Thanks so much to all of you who have sent me emails wishing me well on my upcoming move to Hawaii.  It has warmed my heart to hear your testimonials of how my books, my music, and my business have touched your lives over the years.  I feel very honored to have been a part of so many people's harp journeys.  And there is more to come!!!

Since we made the announcement, we've been selling products like crazy. As I mentioned in the last newsletter, once we run out of certain discounted items . . . that's it.  This includes all CDs, individual strings, gifts, and about half of our book inventory. We've already run out of most of the Bow Brand strings, and about 50 other products.  Don't wait!  If there's something you've been thinking of getting, now's the time to take advantage of our amazing sale!

Sylvia

School is Out, Time for Harp Study!

I was saddened to hear that Gráinne Yeats passed away a few months ago.  She was a wonderful woman, and a pioneer in the Irish harp world.  I was honored and privileged to have known Gráinne since 1980, and we have sold several of her products over the years.      

 

The following article from "The Folk Harp Journal," Summer 2013 Issue #159 is being reprinted here by permission.  (If you don't already receive this fine magazine, we highly recommend that you join the International Society of Folk Harpers and Craftsmen at www.folkharpsociety.org.) 

 

Gráinne Yeats, singer, harpist, and music historian, died on 18 April, 2013. Born in Dublin on 14 April, 1925, Gráinne performed on both wire-strung and gut-strung harp, and was recognized for her beautiful, pure voice. She knew hundreds of songs in Irish, and routinely included songs in her performances. She was raised bi-lingual Irish and English, growing up as Gráinne Ni Eigeartaigh. She learned to play the piano as a young girl, and after graduating with a degree in history from Trinity College Dublin she pursued further studies in music with voice, harp and piano at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin. Her music took her to concert stages in Europe, America, Russia, India and Japan.

 

Gráinne did extensive research in harp history. She contributed biographies on both Turlough O'Carolan and Denis Hempson to the Groves Dictionary of Music and Musicians and published numerous articles, in particular for the periodical Ceol. In 1992 she published a book, The Harp of Ireland, about the 1792 Belfast Harp Festival, honoring the 200-year anniversary of the festival. Together with Mercedes Bolger, one of her first harp teachers, she created the Sounding Harps series of publications for Cairde Na Cruite, an organization established in 1960 for the purpose of reviving and encouraging interest in the Irish harp, of which she was a founder.

 

Among her recordings is Féile na gCruitiri Béal Feirste 1792 -- The Belfast Harpers' Festival 1792 (1980) on which she plays both gut-strung harp and wire-strung harp. One of which was a copy of the Trinity College Harp built in 1973 by Maldwyn Thomas of Wales, and another, a copy of the Sirr Harp, by Jay Witcher of America built in 1975. Indeed, she is often credited with the revival of the traditional wire-strung harp, and this recording as well as A Rogha Fein (1983) are early proof of her standing as both a player and singer of traditional Irish music.

 

She will be missed by many, while her legacy will continue to inspire and delight. She is survived by her son Padraig, her daughters Siobhan and Caitriona (who is currently harpist with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra). Her husband Michael Yeats and their daughter Síle predeceased her.

 

We have single copies of three of Gráinne's products on sale. Since we only have 1 copy of each, if you click on any of these links and they take you to our website's home page, or it says that the items are out of stock . . . then the item has already been sold.   

     

7644LP - The Belfast Harper's Festival 1792 - 2 LP and book set

s-7644 - The Harp of Ireland book - autographed to Sylvia from Gráinne 

2649c - A Rogha Fein Cassette Tape   

One of My Favorite Harp Programs Needs Our Help 

One of the harp programs that is closest to my heart is the Harp in Our Public Schools Project that provides free harp lessons to elementary, middle school, and high school students who study in under-served public schools in South Los Angeles. It was created in 2006 by Lou Anne Neill, harpist in the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and Lecturer of Harp at UCLA.  Lou Anne was also our first in-store teacher when we opened the Harp Center Store in 1992. 

We featured this wonderful program in our April 2011 newsletter, when a group of their elementary school students made a video to send to the children of Japan after the devastating tsunami. 

Unfortunately, they lost their funding last year, so the program is now being run by all volunteers.  They are asking for our help through Kickstarter.com to be able to continue. I'm proud to say that I've made a donation to this wonderful program last night.  If you'd like to contribute, the deadline is just a few days away: Sunday, June 23rd.  Go to the following link at Kickstarter.com or, once you get to Kickstarter, search for the word harp.

This month's Review-It winner is Mary Bennett from Buckinghamshire, England for her review of our Tempo Tape. And the Tempo Tape is currently on sale on our website  at 30% off!

"We had a rehearsal in our house last night.  ALL my friends were so excited about my Tempo Tape, that I ordered some for each of them. I no longer lost my lines of music, particularly doing the accompaniments. And although there were often pages and pages of sheet music to read, there were only those hi-lighted areas for the harp part. It made it all look a lot more comforting. I now feel safe and secure for my next ensemble. My neighbour Janet has a serious needle work hobby, she absolutely fell in love with the tapes, too."

Here's what Mary told us about herself.

"My mother let me choose between a harp or a horse in 1999. I had then spent about 15 years in horse riding, and was horse mad. My first harp was a Salvi 46 Daphne which I kept for two and a half years. After passing all my exams with distinction, my mother let me have a Lyon & Healy 47 Grand Concert which I used to win one of the biggest European harp competitions in 2004. I didn't know it was a competition until I got there. My teacher just asked if I would like to share my harp playing with others. I later also acquired a Pilgrim 34 Clarsach and a Salvi 36 Livia for teaching purposes. Those small harps are very convenient for playing in retirement homes, or venues with restricted space.  

I never set out to make money with my harps. Nevertheless, after playing for mother's friends in some nursing homes, the matrons there invited me to play with payment. I sometimes played for my colleagues' get-togethers in hotels. I got inquiries from the patrons, and indirectly and unexpectedly I acquired some students through those contacts. The first wedding I did was for our church music director and organist. There were many great musicians amongst her guests. Unbeknownst to me then, an organ professor thought I was a professional harpist. It was such a confidence boost. Since then I have done numerous weddings, christenings, and concerts. I got paid for all those performances. I had said to my mother that I would donate the money to charities. I only pocket the income from teaching. I think my 2 small harps had earned their worth!!

The most rewarding experience was seeing people responding well to live harp music. There was this old gentlemen slumped lopsided in his chair among the retirement home residents one Christmastide. The simple old carol melodies brought out his memories. He lifted his head and sang along with the tune (O.K. out of tune!) and his eyes sparkled. Later the staff told me that he had not spoken a word since he had arrived 4 months before. That was the first time they heard his voice, and he sang! I always remembered Susann MacDonald's advice: take every performance seriously, should it be in a nursing home or in the Royal Albert Hall. I dressed up for them, even just for a short small afternoon tea party. Most of all I respect everyone no matter who and where they are.

I was a midwife and have been a neonatal nursing sister for many years. My mother has just turned 90. I have been playing my harp at churches and healing services for many years. For my own amusement, I played the old Sunday school hymn "Jesus Loves Me." After the service there were 4 people who came to me and said that the tune brought tears to their eyes (in a positive way). I am glad that my harp playing is very therapeutic to many as well as to myself and my mother and our cat. Friends commented that hearing me playing the harp has contributed to her long life. Wishing all the harpists to enjoy your music and enjoy life." - Mary

Win 20 harp dollars with our Review-It contest