New York-based harpist and composer Zeena Parkins released her album Lament for the Maker in December 2025, titled after a poem by Jack Spicer. Parkins explains, “In 2022, with the closing of Mills College imminent and my bicoastal life coming to an end along with it, I requested of my colleagues works I could perform to mark this loss, honor the school’s great legacy, and conclude the 13 years I spent teaching there.” The album was recorded in Littlefield Concert Hall at Mills College in Oakland, California, just before Parkins left her teaching position as the school was merged into Northeastern University.
Nearly an hour in playing length, the album contains four tracks, including three commissions and an ongoing harp solo by Parkins which began in 2014. On the album, Parkins makes music with her acoustic harp and electronics, with the aid of bass bows, wooden bows, bolts, metallic paper, corks, alligator clips, a metal slide, felt, a handheld mic, friction mallets, and a lighting filter sheet.
Parkins is an electro-acoustic composer and improviser who describes herself as a “pioneer of contemporary harp practices.” She explores new possibilities through expanded techniques, object preparations, and electronic processing, as well as her self-designed series of electric instruments.
Lament for the Maker is now available in CD and digital formats from Relative Pitch Records via Bandcamp. Learn more about Parkins on her website.
