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 SOUTHERN REGION NEWSLETTER |
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National News
42nd National Conference in Atlanta  The Georgia Chapter is proud to host the 42nd National Conference in Atlanta, next June 30 - July 3, 2016 at the Emory Conference Center Hotel. The AHS National Conference is dedicated to bringing world class presenters and performers to Atlanta to captivate the next generation of harpists and to develop the talents and careers of our current members. Please join us for dynamic concerts and workshops, and to enjoy true southern hospitality with friends old and new. Please check www.harpsociety.org/ConferenceInstitute/2016Conference
often for updates on the program, schedule, housing and registration.
AHS Concert Artist
Congratulations to the 2015-2017 AHS Concert Artist, Katherine Siochi! Local chapters have a wonderful opportunity to invite Katherine to give a recital and masterclass in their region. Consider a chapter event that would support this talented harpist and enrich your local community! For more information about the program and Katherine please visit: www.harpsociety.org/About/Programs/ConcertArtist.
Membership
Have you renewed your membership for 2016-2017? The new membership year began September 1st. Don't miss the wonderful upcoming winter issue of The American Harp Journal, or miss out on grant opportunities, insurance discounts, national e-newsletters and much more by letting your membership lapse. It's easy to renew online today at www.harpsociety.org/Membership/JoinRenew.
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North Shore Chapter
Louisiana The North Shore chapter of Louisiana has been VERY active. We have played harp ensemble concerts throughout Louisiana at: The Jane Austen Literary Festival, March
Fundraising Tea for Madisonville Lighthouse cottage, ApriL
The LA Highland games in Baton Rouge, May
Forest Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Covington several times Upcoming concerts include:
The Irish Fest New Orleans in October
Louisiana Renaissance Festival in November
Mandeville Historic Christmas Past Festival in December On a sad note we lost fellow North Shore Harpist, Molly Wiggins, in July. She was a performer, harp teacher, former chapter President and a friend to many. |
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Eight Louisiana harpists played for Molly's memorial service.
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A musical visit with Molly Wiggins
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The North Shore chapter meets every third Sunday in the cafeteria in Ochsner Hospital at 2:30 p:m., at 100 Medical Center Dr. off Gause Blvd. in Slidell, Louisiana. Everyone is welcome. |
Greater Cincinnati Chapter Ohio The Chapter met on July 12, 2015 at Ascension Lutheran Church in Cincinnati. President Dr. Alaina Graiser summed up the meeting: "We had a fantastic harp society meeting on Sunday! After enjoying the delicious snacks (big thanks to the hospitality committee!) and catching up with everyone, we opened our business meeting, and our officers were elected:
President: Alaina Graiser
Vice-President: Nancy Bick Clark
Secretary: Rachel Miller
Treasurer: Becky Culbertson
From our president and vice president:
1. Thank you for the giving us the privilege of leading this group; it's exciting to experience so many fascinating aspects of our instrument with such great people and see the growth of the harp in Cincinnati!
2. A huge thanks to our past secretary/treasurer: Kim Cooper for her time, energy, organization, and many contributions to the successes of the past two years.
3. A big welcome to our new officers! We are thrilled about your commitment to our chapter and look forward to exciting times ahead!"
"The business meeting concluded with a few brief announcements and discussions:* Our October meeting will feature a session with an Alexander Technique instructor and our January meeting will be a workshop of Appalachian Fiddle tunes led by Nancy Bick Clark; more details will come in the future!
* Congratulations to our very own Rachel Miller, one of 3 winners of the prestigious Lyon and Healy Awards Competition!
* Thanks to members who shared their very positive experiences attending the harp duo Lilac 94's Cincinnati concert!
* Invitation for any members to join the board or a committee: we appreciate any and all input for our chapter; if you have a special way you would like to contribute to the chapter or a thought to share, please contact us!
* Jackie Davis presented Alaina with a log showing the evolution of the group and meeting summaries from the first meeting in 1977. It was fascinating to read about activities from over thirty years ago! It was noted that an Alexander Technique workshop took place on April 25, 1988. We are looking forward to learning about Alexander Technique for the first time
since then.
President Grainer continued, "The rest of the meeting was an outstanding presentation and informal performance by Elizabeth Motter on the Italian triple strung harp! She shared with us about the history and construction of the instrument; the modern use of the instrument; music played then and now on the instrument (showed examples); technique for playing the triple strung harp; and her experiences at an early music conference this summer. She gave two exquisite performances and had us all in awe! For those who missed the workshop, here is a You Tube video of Mara Galassi playing the Italian Baroque Triple Harp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EKgWzLXoyo. Elizabeth spent a week in an intensive workshop studying with her; we are lucky that Elizabeth, only one of a half dozen baroque triple harpists in the USA, shared her
experiences with us on Sunday!"
On October 4, the Chapter will hold a master class in Alexander Technique with Certified Alexander Technique Teacher Jennifer Roig-Francoli, who is also a professional violinist. The Alexander Technique is a mind/body awareness program to promote positive, healthy lifestyles. Ms. Roig-Francoli will present "The Art of Freedom" as a Master Class with five participants and others as observers. The master class is structured specifically to give musicians full physical and mental freedom while engaging with their instruments. The Chapter meets quarterly, with a different topic presented at each meeting. Future topics will include Appalachian fiddle tunes for harp, learning about life as an orchestral harpist, harps used in healing, among other topics.
On August 8, 2015, Chapter President Alaina Graiser received her Doctorate of Musical Arts in Harp Performance (DMA) from The University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, under Dr. Gillian Benet-Sella, who is Principal Harpist of the Cincinnati Symphony. Congratulations, Alaina!
CINCINNATI HARPERS' ROBIN
The Cincinnati Harpers' Robin, which includes Chapter President Dr. Alaina Graiser and Vice President Nancy Bick Clark of Newport, KY, is looking forward to a holiday concert at the Kenton County Public Library, Covington Branch, on December 12. They have a busy schedule in January performing at Bridgeway Pointe Assisted Living Facility and St. Margaret Hall before their special concert of early music, which will take place at the Sisters of Charity Motherhouse in Mt. St. Joseph, OH. This concert is part of the Cincinnati Early Music Festival during the month of February, now in its fourth year. This will be the Robin's second performance as part of the Festival.
As mentioned in the previous newsletter, the Robin sponsored a Retreat at the Sisters of Charity Motherhouse from May 15-16, 2015, which concluded in a concert of Celtic, classical, and early music pieces. The Robin consists of about seven to eight members. Some of them are pictured below:
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Cincinnati Harpers' Robin (L to R): Nancy Bick Clark, Angele Wright,
Alaina Graiser, Montiel Rosenthal, S.C.; and Lindsey Duncan
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CLARK & JONES TRIO/ Nancy Bick Clark other concerts
On September 11, 2015, the Trio performed a concert at Richwood Presbyterian Church in Richwood, KY. This concert was part of a series sponsored by the Ohio Arts Council and Lyrica of Cincinnati. The Trio comprises Nancy Bick Clark on Celtic harp, recorder & vocals; Francis Clark on bodhran & vocals; and Jude Jones on violin, guitar, and vocals. The Trio will be performing the Eighth Annual Winter Solstice Concert at Church of the Redeemer in Cincinnati on Saturday, December 19. They are performing at the Lane Library in Hamilton, OH on
December 6.
Nancy and her husband Frank Clark performed a concert at Carolina Meadows, Chapel Hill, NC on August 18, 2015. They perform regularly at Greater Cincinnati retirement homes. On November 27, they will be performing at the Covington Ladies' Home in Northern KY. Nancy will be playing and singing for the 22nd year for the Irish Mass in Middletown, OH on Sunday, October 4, along with tenor Marty Mulhall.
On July 18, Nancy performed a concert with Mary Radspinner (Houston, TX), Evelyn Tiffany-Castiglioni (College Station, TX) and Montiel Rosenthal, S.C. (Cincinnati). The concert took place in the Portage Lakes area near Akron, OH. This was the culmination of a workshop. Nancy, Mary and Evelyn had previously performed in October, 2014 for a benefit concert in Cuyahoga Falls,
OH (near Akron).
Nancy and S. Montiel Rosenthal, S.C. will be joining Heartland Harps on October 10 in Nazareth, KY for a joint concert. The groups had sent each other four songs to learn. In addition to the common eight songs, the program will be filled out with music chosen by each group. While in Nazareth, Nancy and S. Montiel will be studying with Lorinda Jones, who is a Board-Certified Music Therapist. Lorinda directs Heartland Harps.
On September 13, Nancy and S. Montiel played for the the Sisters of Charity program "Lift Up Your Hearts, an afternoon of prayer with the Sisters of Charity." Nancy and S. Montiel's program was entitled "Unspoken Prayer - the Music of the Harp." This involved 45 minutes of tunes and medleys in an atmosphere of silence. The program says, Music can be one of the ways we reach for, find and "touch" God in unspoken prayer. Harpists Sister Montiel Rosenthal and Associate
candidate Nancy Bick Clark will play a unique instrumental selection of reflective and prayer music." There were about 20 participants listening and praying silently with the music. The songs were designed to flow smoothly from one to the other with minimal pauses to change levers. This was a unique playing experience for one who is used to either interacting with audiences during and between songs or playing background. In this case, participants were actively listening and praying during the music, which required intense focus. |
Gateway St. Louis Chapter
Missouri
In August, members of the St. Louis Irish Arts performance troupe traveled to Milan, Italy, to perform at the World Expo. Salvi Harps generously provided two harps to the Expo. Eileeen Gannon taught at the annual summer school Scoil Egise in Sligo, Ireland. Two of Eileen's former students competed at the Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann, also held in County Sligo, Ireland: Shannon Kelly in the Senior Harp, and Carolyn Flood in the Newly Composed Tunes. Eileen will soon be teaching at the Harper's Escape in New Brunswick, NJ the weekend of October 2-4.
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Performers accept the applause at the Spring 2015 Chapter Recital
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Terri Langerak has been named Principal Harpist for the Belleville Philharmonic Orchestra, the second-oldest continuously operating symphony orchestra in the U.S. The Philharmonic will perform Stravinsky's Firebird Suite in October, and Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker in November.
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Lexington Chapter
Kentucky Ashley Su performed Courante by Francisque on a Showcase Recital and the Lyon & Healy Summer Concert Series. Pictures are available due to her father's expertise as a photographer! Ashley also won a chair in the Central Kentucky Youth Concert Orchestra 2015-16 Season playing flute. Madeline Farrar, accomplished harpist and violinist, won a chair on the first stand of the 1st violin section in the Central Kentucky Youth Concert Orchestra. Qi Yu, harpist with the University of Kentucky Orchestra performed Pines of Rome by Respighi September 25th. Laure Ziembroski, Chen Chen, Qi Yu, Tiana Th�, Elsa Klaene, Madeline Farrar, Joelle Toews, Ashley Su, Janna Young, and Elaine Cook will present a Harp Ensemble Program at Mayfair Manor on October 18th. Before the performance, we will have a Masterclass with Rachel Miller from Cincinnati. Rachel and Elaine performed Mahler's Resurrection Symphony with the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra on September 18th. Qi Yu will perform a Guzheng solo on the University of Kentucky Divisional Recital October 20th. Qi Yu is a UK harp major with a Bachelor's Degree in Guzheng performance from Inner Mongolia University College of Art. Guzheng is a Chinese traditional instrument that is used much like harp in the Chinese Orchestra. Mingyi Wu will perform her own composition for harp, "Flowing in the Dawn", on a Centre College Showcase Recital November 8th. On November 8th, Elsa Klaene will perform an Italian Giga, arr. Milligan, "Fun from the First" on a Lexington Talent Education Association Tokubetsu Recital (Honors Recital). Ashley Su will perform "Amahl and the Night Visitors" with Central Kentucky Youth Orchestra in December at the Lyric Theater. On October 30th, The University of Kentucky Harp Ensemble will perform on a UK School of Music Concert Series Fridays at noon in the lobby of the Chandler Medical Center. Performers are: Chen Chen, Tiana Th�, Ashley Su, Janna Young, Qi Yu, Laure Ziembroski, with Elaine Cook - UK Faculty. |
Nashville Chapter
Tennessee Meetings and Events - The SUMMER 2015 MEETING of the Nashville Harp Society was held Thursday, June 25, 2015 at 6:30pm at the home of NHS officer Kirsten Agresta Copely in Franklin, TN. The Summer Harp Hang featured a playlist of everyone's favorite harp tracks and s'mores by the backyard fireplace.
Upcoming Meetings for 2015-2016: - Our FALL 2015 MEETING will be a Harp Therapy Workshop held in November.
- In December, the HOLIDAY 2015 MEETING will be a social outing to see a matinee of The Nutcracker by the Nashville Ballet and time to grab a cup of hot cocoa afterwards.
- Shaking things up in March, our SPRING 2016 MEETING will be a fundraiser concert and revue of several Nashville harpists and NHS Members who perform many styles of contemporary music. The concert will feature: Natalie Lurie Salzman, Liana Alpino, Timbre Cierpke, and Paula Bressman in her harp duo Beyond Pluck.
- In May 2016, the Nashville Harp Society will present the AUDITIONS AND EVALUATIONS PROGRAM provided by the American Harp Society, Inc. for harp students of all ages in Middle Tennessee.
- We are excited to announce our chapter will be presenting a masterclass and concert by the Chicago Harp Quartet for our FALL 2016 MEETING in September.
Member Updates and Performances - The Yoga for Harpists Workshop presented by Dr. Dawn Neely at the February 2015 NHS "Healthy Harpist" Meeting was such a success that it has been chosen to presented over two days at the 2016 American Harp Society National Conference in Atlanta, GA. The two-day workshop will feature a yoga routine developed to meet the relaxation and strengthening needs of harpists of all ages in addition to a demonstration of modified yoga positions which can be performed at the harp bench before and during practice. The workshop will also feature original harp compositions to accompany yoga practice written by NHS Officer Sarah Crocker.
- In early September, NHS Vice President Kirsten Agresta Copely performed as a Featured Entertainer at the President's Gate for the sixth consecutive year at the US Open Tennis Championships in NYC. She plays at the President's Gate for the players and VIPs. Kirsten also just performed in two shows of Kanye West's "808 and Heatbreak" given at the Hollywood Bowl at the end of September.
- NHS Member Megan Shelton released seven new hymn arrangements this summer that are downloadable, and is also working on holiday arrangements to be available for download this fall. Check out The Serene Harp on Facebook for more information about her arrangements.
- In late August, Beyond Pluck, a harp duo comprised of NHS Secretary-Treasurer Paula Bressman and harpist Rachel Miller,released a new arrangement of Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line." All of their arrangements can be seen on their YouTube channel.
- In June 2016, NHS President Sarah Crocker will perform Ginastera's Harp Concerto in the composer's birthplace of Argentina, where she will be teaching abroad in Buenos Aires. Sarah has also been selected to present "Tracing the Legacy of the French Harp School: Hasselmans and His Successors" at the 2016 American Harp Society National Conference in Atlanta, GA next summer.
- NHS member and Southern Regional Director Phyllis Taylor Sparks recorded for the recent movie releases "War Room" and "Against The Sun". One of her solo harp recordings was used in the season finale of the new USA Network hit series "Mr. Robot", airdate September 2, 2015.
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Memphis Chapter
Tennessee Memphis Harp Chapter met in the spring with its Harp Chapter Meeting. Bellevue Baptist Church Harp Ensemble performed for the meeting. At the present time harpist Melodie Moore is in Bulgaria playing with the Bulgaria Symphony Orchestra. |
Mississippi Chapter
Mississippi Mandy Mangrum performed at the MSU Riley Center with the Meridian Symphony September 12th.
Victoria Brodbeck is currently a student at University of Southern Mississippi and will be performing with their Symphony Orchestra throughout the Fall and Spring semesters. |
New Orleans Chapter
Louisiana
Our chapter began our educational outreach with the annual concert and workshop in March 2015. Through the cooperation of the Munholland United Methodist Church in Metairie, we hosted harpist Rhett Barnwell. Mr. Barnwell has undertaken a varied career as a classical and Celtic harpist, organist, composer, conductor, cellist, and French horn player, enlightened local harpists with discussions on arrangements and technique for music for sacred and healing purposes. He gave additional concerts at the Oschner Atrium and the East Jefferson Library. Mr. Barnwell's residency culminated in a Finale performance of his arrangement of Prelude on Rhosymedre, performed by 22 local musicians and harpists. His residency was supported by a grant from the Southern Arts Federation.
Our upcoming annual concert will be held on January 24, 2016 at the East Jefferson Library and will feature guest harpist Katherine Siochi. The Annual Spring Student Harp Recital was held in June at the Deutsches Haus in Kenner, showcasing the solo performances of eight students. The New Orleans Jazz and Pop Harp Weekend was held in June at the East Jefferson Library. The event garnered significant attention from the local harp community and from registrants and presenters who traveled in from the southeast, west and northeast. Students of varied levels partook in courses of exploring improvisation, blues scale and other important aspects of jazz technique. The weekend culminated in a concert at the library featuring famed harpists such as Rachel Van Voorhees, Louise Trotter, Lori Andrews, Patrice Fisher, Ivory McCann, and bassist Bart Samolis. This event was sponsored by grants from the Arts Council of New Orleans and Camac Harp Company. The next New Orleans Jazz and Pop Harp Weekend will be held June 16-19, 2016 featuring guest harpist and Kerstin Allvin. In October, the New Orleans Celtic Harp Ensemble (NOCHE) will conduct performances in honor of Irish Fest at the Kingsley House and the Irish House, highlighting the works of Turlough O'Carolan. NOCHE will perform at the Renaissance Fest on November 22, 2015 in Hammond, LA at 10am. The chapter will conduct board elections for new officers at the October meeting. |
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