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Years ago when I lived in a major urban area with lots of music conservatories and professional harpists, the harp community used to get together regularly to make sure that we were all charging similar rates for events such as weddings. As far as I can recall, every gigging harpist participated in these meetings and everyone was extremely ethical about setting rates. That way, it was not to a bride’s advantage to “shop around.”
That’s not to say there weren’t occasional other violations of trust. At one point I was being considered for a job at a newly opening hotel on the waterfront; two other harpists were candidates for the same position. One of them blurted out, in her interview, that I was pregnant. Indeed I was, but it was certainly not her place to say anything about that to a prospective employer. I believe she did so simply to try to eliminate me from the running. Happily, the hotel hired me anyway, and when I took maternity leave, hired a temporary replacement whom I recommended for the job.It is only important if it is important to you. It’s kind of like naming a car, or a house–which many people do, and many do not. I named my harp Ceres, but actually I seldom refer to it that way.
Thank you, Evelyn! I’m not sure about the delivery fee…perhaps it would be reasonable to do so, since about three hours of driving (altogether) will be involved. You’re right, a quarter of the usual monthly rental would barely cover the gasoline! Yet I don’t want to make it so expensive that these folks are put off; I really would like to offer them the use of the harp for a week, as it would be very helpful to them. Trying for the right balance here.
Years ago, we did Symphonie Fantastique with 4 harps (Boston Philharmonic). The conductor, Benjamin Zander, told me he wished he could hire ten! It was a great sound; very thunderous on the descending scales.
Hi Alex,
Yes, I’ve rented out instruments by the month, but I wasn’t sure whether dividing that amount by four was the best way to figure it, especially since I’ll be delivering the harp to the client and picking it up a week later. When I’ve rented harps in the past for one performance, the amount I’ve paid was not 1/30th of the monthly rental rate. What do you think?I am located west of the city of Philadelphia (about 45 minutes), but if there is still a need, she can certainly practice here. I have a quiet room available and three harps: A Lyon and Healy 23, an L&H 17 and a Venus Encore. Please feel free to email me at eliza.merton.oxford@live.com. I’d be happy to help out!
I have a recurring dream that I am about to play a concerto with an orchestra, and realize belatedly that I have never even looked at the music. I always have this panicky feeling of “why on earth didn’t I PRACTICE?” Truly a horrible dream!
This is one of my favorite pieces to play, and I especially love the trio. It is so beautiful!! I had more difficulty with the duet, as conductors sometimes take it at a really brisk tempo and your hands have to jump so much. My best advice (and I realize the Christmas holidays and your gig are over now) would be to be prepared to play it faster than is indicated; work very hard to get it fast so that it doesn’t want to fall apart if you get one of these super-fast tempo conductors. I guess that is good policy generally, but especially in this piece because of all the jumping in the right hand chords.
By now it’s over….I hope it went well!
This kind of thing happens all too often. I found that when a booking agent is desperate for a harpist, they will often say whatever they think you want to hear, to get you to agree to play the gig: the part is not that extensive, it isn’t hard, etc. When the music is finally delivered (and that often happens at the last minute) it is enormously long and monstrously hard! Or illegible, or unplayable, etc. I never thought of charging extra for all the modifications that must be made to make a part playable, but it’s an intriguing idea….Yes, it can be very distracting. So can a neutral background the same color as the strings. An historic chapel where I’ve played many times has a black and white tiled floor which drives me crazy, it’s so distracting! So hard to see the strings! A piece of carpet in a strong solid color can be a good thing to take along with you!
I recently played this harp, and found that under the disrepair it still has a lovely, lovely sound. Unforunately, I cannot afford to both buy it and fix it. But it is a potentially great instrument; I hope some good solution can be found. It is certainly being bumped and banged a lot in its present location, which is a shame.
I have two Lyon and Healy harps, a style 17 and a 23, and recently bought a Venus Encore. I have been very pleased with the Venus and feel it compares quite favorably with the L&H harps. The L&H style 17 is a great harp; it’s a good size for me (I’m not very tall), and I have never heard a bad one. Mine has a surprisingly big and bright sound for a smaller harp. My new Venus has a very full “booming” sound through the bass, with a lovely clarity in the upper octaves. It is stable and remains in tune well. I am delighted with its sound which has both fullness and warmth. You can’t go wrong with a 17, but I would also not hesitate to buy a Venus. Whatever you buy, play it regularly, tune it carefully every day, and play all kinds of music on it to develop its sound fully. And enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!!
