Sunday School Assembly, near
Sewanee, Tenn. On Thursday, June 26. Her work with ancient musical
modes; their construction and "ethos" will be the subject of her
lecture/concert. For more
information about Clara's work, please email her at clarapope@bellsouth.net.
Plans are underway for the River of Life Retreat and Musicfest from
June 27-29. The website http://harpist1.tripod.com/ is still under
construction. This year's Retreat will take place on the campus of
Flagler College in historica l downtown St. Augustine, FL.
Accommodations will be available in air-conditioned dorms (very
reasonable for single or double occupancy) , bed and breakfasts or
motels in the area. There are spaces for 35 participants. Faculty
include director Dr. Diane Schneider of St. Augustine, who does
vibration medicine therapy for the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Dr.
Jodi Lowe of St. Augustine, a professor of physical therapy,
percussionist Ken Anoff of Jacksonville, FL, and Nancy Bick Clark of
Newport, KY, who has led Celtic spiritual retreats. Topics will
include rhythm improvisations, avoiding harp-related injury, healing
with harps, Celtic spirituality and music, ensemble playing, and much
more. There will be time spent at local historical and spiritual
sites. It is a chance to enjoy music and camaraderie with the backdrop
of the oldest city in the U.S. Please contact Dr. Schneider at the
above website for more details.
The North east Florida Highland Games just took place on February 23.
Eight competitors entered the Scottish Harp Competition in several
categories. Competitors came from Florida and Georgia. A workshop in
slow airs and ornamentation was taught by judge, Nancy Bick Clark.
Nancy's husband Frank Clark taught a workshop in bodhran, Irish drum.
The Clark's later performed a mini-concert. The competition is
coordinated by Kathy Pearce of Orange Park, FL.
The Clark & Jones Trio, comprising Nancy and Frank Clark and Jude
Jones are giving a concert at the Wyoming Presbyterian Church in
Greater Cincinnati on Sunday March 9 at 4:00 p.m. Instruments will
include Celtic harp, mountain dulcimer, recorder, bodhran, violin,
guitar, and vocals.
The Harpers Robin, a group of about 15 harpers, will be giving a free
concert at the Covington, KY public library on March 29 at 1:00 p.m.
This concert will feature ensemble pieces from several Celtic lands,
including Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Mann, Cornwall, and
Brittany. In addition, several group members will be performing
solos. The group is coordinated by Lindsey Duncan with help from Becky
Bromwell, Angie Wright and Nancy Bick Clark. Approximately six members
of the group played at the Cincinnati Celtic Festival in September.
They meet from time to time at a local home, and are open to all who
are interested. For more information about this Greater
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky group, please contact Lindsey Duncan at
lindseyduncan@earthlink.com. The gatherings are a nice chance to get
together and play in ensemble and share snacks afterward. A record
number attended the February meeting.
Nancy Bick Clark, Newport, KY, AHS Cincinnati Chapter.
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
The Harp Chapter in Memphis, Tennessee has many participants and
exciting opportunities. One of these exciting opportunities has been
for Erica Ball-Homes to start the first harp program in the Memphis
City Schools! Springdale Elementary Memphis Magnet School now has 10
lap harps and 30 students from grades 3rd – 5th.
Another first event happened in December of 2007, when high school
harpist Molly O'Roark performed the world premiere of "The Christmas
Overture," composed by herself and William Berthouex. This piece was
composed for string orchestra and harp for advanced High School
Orchestras. Currently, there is not a lot of orchestral literature
composed for High School String Orchestras and Harp. The Director,
Karla Philipp, stated this was a Memphis City Schools first!
Marian Shaffer, the principal harpist of the Memphis Symphony, was
able to teach harp and performed in China last year. Harpist, Anne
Frey, performed in Morocco.
In November, 2007, the Memphis Harp Chapter welcomed Danielle
Perrett for a special return visit to Memphis. Danielle is a premiere
B ritish harpist and recording artist. She gave a stunning
performance, taught private lessons, conducted a masterclass, and
taught a workshop on harp pilates. She is an expert in this field of
pilates for harpists.
The Memphis Harp Chapter is still grieving over the loss of a
beautiful harpist, Mary Abbay Gourley, who passed away in 2007.
IRELAND IN TENNESSEE, CAMDEN,
3 free concerts presented by the BIRDSONG Harp Center: Dr. Janet
Harbison Ensemble, with harps, pipes & flutes, will be in Tennessee to
teach & perform April 14-19, 2008. Sheila Mitchell-Hart, of the
BIRDSONG HARP CENTER, along with students of the harp, flute, & pipes
will join with the Irish to perform 3 fantastic concerts of Celtic
music. As well as the concerts, Dr. Harbison and the Irish will be
conducting classes at Sheila's Music near Birdsong Resort in Benton
County April 14-17.
Concert dates are: Thursday, April 17 First Baptist Church , Camden, TN
7:00PM, Friday April 18 First Baptist Church, Highland Ave. Jackson,
TN 7:00PM, Saturday April 19 Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Memphis,
TN 7:00PM. Please mark your calendars for these memorable evenings of
Irish Music in West Tennessee. For more information on the concerts or
classes contact: Sheila Mitchell-Hart 731-584-7068 or check the
website at www.birdsongharpcenter.com.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, (technically not in our region, but they are our
neighbors, nonetheless)
My name is Liesl Hagan, and I'm the new president of the Georgia AHS
chapter. Ellen Foster forwarded me your email about the AHS
newsletter, so I wanted to respond and give you our news!
This year is the Georgia AHS chapter's 30th anniversary! To celebrate,
we are planning a community-wide ensemble concert in the fall that
will include harpists of all ages and skill levels. This will be a
chance for professionals, students, and everyone in between to come
together and show their love for the harp. We hope to have 20-30 harps
on stage, from lap harps to concert grands. The program will include
everything from duos and trios to the entire group, showcasing the
incredible talent and musicality that our chapter is lucky to enjoy.
We also have several other events planned for this year. We are
currently in the midst of our annual Auditions and Evaluations with
adjudicator Vonda Darr from the Augusta Symphony. Howard Bryan, harp
maker and restorer out of Lynchburg, VA, was scheduled to give a "Harp
Autopsy" maintenance workshop for the chapter in January, but
snowstorms in Virginia forced us to cancel. The chapter held a
luncheon meeting in lieu of the workshop. We all look forward to
rescheduling that event later this spring.
This past fall, Yolanda Kondonassis visited Atlanta and performed at
Spivey College. In addition, the Atlanta Harp Center (cousin of the Virginia Harp Center) opened its doors in October with a concert by
International Harp Competition winner Dan Yu and a workshop and
concert by acclaimed jazz harpist Park Stickney. We're very excited to
have the Harp Center here and look forward to working together!
In February, Atlanta-based historical harpist Paula Fagerberg appeared
in recital with the world-renowned mezzo-soprano Jennifer Lane at the
University of North Texas. The two will reprise some of the concert,
including Monteverdi's famed "Lamento d'Arianna," at the 25th Annual
Historical Harp Society Conference and Workshop, held in conjunction
with the Berkeley Early Music Festival in California, during the 1st
week of June.
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS
On April 1st, Elisabeth Chardonnet will be playing The Mask of the Red
Death at Lyon College (Batesville, AR) with the ASO Rockefeller string
quartet and John Dahlstrand on bass. The program also includes 2
Bot tesini pieces for solo bass with string quartet, and 2 Ravel
arrangement of Pavane and Habanera for bass and harp (arr. by John
Dahlstrand - see our website for more info on this and other music
that we publish: www.millenia-music.com). The second half of the
program is a Brahms string quartet. You can go to www.lyon.edu for
more info. The concert may not be listed on the calendar of events as
it had to be rescheduled from early February to April 1st.
Please make plans to attend the 3rd Little Rock summer Harp
masterclass, June 9-14. It is a wonderful opportunity to meet other
harpists and improve technique and musicality. The masterclass is
taught by French harpist and international prize winner Elisabeth
Chardonnet at 9:30 am on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
Wednesday is a free day on which you can choose to take a private
lesson. Duo Millenia (Elisabeth Chardonnet and John Dahlstrand) will
be playing a recital on We dnesday evening. Saturday morning is the
final student recital, followed by a farewell luncheon. The tuition
is kept very low to make up for possible travel and lodging expenses.
Please go to www.millenia-music.com/masterclass.html for more info.
Also, keep checking our website as we may have to change the week of
the masterclass to June 16-21...
Duo Millenia performs at Starbucks on Kavanaugh in the Heights in
Little Rock on a regular basis. Please check www.millenia-music.com
or www.myspace.com/duomillenia to check our performance dates.
We are also planning 2 recitals: one at Harding Place (Searcy AR) on
March 20, and one at Presbyterian Village (in Little Rock) on April
17.
Jana Angeles is planning to join the UALR community orchestra for her
first orchestral experience. The concert is on May 11 at 3 pm and the
piece in which she will be playing is And God created Great Whales by
Hovhaness. Go to ualr.edu/mudept/concer tlist.html#month9 for more
info.
Young harpist Sarah Shafer is looking for venues to play short
recitals (and thus practice her performance skills). If you are in
the Little Rock area and have an idea for her, please let me know at
duo@millenia-music.com. Sarah also plays in the Arkansas Symphony
Youth Orchestra.
Elisabeth Chardonnet, Millenia Music Performing and Publishing, LLC
6613 Kavanaugh Place, Little Rock AR 72207, 501-664-6534, www.millenia-music.com
LINDA KAISER SEEKING INFORMATION ABOUT CLARK IRISH HARPS
Would anyone who owns a Clark Irish Harp please send me the serial
number (stamped on the base of harp) and taborette number (stamped on
the underside of the folding base or taborette). I need to know if it
is an "A" model 31 strings, or a "B" model, 26 strings, or a Baby
Grand model with a curved soundboard (14" wide). If "Lyon & Healy" is
engraved on the plate on the upper left hand side of the column of
harp (or anywhere on the harp) that is important. If you know its
original approximate date of purchase, that would be most important.
It could have been purchased originally from Clark Music of Syracuse,
NY, (or its branches) Oliver Ditson in New York City, Lyon & Healy in
Chicago and New York City or Wanamaker's in NYC. I have serial
numbers for a few Clark Irish Harps but most without complete
provenance information (history of the harp). I hope to get enough
coordinates that I can better identify the date of manufacture
of the Clark Irish Harps, and make a chart that everyone could read.
There are a few original records remaining but not enough after 1910
to be helpful. I would really appreciate your input on this project.
Linda Kaiser, lpkharp@att.net (315) 423 5708
For further information,
or for details on starred (*) items, please contact
Kathleen
Moon, Executive Secretary
PO Box 38334
Los Angeles CA 90038-0334.
Phone: 323-469-3050.
Email: kmoon@UCLAlumni.net
|
