Harpin' through Kansas
Monday, January 11, 2016
It has been a long time since I have blogged, but I am as busy as ever! I have been working on a new website erinwoodharpist.com and facebook page. I am trying to keep people informed of performances and opportunities. Please follow my facebook page if you would like to hear about recitals, festivals, etc! Please check out my website if you are looking for a harpist for your special event!
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Renaissance Fair
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Lawrence Community Theatre

Thursday, June 20, 2013
New York again!
This has been a busy semester for me because I was playing and recording with the wind ensemble in preparation for a big trip to Carnegie Hall. It was exciting to be able to go to New York twice in the same year for harp related events! We spent long days of our precious Spring Break recording at the Lied center.
After Spring Break we got a huge snow storm and I was very worried about getting to the airport. I was traveling with a couple other people and we left really early to give ourselves enough time. It was a stressful drive and we were going very slow behind a snowplow for quite a while. We made it just in time for our flight. And then our flight was delayed for three hours. But we arrived safely and in time for dinner!
This was at our rehearsal in a very nice space. It was such a huge pain to unload the harps and all the percussion. Good thing the guys handled the heavy lifting. We are rehearsing the Phillip Glass Concerto for two timpani. The soloists were amazing!
The only free time I had was friday morning. I happened to walk by Magnolia's but since I just had breakfast I didn't get a cupcake. I am kind of regretting that now.
Went to the MOMA and saw lots of great art and lots of weird stuff too. Unfortunately Tilda Swinton wasn't there on the day that I was.
After Moma I went to the top of the Rock. It was fun to see the views.
The Carnegie hall performance went well. We premiered an amazing piece, In the Shadow of no Towers by Fairouz. It was intense to play it after visiting the memorial. So glad I was able to be part of this performance.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
AHS conference in New York!
I had a great time going to the American Harp Society conference in New York this summer. I didn't get a lot of pictures but I really enjoyed connecting with old friends, making new friends, and of course hearing many wonderful performances. I won a raffle to get a backstage tour of Wicked with the harpist for the show, Laura Shermann. She is such a nice person and it was so fun to see where she works. She is not even in the pit because there isn't enough room. She is in a dressing room and the percussionist is in the dressing room next to her. She watches the conductor on a video and listens ona mike and she is well miked so her sound gets out there. I think it would be a very tricky set up! 
All of the costumes were so cool!
I didn't actually get to see Wicked but I saw Newsies which was awesome!
I loved their historical instrument display of course.
Latest gigs
Played for a wedding at the Oread--can you tell they are KU fans?
Bought a new harp!! Well it was a used harp but new to me. It is a perfect size for kids. The Ogden is a great sounding harp for a good price.
Loved the Art Nouveau cover of the AHS journal.
I really enjoyed playing the Fantasticks--such a fun show. But I can't say I enjoyed wearing this hat!
Awesome concert with the Topeka Symphony--Rachmaninoff and Stravinsky.
Harp issues are worked out now fortunately...
A wedding at a lovely venue in Kansas City-- Californo's
In the pit for Tartuffe. It actually turned out to be a pretty cool opera.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Spring 2012 gigs
In January I got a very exciting new phone. Maybe you have seen them around. It is called an iphone! AT&T was trying to unload those primitive first generation iphones so I got it for 99cents. So our family upgraded to smart phones and it has been fun. The first apps I downloaded were a free metronome and free tuner. It is always nice to have a backup to my trusty Korg.
It has also been nice to be able to snap a picture of my harp when I am playing a gig. So thanks to this newly acquired technology you will now be treated to my longest post ever! These are pictures that I took over the course of this semester Jan-May 2012. It will give you a good overview of the kinds of gigs I do.
These pictures were taken in Salina KS at the art center. I played for an opening of a new exhibit that focused on water. My harp is in front of a depiction of the largest and oldest reservoir of water circling around a black hole. I played a variety of water inspired repetoire such as La Source by Zabel and En Bateau by Debussy. It was a fun evening.
I stayed overnight in the warehouse where visiting artists stay so that I could teach a master class the next morning. It was really fun to practice in this giant space (filled with more water art installations) on Saturday morning. Maybe I got carried away because the owner of the book shop next store came over to tell me to play more quietly!
I had a wonderful time meeting RoJean Loucks and her students. I loved hearing some of RoJean's beautiful compositions. It was a great morning. On my way home I stopped in Topeka to play at a dinner at the Expo Center. I didn't get any pictures of the event, but it was quite fun. I didn't realize that it was a political dinner and that our governor and senators and representatives would be in attendance. Everyone was very nice and I enjoyed it.
I always enjoy playing at Plymouth congregational because I get to look at this beautiful stained glass window of a harp. In addition to playing Brahms Requiem with the choir I also played Fairest Lord Jesus for the prelude and a Scarlatti Sonata for the offertory.
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