New harpist= 14 year old !

[unknown-user]

Hi, Brandon! I definitely think you should go for it! I’ve heard some excellent male harpists and have never thought they were “out of place”.

I’m really interested in the comment you made about playing the accordion. My sister plays it very well-she’s primarily a classical accordionist. In case you have never tried it, accordion and harp are fantastic together. Seems like a strange idea at first, but try it- it’s a lot of fun!

Hannah

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

As far as who was the first woman to play in a symphony orchestra, Florence Wightman was the first to be principal harp, in the Cleveland Orchestra, but Edna Phillips was the first to be principal harp in a major orchestra, as Cleveland was not considered major then, and I guess Edna and Alice Chalifoux must have started the same year. There were harpists who subbed, played second, free-lanced before that, including in the Sousa Band. It was perhaps in the 40s that women began to win more seats, particularly when Salzedo began to graduate a lot of them into orchestral seats. He had fewer male students, but Reinhardt Elster at the Met, and Ed Druzinsky in Chicago count for something.

What does matter is being able to play with strength and command that blends with and matches all the other players. As my teacher, Lucile Lawrence, put it: you have to be able to play the harp like a Man to make it; and that would apply to everyone. (Orchestrally speaking)

[Geri McQuillen]

Let us not forget Harpo Marx!

[patricia-jaeger]

Brandon, go to http://www.youtube.com and put the name of Benjamin Creighton Griffiths into the search box.. You will see videos of him at 6 years of age playing New Blues, a jazz piece, or Cantina Band, from Star Wars, and La Source, an advanced classical piece, at 12 years old. Don’t wait any longer to find a teacher and learn harp; Benjamin is such an inspiration..

[Author]

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