Welcome to the BC harp chapter

2012:
February:
Feb. 18, Kaori and Miya Otake performed a fund-raising concert at the Vancouver Academy of Music for victims of the 2011 tsunami that devastated Japan. All proceeds went to the University of Sendai.

March:
This was the first year that UBC had a harp quartet! UBC harp majors Samantha Ballard, Vivian Chen, Emilie Delorme-Newsom and Sheryl Hung performed in March on a concert of Chamber Music for Strings.

July, August:

Elizabeth Volpé Bligh will be teaching and performing at the International Harp Workshop in Santuario del Crea, Monferrato, Piedmont, in Italy from July 5-9, 2012. Instructors and performers also include: Sabine Meijers, Brenda Dor-Groot, Laura Sofia Carmellino, Luise Prandina, and Margherita Bassani.
For more information, e-mail: harpworkshop@gmail.com or laurasofia.caramellino@istruzione.it
address: c/o S.O.M.A. - Via Mazzucotelli, 22 – 20138 Milano – Italy

July 29 to August 11 will be the first Canadian International Summer Harp Institute at the VSO School of Music, 843 Seymour Street, Vancouver, BC, V6B 3L4, Canada, 604-915-3500. Instructors will be Gianetta Baril, Elizabeth Volpé Bligh, Cristina Braga and Judy Loman (Judy Loman will be teaching only in the first week.) Courses will include a workshop with Cristina on South American music, stretching/early morning surprise session, and Alexander Technique class. There will be faculty and student recitals, dinners and events. Registrants can contact the VSO School of Music's registrar, Louise Ironside, at louise@vsoschoolofmusic.ca, or phone at 604-915-9300 ext. 1. Questions may be directed to evolpebligh@gmail.com or gianetta@forloveofharp.com.

The 11th World Harp Congress (July 24-30, 2011) was a great success! All our BC and Canadian harpists did a fabulous job all week long. Our volunteers worked long hours to make the whole week function. Forty harps were loaned to the "Harp Pen" for use by the performers, and the manufacturers also loaned harps when a performer needed a very particular type. Canadian harp music was performed so well that the Canadian Music Centre table sold out everything they had! Our opening gala was a history of harp music in BC, complete with a slide show, narration, and harp music performed to illustrate the narration. At one point, Bronn Journey played the part of John Prosper Ralston, an opal-mining harpist who owned many harps. The best photo was of Mr. Ralston travelling with two gold pedal harps slung on the back of a camel!

We have had a very busy year organizing the World Harp Congress in Vancouver, which will be from July 24-30 at the Sheraton Wall Centre. Registration is open at www.worldharpcongress2011.com

The program is fantastic, the city is gorgeous, and the hotel is only a few blocks from the beach. Lori Pappajohn and Marilyn Rummel designed WHC Countdown email blasts (full of MP3's, interviews and news) and Lori designed ads for harp journals and posters. Please join our mailing list on the WHC 2011 web site to get the countdowns. We had a very successful launch party to raise awareness and get new volunteers, in January 2011. BC harpists featured at the World Harp Congress will be: Esther Cannon, Albertina Chan, Alys Howe, Noelle Kelbert, Lani Krantz, Heidi Krutzen, Josh Layne, Kaori Otake, Elizabeth Volpé Bligh, Joy Yeh.

In May, Kaori Otake did a fund-raising recital and master class at UBC School of Music's Recital Hall. She also performed at the Rio Harp festival in 2010 and 2011. Kaori played for the Sunshine Coast Japan Disaster Relief Gala Fundraiser in Sechelt in April, 2011.

In July, at the AHS Conference in Tacoma, WA, Elizabeth Volpé Bligh performed the Cuban Overture by Gershwin/Bergler for harp and brass quintet with the Lyric Brass, and also participated in a panel on orchestra auditions. In August, Elizabeth performed in three concerts at Festival of the Sound in Parry Sound, ON, as part of a celebration and tribute to Judy Loman. She shared the honours with Erica Goodman, Sharlene Wallace, Nora Bumanis, Julia Shaw, and Judy herself.

In November, Natalia Shameyeva gave a concert and master class at UBC and Trinity Western University.

In late January, Ann Yeung and Jonathan Keeble gave a concert and master classes for flute and harp at UBC.

Maureen Bodie was asked to play for a Mothers' Day Tea at a restaurant in Gibsons, and the owner agreed to donate $200 to the Stephen Lewis Foundation/Grandmothers' Campaign on her behalf. Customers added more donations to the African Grannies the same day.

In March, Alys Howe’s celtic band "Leum!" performed on Granville Street as part of the CelticFest Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations, and also gave a benefit concert to aid survivors in Japan. Leum! (which means jump in Scottish Gaelic) is an exciting new band of traditional
musicians, featuring Annie Brown on fiddle, Keona Hammond on flute, Alys Howe on harp, and Neil Hammond on guitar and bodhran. VIDEOS CLIPS of these concerts can be viewed on You Tube. In April and May, Alys instructed the 11th Annual Harp Retreat & Workshop (Intermediate level harp) in Naramata, BC. They had such fun, they are going to do it again next year in 2012! For more information contact www.highspiritsmusic.com Alys joined the West Coast Symphony Orchestra for two performances of Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet”, Suites One and Two; and adjudicated for the Kiwanis Festival in Langley BC.

On JUNE 5: Alys Howe (harp and vocals), Colin McLean (mandolin, banjo, fiddle, and vocals), and Annie Brown (fiddle and vocals) will perform on the live entertainment stage for "Ships To Shore" (the Tall Ships) in Steveston. For more details visit www.richmond.ca.

Alys will perform at the World Harp Congress in Vancouver 2011: on JULY 24 (Sunday), Alys will be one of many harpists performing for the Opening Gala (The Vogue Theatre, 3:00pm – 4:30 pm); on JULY 27 (Wednesday), Alys will perform with Winter Harp, produced by artistic
director Lori Pappajohn and featuring Janelle Nadeau (The Vogue Theatre, 7:30 - 8:15); on JULY 28 (Thursday), Canadian harper Alys Howe and American harper Seumas Gagne will perform a special concert that features repertoire from "Cape Breton - one of the jewels in the
crown of Canadian musical culture and heritage" (Saint Paul's Church, 3:00 - 4:00). For more information about any of these concerts, visit www.worldharpcongress2011.com

AUGUST 15 - 19: Alys returns to Wells, BC to teach the Beginner Harp class. This supportive and inspiring class is for those with limited or no prior experience on the harp. The primary goals for the week are to learn a lot about the harp, and have fun! Contact http://www.imarts.com

Heidi Krutzen recently performed the World Premiere of R. Murray Schafer's Trio for Flute Viola and Harp written for her trio, Trio Verlaine. Murray Schafer was in attendance for the sold out celebration.

Heidi was also featured in Schafer's Theseus with the Quatour Bozzini, Wild Bird with duo partner, Lorna McGhee, and performed with the Turning Point Ensemble in Schafer's Arcana. Trio Verlaine will perform Schafer's Trio for Flute Viola and Harp again at the World Harp Congress in July, at the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival in August, and in the UK for BBC Radio 3 and a subsequent tour next February. The American Premiere for Schafer's Trio will take place at the Seattle Chamber Music Festival July 23 as well as a recital by the The Krutzen/McGhee Duo. Heidi will also teach at the National Youth Orchestra of Canada this summer.

Heidi's most recent project is Couloir - a new cello/harp duo with cellist, Ariel Barnes. Couloir will officially launch September 29 at Music on Main's Modulus Festival with World Premieres by Canadian composers Jocelyn Morlock, Glenn Buhr and American composer Baljinder Sekhon. Couloir is one of three groups chosen to be touring artists for 2012/2013 season of Prairie Debut.

"Malambo Grassroots" is Heidi's other passion. Her Zambia charity is focused on community development - schools, scholarships, women's co-operatives, and small business. On her most recent trip to Zambia, she was introduced to a small music academy, Ngoma Dolce, that has recently started in Lusaka. She is currently collecting musical donations - instruments/strings/books etc - for the academy to send in a container that "Malambo Grassroots" will be shipping to Zambia. For more information please contact Heidi at malambograssroots@gmail.com

2010:

In January, 2010, the West Coast Harp Society and AHS BC Chapter hosted harpist Ann Yeung and flautist Jonathan Keeble. They played a concert at UBC's Music School Recital Hall and then gave master classes to the flute and harp students in separate rooms. It was a wonderful event and everyone learned a lot.

July 2010 - Elizabeth Volpé Bligh performed at the AHS Conference in Tacoma, WA, and was part of a panel on orchestra auditions.

August 2010 - Elizabeth Volpé Bligh performed in three concerts at a Tribute to Judy Loman series at The Festival of the Sound in Parry Sound. She did The Debussy Danses, Reade's Victoria Kitchen Garden Suite with clarinetist james Campbell, her own compositions in a solo concert, and played in a harp quintet at the end with Judy Loman, Nora Bumanis, Julia Shaw and Sharlene Wallace.

The first WHC Launch Party took place in the Nelson Mansion in New Westminster to raise awareness and get volunteers signed up for the World harp Congress in Vancouver in July 2011. Harpists Alys Howe, Kaori Otake and Roger Helfrick entertained us, and prizes were given for best harp costumes, hairdo's and jewelry. An enormous amount of food was brought, and a great time was had by all. Other Launch parties took place in the Okanagan and on Vancouver Island.

April 2011 -Elizabeth Volpé Bligh and Lani Krantz played Berlioz's Damnation of Faust with the Vancouver Bach Choir and Vancouver Symphony.

BC harpists featured at the World Harp Congress in 2011: Esther Cannon, Albertina Chan, Alys Howe, Noelle Kelbert, Lani Krantz, Heidi Krutzen, Josh Layne, Kaori Otake, Elizabeth Volpé Bligh, Joy Yeh.

The AHS Chapter and West Coast Harp Society had the great pleasure of hosting Natalia Shameyeva from October 25-27, 2010. She gave a lecture/recital on Russian harp music and the Bolshoi Theatre for the music class at Trinity Western University, and then gave a mini-master class for the harp students who live nearby. She gave a master class and recital at University of BC in the two days afterwards. Natalia was Principal Harpist of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow for 33 years, and retired seven years ago. She was the first-prize winner in the USA International Competition in 1969, and 2nd prize-winner in 1963 All Union (Soviet) Competition of orchestral musicians in Russia, and 3rd prize-winner in the 1965 International Harp Contest in Israel. She is a brilliant recording artist, teaches at the Gnessins Music School, and is a member of the Board of the World Harp Congress.

We learned how the Russian harpists are trained to pay close attention to the sound of every finger, and form phrases by having total control over how much sound each finger makes. She teaches students to listen very carefully to everything and bring out what is important in the lines of music. Russian harp students are trained to have a lot of power in their fingers, yet a very beautiful sound.

She showed us the exercise of going up and down scales using only two fingers; for example, 2,1,2,1,2, 1 then 3,2,3,2, etc. The second finger comes deep into the palm, and the thumb stays up, and does not close over the joint of the 2nd finger (except in chords when there is time).

April, 2009: Board of World Harp Congress came to Vancouver for meetings; Kaori Otake hosted a party for them and performed solo.
Willy Postma gave a master class at Kaori Otake's home.

May, 2009:
-Mehlinda Heartt organized a fund-raising concert for the 11th World Harp Congress in Vancouver in 2011, featuring harpist/composers performing their own music. Elizabeth Volpé Bligh, Josh Layne, Clare Morgan and Mehlinda Heartt contributed their eclectic styles at Celtic Traditions to a sold-out house. Elizabeth premiered the latest installment of her suite of Vancouver pieces, Winter in Vancouver.

-Elizabeth Volpé Bligh and Lani Krantz went on tour with the Vancouver Symphony to Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City, and the orchestra received rave reviews and standing ovations at all four cities. There were harp parts in almost every single piece, such as Debussy's Afternoon of a Faun, Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony, Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Stravinsky's Petrouchka and Jeff Ryan's The Linearity of Light.

July 2009-Elizabeth Volpé Bligh taught at Pacific Harp Institute again this summer, though it was challenging with a broken left foot.

Sunday, September 21 at 3pm
Mount Seymour United Church
1200 Parkgate Avenue in North Vancouver

Beloved CBC broadcaster Jurgen Gothe is saying farewell to Disc Drive, the CBC Radio program he has hosted for 19 years. Harpists feel especially fond of him for playing harp music on his program so frequently, so this concert will be their way of expressing their gratitude with music.

Many of Western Canada’s finest harpists such as the VSO’s Elizabeth Volpé Bligh, Winter Harp, along with guests such as Detroit’s jazz harper Christa Grix will perform. In keeping with the eclectic traditions of Disc Drive, the harp community will present a range of musical styles and will feature accompaniments from nyckelharp, percussion, bass, erhu, violin and even flamenco dancer Andrea Williams!

Mr. Gothe will be in attendance to witness the appreciation of the harp community firsthand. The show will be MC’d by Lucie McNeill, a former colleague of Mr. Gothe’s from CBC. This concert is presented by the West Coast Harp Society as a lead-up to the World Harp Congress in Vancouver in 2011.

For further information, contact Elizabeth Volpé Bligh,
President of the West Coast Harp Society (604) 929-5958

International:
In June, 2008, Elizabeth Volpé Bligh was a panellist (subject: Body Awareness and Relaxation at the Harp) at the American Harp Society Conference in Dearborn, Michigan, and was chosen to deliver a speech at Judy Loman's tribute evening. Elizabeth Volpé Bligh's book of harp solos Solos for the Lever or Pedal Harp has been picked up by the Lyon Healy catalogue. This July, she taught at the Pacific Harp Institute at Bastyr University in Washington, and attended the World Harp Congress in Amsterdam to invite the membership to attend ours. Esther Cannon attended the Advanced camp at PHI, and Melissa Snow attended the Intermediate camp.

Elizabeth Volpé Bligh and Heidi Krutzen toured Korea, Macau and China with the Vancouver Symphony in October.

In July, 2008, Kaori Otake and Elizabeth Volpé Bligh attended the World Harp Congress in Amsterdam, along with Vancouver's professional conference organizer as an observer.

The West Coast Harp Society was founded in 2008 by members of the chapter to promote harp concerts and prepare for the World Harp Congress to take place in Vancouver in 2011. Since its inception, it has put on workshops and concerts by the Cornwall Harp Ensemble, Kaori Otake, Sunita Staneslow, Alfredo Ortiz, and a Harpists' Tribute to Jurgen Gothe.

Premières:
Elizabeth Volpé Bligh will be premiering her arrangement of "Song to the Moon" by Dvorak for two harps, or harp and flute, at Harpists' Tribute to Jurgen Gothe on Sept. 21, as well as her arrangement of Rameau's Fanfarinette for two harps. Christa Grix's première jazzy arrangement will end the concert. This fund-raiser concert, emceed by Lucie McNeill and joined by 5 other musicians and a flamenco dancer, showcases nine harpists: Elizabeth Volpé Bligh, Josh Layne from Victoria, Detroit's Christa Grix, Blanche Olivar, Kaori Otake, Lori Pappajohn, Alys Howe, Janelle Nadeau and Lani Krantz. Lani Krantz has played second harp in the Vancouver Symphony several times last season, and played principal harp in the VSO at Deer Lake in Burnaby in the summer. Alys Howe, Blanche Olivar and Kaori Otake have also played with the VSO. All of the performers are top-rank; many tour internationally and/or record. The concert will also feature an auction of a wine-tasting event with Jurgen Gothe and harp music by Elizabeth Volpé Bligh, sponsored by Mission Hill Winery.

Vancouver will be host to this international gathering of harpists - we still can use volunteers, email Elizabeth Volpe Bligh if you'd like to get involved!

My summer travelling started with a short hop to San Francisco. Cheryl Ann Fulton had very kindly invited me to give a talk on acoustics to the Historical Harp Society Conference in Berkeley in early June. The meeting and associated concerts were held in a chapel at the First Congregational Church and was part of the Berkeley Early Music Festival. It was fascinating
to attend, with talks on a varied array of subjects from the Bull Lyre of Ur, medieval, renaissance and early modern harps, child harpists on the streets of 19th century New York, to the Alexander technique (how to sit properly). The two evening concerts were wonderful, again of great variety:
Bill Taylor on a wire-strung clarsach, Paula Fagerberg on an arpa doppia replica by Catherine Campbell (of Port Townsend), Tomoko Sugawara on an Otani kugo (arch harp) reconstructed by Bill Campbell, and Mike Parker on an original 1829 Egan single-action pedal harp (a "husband-catcher"), to name but four examples. More details can be found on the conference's extensive website.

My next stop was Paris for the Acoustics'08 conference, jointly organized by the big European and US acoustics societies, in early July. I presented a couple of papers on harps, mostly material that will shortly appear in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. I met Francois Gauthier and Jean-Loic LeCarrou from Le Mans, the only other physicists working on harp acoustics (as far as I know). Francois is writing an article on string instruments for "Pour la
Science" (the French version of Scientific American) and wants to include some of my data. The best talk I heard at the meeting was entitled "How do you play the first note of Rhapsody in Blue" by University of New South Wales student Jer-Ming Chen, a masterly fusion of physics and artistry. At the end of the conference I visited IRCAM, the Institut de Recherche et
Coordination Acoustique/Musique, founded by Pierre Boulez in the 70s. Inside I learned, amongst other things, how they produced the voice of Farinelli, in the movie of the same name.

On returning to Paris a little later after a sojourn down south, I came across a broken Erard for sale in the great flea market in Saint-Ouen. I hesitated for a while, but then decided that I have enough harp projects already...

"Dr, Alfredo Ortiz gave a 4-hour workshop on South American harp techniques, ergonomics, and played some of his pieces for a large, appreciative crowd at the Plaskett Art Gallery in the Massey Theatre in New Westminster on Sunday, Sept. 7. Lori Pappajohn, one of the Directors of the West Coast Harp Society, hosted the event. Dr. Ortiz had a member of the workshop place her hand in an awkward chord, then squeeze the strings, relax completely while leaving the fingers on the chord, then repeating this process several times. She was then instructed to drop her hand off the harp, close her eyes, and replace her fingers on the same chord without looking. It worked!! This process is a very valuable aid to speeding up muscle memory. We learned that some of the effects common in South American music cannot be effectively executed while using a classical technique, and sound much better on a lightly-strung harp such as the Paraguayan harp. Point the fingers up for agility and relaxation when doing very fast octaves or sixths repeatedly, for example. The trick to doing very fast repeated arpeggios is placing one finger at a time instead of all at once, but not pulling in all the way.

In his music, he instructed us not to roll the chords unless they are marked, and then they must be rolled fast, so as not to drag at the rhythm. He drew our attention to the use of alternate left hand patterns that are published in the books to make the pieces more vibrant and interesting. When starting a new piece, learn the left hand patterns first before you try putting the hands together.
He showed us a dampening technique that looks similar to harmonics, but he has DVD's that demonstrate this in greater detail.

He emphasized that the harp should not sit perpendicular to the body, but off to the right diagonally. He suggested using mirrors to check your posture and position. He said to avoid "zig-zags" in your arms and wrist, keeping everything naturally aligned. The height of the chair is very important so that you are neither reaching up nor leaning down to play. Compare relaxing shoulders and tensing them and feel the difference.

Attendees were able to buy advance tickets for the Harpists' Tribute to Jurgen Gothe during the intermission, as well as loading up on Dr. Ortiz's CD's, books and DVD's. Thanks to Lori for making this possible!"

Elizabeth Volpé Bligh
Principal Harp, Vancouver Symphony
Sessional Harp Instructor, UBC
604-929-5958
www.elizabethvolpebligh.com

The Cornwall Harp Ensemble from England performed Celtic Traditions in Vancouver on Saturday, April 26 at 8 p.m.

The ensemble is under the direction of Sarah Deere-Jones, a renowned classical harpist who plays numerous different styles. She has a great selection of CDs, is highly versatile and is known for her great playing. Sarah is a prize winner from the Royal Academy of Music and has performed solo throughout the United Kingdom and has also performed with orchestras.

On Dec. 12th, from 5-9 PM, the BC Harp Chapter hosted another master class with Erica Goodman at UBC's School of Music. Elizabeth Volpe writes the following:

"Erica Goodman's master class was yesterday, and I want to congratulate all the harpists who played. It is always so interesting to hear the pieces, some of which were new to me, and to get the input from a world-class musician.

Erica's main points were: letting the chords "flower", using different rolling speeds to achieve colour and phrasing, emphasizing what is important in the music, evenness, careful pedalling to avoid noises, listening to yourself, using the metronome, keeping the tempos as they should be, hearing all the notes equally in a chord, or bringing out just the melody note in the chord, focussing the sound even in a pianissimo. She suggested closing the hand completely to achieve this focus, and experimenting with different parts of the pads of the fingers or thumb to get just the quality of sound that you want.

Kaori Otake played magnificently! She was playing two pieces that she plans to record soon:
Introduction, Cadenza and Rondo by Parish Alvars and the Dussek Sonata. Vicky played Tema con Variazione by Handel, Elisa Thorn played Berceuse Russe by Tournier, Maria played the first movement of the Hindemith Sonata, and Merissa played Etude de Concert by Godefroid."

BC harp chapter member Esther Cannon tied for 3rd Prize in the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition! She will be performing her piece, "Féerie" by Tournier, with the VYSO on Sunday, February 24, 2008 at the Kay Meek Center, West Vancouver at 7:30 PM. For tickets, contact the VYSO office at www.vyso.com.

Erica Goodman, internationally-renowned harpist and Juno winner from Toronto, gave a master class on Sept. 4 at the UBC Recital Hall.

Erica Goodman gave a master class at UBC School of Music's Recital Hall on Sept. 4, 2007. Four harpists played, and we had quite a few auditors as well. Participants were: Josh Layne, Esther Cannon, Gillian Shaw, and Janelle Nadeau, playing pieces by Layne, Godefroid, Hindemith, Tournier, Respighi, and Mozetich. Erica gave great advice not only to the participants, but spoke to the audience as well, telling several anecdotes and making points that would be helpful to all who were there. She even gave flawless performances of "Chanson dans la Nuit" and "Scintillation" by Salzedo to illustrate his style. She said she learned these pieces when she was young, so they are still locked into her memory and can be performed on very short notice without any practice. I know this to be true, because she was practising in my home for several days before the class, and never practised either of these pieces!

The BC Chapter had a potluck dinner at 6:30 PM on June 22, 2007, then a hilarious and informative tuning workshop given by Bess Lu at Elizabeth Volpé's home. A meeting ensued, regarding our bid to host the World Harp Congress in 2011. We will have to borrow at least 20 pedal harps in good playing condition, and collect over a hundred volunteers to do such things as drive guest harpists around, billett some harpists, check for name tags and tickets at doors of events, etc. Volunteers do not have to be harpists; they can be friends, relatives, etc. On June 25, Patricia Wooster will meet Elizabeth, Kayo and Kaori for a tour of two possible sites and a meeting with a Tourism Vancouver representative. Anyone wanting to volunteer or request updates may e-mail Elizabeth Volpé, the Chair of the Host Committee (if we win the bid).

Gianetta Baril, a Juno-award-winning harpist from Calgary, gave a master class at Elizabeth Volpé's house on May 27, 2007. Participants were: Moira Warburton, Nicole Galloway, Melissa Snow, Victoria McArthur, Vicky Chan and Maria Whelton.

Elizabeth Volpé has published a book of music called Elizabeth Volpé Bligh: Solos for Lever or Pedal Harp, which is available from www.theavondalepress.com. Six of the pieces in it will be in the Royal Conservatory Syllabus that is coming out in the fall.

In March, 2007, in New Zealand, she gave a master class at the University of Auckland, a workshop for lever harps, a teachers' forum, and four private lessons in Wellington. Two of her articles were subsequently printed in the New Zealand Harp Association's newsletter, as well as two glowing reviews!

The photo below was taken from the studio at Mount Royal College Conservatory in Calgary. Elizabeth Volpé Bligh did a video master class for Gianetta Baril's harp students in January, using UBC's Telestudios.