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Thanks for the plug, Diane! I also loved pretty much everything about the Conference, including playing! One of the highlights for me was HarpCore4, and Julia Jamieson in particular. She writes all their arrangements, which are excellent, and has huge stage presence. Heidi Lehwalder’s lecture on stage presence was very informative and funny. All the concerto soloists shone, in spite of that tiny platform that kept them penned up behind the harp. Pat Wooster’s skit on harpist Gina Lollapalooza was hysterically funny. The Duarte’s were amazing, I loved the harp and handbells in the Celtic concert, Janet Whitman’s rendition of “Moondance”, Ruth Mar’s Ibert Trio, Maria Luisa Rayan’s tangos, Christa Grix’s magical “I Gave My Love a Cherry”…I could go on and on. I’m all inspired. I can’t wait for the World Harp Congress next year in Vancouver!
It is easy, but very exposed, so I am EXTRA careful with the tuning for this one. I also use some enharmonics (such as G flat instead of F#) to get rid of some of the pedal changes.
I have scanned my part and sent it to you. I believe it is the one you are looking for, but I am not 100% sure, so perhaps you could check it with the score first before you play it. As I recall, most, if not all, of it is totally buried in the orchestration.
I agree with Saul that it is better to do a few pieces really well than to try to learn a lot of notes and spread yourself too thin. Did the master class give you any guidelines on how much to prepare? From the teacher’s point of view, usually there are only 20-30 minutes to spend on each student, and it’s hard to accomplish very much if there is too much material to get through. Most teachers will choose the segments that they think will be most useful to the student and the rest of the class, and won’t hear everything you have prepared. Do you know how much time has been allotted to you?
The new Royal Conservatory of Music Harp Syllabus is available online and has lever harp options in the advanced grades.
I got this part out of my files, and I see that I pencilled in “2 glisses to a bar”, so that must have been what the conductor asked for. This is starting two bars after reh. 31 of the 3rd movement. It’s notated strangely, with arpeggios written and the word “bisbigliando” underneath.
I don’t have the music in front of me, but I believe that, in an audition, I would play LH 4,3,2,1,cross3, then play 4,3,2,1 in the RH.
I always perform my pieces before publishing, to make sure that they are indeed playable and also to see how the audience responds. Then I usually sit on the piece a while longer in case I want to tweak it some more.
I prefer a darker background. Sometimes the wood colour is so closely matched to the strings that they don’t stand out well.
All of the above. Your business cards should have your name, contact info, your degree(s), any schools or orchestras you work for regularly, maybe a catchy phrase describing what you do, and some eye-catching graphic design. You can google this topic and get a lot more advice on the Internet. Look at other musicians’ web sites to get ideas of what you would like on yours. Always bring some of your business cards with you everywhere you go, even if you can’t imagine needing them. Go to harp conferences and get to know your colleagues. Organize harp events in your home town. See if you can teach through a local music store or school. The American Federation of Musicians publishes a newspaper which features columns on self-promotion. If you are a member of the AFM, I am sure you can ask for back issues.
Sorry, to clarify, was there ever a harpist named Paganini? I know of the violinist. Was there perhaps a virtuoso harpist in Canada in the ’20’s who may have been thought of as the Paganini of the harp?
http://www.rcmexaminations.org/acadinfo/online_syllabi/Harp_Syllabus_2009.pdf is the web site for the Harp Syllabus.
Do you play any other orchestra instrument? Some of my students used to do double-duty in different sections in their youth orchestras. Sometimes there’s an extra part in the percussion section that requires more players than they have. Can you get lessons on triangle, maracas or woodblock so that you can have more time playing in the group?
