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It's out! The latest issue of HARP magazine (for UKHA members only) should have landed on your doormats by now....if you are a member of the UKHA.  Included in this issue is an article I did about cars (!!!) which includes the results of a survey of 100 UK harpists. What cars they drive, which harps they transport, and which cars have split seats for fitting harps plus passengers in the back. Oh yes! If you're a harpist and drive a car it's a must read!!! ;-) HARP magazine comes out twice a year and is exclusively for members of the United Kingdom Harp Association. If you love the harp and live in the UK, you NEED to be a member of the UKHA. As well as producing a great magazine of news, reviews and articles, the UKHA put on events around the country, and gives out a bursary twice a year to members. It's easy to join online, and if you do that NOW from this link here, Rita, our lovely membership secretary, will send you a copy of our latest magazine. Our AGM is happening in Cardiff on Sunday April 17th this year, and we're delighted to be hosting a concert for the winners of the 2015 British Harp Chamber Music competition. They are a fabulous trio, and it should be a great event in Cardiff. 
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I have a recurring nightmare where I look down at my harp and the strings look like this!!! However, this is no bad dream - instead it's an amazing video of a Chopin Mazurka played on a 6x6 cross strung chromatic harp by Dutch harpist, Mirjam Rietberg. To quote from Mirjam's website; 'The 6x6 cross-strung chromatic harp is named this way because it has two rows of strings that cross each other. One row is tuned in whole notes (6 notes in an octave) from C (c, d, e, f#, g#, a#) and the other row is also tuned in whole notes but from C# (c#, d#, f, g, a, b) ' Mirjam has a lovely website here which includes info about the chromatic harp, and also more about the FRIENDS OF THE CHROMATIC HARP here I love the idea of the chromatic harp being used for contemporary music and that she plays jazz on it, rather than exclusively being used to play baroque music. Playing in a bubble has been around a little while now, but it seems to be getting more common place.  picture above of harpist Shelley Frost performing in a bubble. Looks lovely doesn't it? and here's a video of her getting into the bubble and another, Canadian harpist Elena playing in Dubai, and an agency in the UK is now offering it too PROS more job and work opportunities for musicians? CONS
I'm all for there being more work for musicians, really doesn't matter where or what as long as it's work, and good luck to the lovely ladies playing harp in the bubbles. I don't have an issue with playing an electric lever harp in a bubble, because at least then you have full control of the harp and levers standing up. Likewise playing a violin or saxophone is fine, because their playing is not restricted by standing up. But I do find it very odd to play an instrument fundamentally designed to only be played sitting down - in a standing up position - when you can't change the PEDALS standing up!!!! |
