It’s hard not to get excited about harp music when you talk to Lara Somogyi. Her enthusiasm for the instrument and the music she plays is both genuine and infectious. Though still in her 20s, Somogyi has already set herself apart for her innovative use of technology—specifically fx pedals—in her playing. Born in Hawaii, Somogyi moved to Buffalo, N.Y., when she was young, and began studying harp at the Eastman Community Music School in Rochester with Nan Gullo. After graduating from the Royal Conservatory of Music in London, Somogyi landed in Los Angeles five years ago, and the city’s environment has proven to be perfect for Somogyi’s musical growth. She does everything from session work to orchestral playing, and has shared stages and recording studios with some of the pop world’s hottest stars and the film industry’s biggest names.

But the glitz and glamour of Hollywood is not why Somogyi does what she does. She has melded a centurys’ old instrument with cutting edge technology because she feels like she has no choice. “I couldn’t not do it,” she says. “It is so set in my musical soul, I couldn’t not explore the harp in this way.”

We caught up with Somogyi via Skype on a sunny Southern California morning to talk about music, technology, and shoes.

“This place has such a good mixture of a classical music scene and the entertainment industry with film, TV, and pop music,” says Somogyi of living in Los Angeles. “I’ve been here for about five years and I just love it.”

Harp Column: You’ve carved this niche out for yourself working with fx pedals and electronics, but you also have this classical background. How does your classical training inform the music that you’re doing today?

Lara Somogyi: It’s everything. Of course it set a really solid technical foundation, but also it really gave me a broader knowledge of different types of harmonies and sounds. Then I could take little bits that I wanted and implement them into the technology and fx pedals I use. Also, it gave me the tools to express on the harp in certain ways with the pedals. I would sound a lot different if I didn’t have that classical training.

HC: Tell us about studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London and how that influenced your playing.

LS: We had different classes in different categories, so for instance Skaila [Kanga] would come in and bring her film scores for sight-reading class, and we had opera class with the Royal Opera harpist, we had Karen Vaughn [teaching orchestral music]. We had Park [Stickney] come in for jazz. It was really cool to get a really wide range at the Academy in different genres and structures of harp playing that was able to guide us in finding out what aspect of harp playing we really love to do and what avenue we want to go down. It also fully prepared us for everything we might encounter after graduation, whether that’s an opera job or playing with fx pedals in a session.

I couldn’t not do it. It is so set in my musical soul, I couldn’t not explore the harp in this way.

HC: What drew you to the Royal Academy?

LS: I wanted to go experience these different aspects of playing. I wanted to see literally everything you could do on the instrument. There are also so many different avenues to experience the harp in London, and I was really drawn to that as well.

HC: How did you get interested in integrating technology in your playing?

LS: They offered audio engineering classes at the Academy as an elective, and that’s how I got interested in technology and realized that recording the harp was so powerful. I learned you could do all the stuff yourself and you could really dive into a whole different world. Also, just through playing in London, I would be hired by different artists and I had one particular session that was really eye opening. It was with Guy Chambers who is Robbie Williams’ producer and did Rufus Wainwright and a bunch of other stuff. So I was called in just off the cuff, after an orchestral exam, and I went right into a session for a Rufus Wainwright track, and I didn’t know how important and cool recording aspects of the harp could be. How intricate and delicate the microphone placement is. I was just there in awe watching all of these engineers work, watching everyone dial in this sound, and it was really a hands-on education of how technology in recording could really change the sound on this pop record. Of course that sounds like everyone should know that, but I didn’t have that education before. I thought it was so cool how we could amend the sounds in different ways. Then I started watching all of these videos on YouTube of people recording and people performing and I saw this one video of an artist named Jamie Woon who was doing looping with his voice, and I said, “Hold on, you can loop? What is this?” So I thought, there has to be a way I can do this. After doing some research and a deep dive on YouTube and the internet, I realized you could purchase a loop pedal. I had seen Park [Stickney] play an electro-acoustic harp at the Academy and Camac had all these amazing videos of different people using electronics and manipulating sounds. I thought it was so cool that you could actually attach things to the harp to manipulate the sounds in a way that allows you to do this all yourself—you don’t need an engineer sitting there multi-tracking you. You can literally do it by yourself with your harp and your pedal.

HC: What appeals to you about the fx pedals and the technology?

What’s an fx pedal?

If you thought “fx” was a typo, you are not alone. An “fx pedal” is the abbreviated term used to refer to an electronic or digital effect applied to a musical instrument. Reverb, looper, and distortion are all common types of fx pedals.

LS: I just have such a love for exploring all sonorities on the instrument. We could do so much with this technology. I just wanted to play everything I could myself. I wanted to do it all. I wanted to play the music I was excited about on the harp, I wanted to play without having to have an entire rhythm section to play what I wanted or a studio to produce it for me. When you are looping, you have that bed of sound to free you up to do something else and explore a different part of the harp than we might be drawn to in a traditional solo setting. For instance, we might not be drawn to bending notes in a solo piece, but if you have a bed of sounds that you can explore other sounds with, then it frees up your hands to have something else going.

HC: Many harpists who come from classical training or a Celtic tradition might not even know the range of things they can do with fx pedals and technology. What is a good entry point for harpists to explore these things?

LS: First, get a pickup or a mic—some type of amplification. Deborah Henson-Conant has that amazing “Gurl’s Guide to Amplification,” which is an amazing resource. Then get some way to record yourself so you can manipulate it. It doesn’t even need to be a looper. Maybe you want to use an effect, like a delay. You could explore whatever you want to do. But start with a pick up or a mic, and also you’ll need an amp—it is so useful in changing your sound so you don’t have to rip the strings—then also a looper or whatever rabbit hole you want to go down. [Laughs]

HC: What role do experimentation and failure play in your creative process?

LS: They are so important. It took a huge learning curve from my classical playing to implement these [techniques], and it took years to really discover what sounds I liked and how to use the technology. Learning how to loop took me a while, because it’s really like adding a second instrument to your instrument—it’s a fun extra layer of learning that takes a lot of failure. There would be plenty of times where I’d plug something in and just get feedback or I’d try a pedal and it just didn’t sound good, I would try a combination of stuff and it just wouldn’t resonate. There are tons of times that I think failure can, of course, really steer you towards the things you do want to develop and work on. And especially playing an acoustic instrument, you’re going to have those purely technical failures. It’s important to learn how to fail and learn from those failures and make your expression of what you want to play better and make the audience’s experience better and make the delivery of what you want to express better. Like everything in life, I think failure can be a huge source of inspiration in music. It’s okay to fail—I really view it as an inspiration tool, “This didn’t sound like I wanted it to, but what if I try this…”

HC: How would you describe your music?

LS: I’m not sure. It’s so funny—I don’t really know what genre it fits into or how to describe it. The best I can come up with is cinematic-experimental-electronics-effects. I don’t know that it’s a genre, but it’s just the music I want to make. I don’t know how to describe it, but this is what rings true in my expression on this instrument, and I have no idea how to describe it. [Laughs] Maybe contemporary too, because it’s definitely not classical.

HC: It’s funny, because if I were just listening to you play and not watching, I wouldn’t necessarily think you were a classically trained musician, but when I see you play, that classical technique is clear.

LS: Yes, and I think that classical technique is mixed in there—it’s just all the things that I like in my playing.

HC: Another thing I can’t help thinking when I watch you play is, do you ever think to yourself, “The harp already has seven pedals, do I really want to deal with more?” Or are you over that?

LS: I keep having to figure out ways to place fx pedals around me, and if I could have a ring of them all the way around me, I would. But I love it, and wouldn’t change a thing.

HC: Harpists always have to think about their shoe choice, but then you’ve got this added dimension with your w pedals. Do you think more carefully about your shoe choice because of that?

LS: Sometimes, especially if there are extra layers of pedals in several levels. For instance, if I have a looper and then another line of pedals and then an additional line of pedals, if I’m wearing heels, sometimes I’ll reach for a pedal in the top row and my heel will trigger a pedal in the first row.

HC: Yes! I wondered about that because I noticed you wore flats, and I thought, that could be tough if you wore heels.

LS: Definitely. It’s still a work in progress. I’m learning every day about shoe choices, but I definitely steer away from stiletto heels.

HC: Tell us how you ended up in L.A. and what it’s like to live and work there as a harpist.

LS: I love it here. I came here from London where I was working for about five years in the pop world and theater, and I was doing a little bit of session work. I was looking for some place I could do similar work, and of course, being from Hawaii, the sunshine of L.A. appealed to me. This place has such a good mixture of a classical music scene and the entertainment industry with film, TV, and pop music. I’ve been here for about five years and I just love it. You can also explore your own music here as well—there are tons of great venues around the city. You can do whatever you want musically, and the community of harpists here is awesome. There are so many wonderful players here. I just feel really inspired by the city and the players here.

HC: You’ve mentioned how influential  pop music has been in your life. I’m curious which pop artists inspired you early on and who you like to listen to today.

LS: I remember when I was 16 or 17 going to a Justin Timberlake concert and hearing a song of his with a harp sample, and I thought, “I don’t see a harpist on stage. Where is this coming from? If only he had a harpist on stage playing that—it would be so cool!” So I used to listen to all the R&B records with a harp sound. I would basically gravitate toward any pop or R&B album with a harp sample on it. Brandee Younger and Kirsten Agresta were on a lot of stuff I’d listen to. There was the Kanye record with harp and I thought, “Wow, that’s so cool.” I thought there was tons of room for harp in pop music and R&B. There’s room for harp anywhere, which is the beauty of the instrument. Being in L.A., playing with pop artists is one of my favorite things to do—I just love it.

HC: When you are working with an artist, say in a recording session, how much of it is just laying down the part on your stand, and how much of it are you able to put your own stamp on?

LS: It varies, and it depends on what the artist has in their mind. I’ve played soundtrack sessions where I come in, there’s your piece, you play on this score, and that’s exactly how the composer wants it. I’ve played pop sessions like that as well for artists like Ariana Grande or John Legend. But if you go in for someone who is working on their album, there’s a little more room for experimentation or improvisation within that. Same with film scores, if they want to try out some ideas. Both are fun, and they depend completely on the artist and the type of situation. I always like to bring my fx pedals just in case. I did a video game score the other day that was literally just pedal fx, and then I did a film score the other day that was purely classical. So it’s really varied, which is what makes it so fun.

HC: Do you do any straight up orchestral work?

LS: Yes, absolutely. I do orchestra work, and sometimes classical music crosses over into the session work. I recently played Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre for a Netflix show, so it can be lots of fun.

HC: It sounds like you are having a blast.

LS: I just feel grateful to play the harp, I mean, how lucky are we? I pinch myself every day that I’m a harpist. It’s such a joy to be able to express what I want musically through the harp. I feel so happy and grateful for that.

HC: Do you have a favorite professional experience you’ve had playing the harp?

LS: Probably playing The Lion King this year was a pinch-me moment, just because that score and that film meant so much to me growing up. I never would have dreamed I’d be part of the score. I can’t express how grateful I feel to be a part of it. I’ve also enjoyed playing with pop artists like John Legend and the artist Her was really fun because it was live on TV, which was really cool.

HC: What advice would you have for young harpists who want to follow your path?

LS: Express and listen to your voice. Find what truly interests you and go for it. Don’t worry if it’s the “right” trajectory. Just express and play the things you want to play. The instrument is a vessel for self expression and for connection. It’s why we all play music—to make the audience feel something; to feel something ourselves. So when you play, do what rings true to your heart and do what inspires you. Explore and learn and read and practice and listen.

HC: Tell us about the Roland sessions you did.

LS: Roland is truly an amazing company and they have every tool you can think of if you want to explore fx pedals—they have delay, distortion, reverbs—anything you can imagine. There are so many sonorities on these pedals that you can translate to the instrument to make a whole new array of sounds. I had been working with Roland pedals for a while when I met with them they said, “Do you want to film something with the harp?” And of course I said, “Yes! I’d love to!” That was really fun to be a part of. It is nice of that company to embrace non-traditional instruments—not a guitar or bass—they use violins and harps too.

HC: Did you always want to be a harpist?

LS: Yes, One hundred percent. There was nothing else that I wanted to do from the day I went to Eastman Community Music School. I told my teacher this is what I want, and she said, “Okay, let’s do it—let’s practice, let’s do this repertoire.” I feel grateful and lucky to have had a supportive teacher.

HC:Where do you want to go with the harp from here?

LS: I just want to keep expressing myself on this instrument in ways that inspire me and in ways that we can all see the harp everywhere. I want there to be so many avenues for this instrument that everyone knows there is a place for them to play this instrument. I would love to see it everywhere as common as a piano or violin. It’s such a unique sonority, that I’d love to keep exploring the different ways that we can implement it everywhere and see it everywhere.