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!

 Moving the harps was a big pain but the percussionists had it much worse with 8 timpani plus tons of other stuff.  This huge truck was completely packed with percussion and two harps.

 I was so glad that we went to the 9/11 memorial.  I had never been to this part of New York and the old buildings were beautiful.  The memorial was very moving and I really enjoyed being there despite the rain.

 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.

 I was able to meet a high school friend for lunch and it was so fun to catch up.  Unfortunately we didn't get a picture together but she bought these amazing macarons for me to try.  Yum!

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.

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!

Some favorite paintings in the Met

I loved their historical instrument display of course.

Latest gigs

Playing for an 80th birthday party next to this interesting mural at a restaurant in Kansas city.

 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.

My little one sleeps as I practice.

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 have spent many hours this semester working on a recording for Naxos with the KU wind ensemble.  It is always a challenge to do recordings with a large ensemble because it requires long hours of concentration.  I don't want to be the one to ruin a take, so I sometimes get a little stressed out.  I was so glad when the project was over and I look forward to hearing the final product even though there weren't any very big harp parts in it. 

 I have played at some lovely weddings this spring.  This one was at the Woodward in Topeka.  It was a beautiful Victorian house and I think the harp worked perfectly there.  I always enjoy being part of such a momentous occasion.  It is a privilege to see the joy on everyone's faces.  Usually I have a great view of the parents I can just see the joy that they feel knowing that there child is so happy. 

I had a very busy weekend in April where I played Vaughan Williams with the choir in St. Joseph and Brahms with a choir in Lawrence.  I love choral music and it was fun to play with both choirs even if it involved a bit of driving!

 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. 

On Saturday I had a wedding in Lawrence on a golf course.  It was quite a challenge to get the harp up and down a very steep hill to the ceremony site.  But the weather was nice in the shade and it look beautiful.  I didn't get a picture though because I forgot my phone! After the wedding I headed straight to Kansas City for a performance at the Kauffmann center.  I had never been there before and it is just beautiful.  I was driving around it trying to figure out where I could unload the harp.  I was so relieved when I saw the conductor on the curb.  I flipped a u-turn and he helped me unload the harp and told me where to go. The hall was just beautiful, all wood, with great acoustics.  

Recital in Warsaw

We are living in Warsaw Poland this semester. It has been a wonderful experience. I was able to rent a harp from Anna Piechura-Gabrys, the wonderful harpist with the Warsaw Opera.

On Monday I presented a recital at the School of Music where she teaches. The program was all dance related music--you know, Sarabandes, Rumbas, Tangos, etc. I think it was a fun mix of music and the audiences was warm and appreciative.

For Spanish Dance No. 5 Andaluza, I invited the children in the audience to come up and dance. I thought this would be a good song for then to dance on because of the contrasting fast and slow sections. When I practice at home my daughter loves dancing to this piece. I wish she would have come up during the recital, but she was too shy.

How did you start playing the harp?

This is a question that comes up regularly.  When I was 12 years old I was in a local music store looking for music for my cello.  I saw a little folk harp and fell in love with it.  It was a Dusty Strings FH-26.  It was love at first sight.  In the same month I heard a local harpist play at the public library and asked if she gave private lessons.  I was lucky enough to have supportive parents that let me pursue this beautiful instrument.  I cleaned out my own saving account (where I had been saving birthday money and every penny I had earned for my short 12 years) and purchased that little harp.  The rest is history!