… we work hard to make sure each issue of Harp Column has a little something for everyone …

Recently, a harpist considering a Harp Column subscription asked, “What’s in it for me?” She didn’t use those exact words, but that was the gist. A self-described adult amateur who plays a lever harp for her own enjoyment, she was skeptical she would find enough content in the magazine to justify a subscription. Fair enough—no one wants to waste precious time or hard-earned money, myself included.

That’s why we work hard to make sure each issue of Harp Column has a little something for everyone, while staying true to our mission of providing practical news for practical harpists. To illustrate my point, let’s take a spin through this issue to see what every harpist can enjoy.

Each issue of Harp Column is bookended with news and Strange But True Harp Stories, giving you a balance of the serious and the humorous in the harp world.

You don’t even have to be a harpist to learn from freelancer Kate Hazzard Rogers’ Sounding Board article. She shares lessons learned from constantly putting herself in new and unpredictable circumstances. “Some of the most stressful situations, however, have helped me develop flexibility and creativity and have shown me that I can do more than I thought,” she writes. That’s a reminder we could all use.

If you play the harp, you need to know how to care for it. In our advice column, three experts share their best tips for cleaning your instrument so sweat and oils from your hands don’t affect the finish.

Our feature article, “Finding Answers in the College Search,” might seem relevant only to students. But the wisdom applies to any harp life. “One thing I learned from the audition process is to approach the repertoire preparation as a chance to develop a practice schedule and routine tailored to your needs,” says SUNY-Fredonia student Vinny Conlon. “College life can be overwhelming, demanding strong time-management skills and the flexibility to adapt to constant changes. By establishing a well-structured practice routine, you’ll not only prioritize your musical growth but also learn to balance your other academic commitments effectively.” Take out the references to auditions, college, and academics, and it still applies to anyone trying to fit harp into an already full life.

Our article about pre-performance routines might also seem irrelevant to those who don’t perform publicly, but nerves strike in many settings. Our experts share strategies to build confidence for those moments, wherever they happen.

Scottish folk harpist Tamsin Dearnley wrote our Tear-Out Tune. As with all commissioned pieces in this series, it is short, playable on lever or pedal harp, and written by a harpist for a harpist—you! If the piece is too difficult or not your style, there are 16 others to explore. You’re sure to find a few that strike your fancy.

Our music review covers new sacred music for lever and pedal harp, and our recording review looks at four very different albums: Emmanuel Ceysson plays Tournier classics; Paraguayan harpist Juanjo Corbalán “defies genre boundaries” with his jazz quartet; Ruth Wall explores Gaelic wire-strung, Bray, concert, and electro harps with electronics; and Teresa Suen-Campbell gives us new concertos to chew on.

We also talked to NYC freelancer Kirsten Agresta Copely for our featured interview. Before you flip past it thinking you have nothing in common with a high-profile New York harpist, read about her journey from classical music into New Age. “There was a definite world that opened up to me in that ambient field, and it incited this desire and passion in me to try to figure out how to create my own voice within that world,” Agresta Copely says. She goes on to describe discoveries in this new-to-her musical language: “As classical musicians will understand, we play a lot of notes, right? We’re taught a lot of fast passages and things that move quickly. In New Age music, you can’t have that. You have to have space between the notes. I found a lot of beauty that rests within that space.”

So what’s in this issue for you? What speaks to you from outside your corner of the harp world? What resonates because it is a shared experience? Turn the page and find out. •