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One of the stipulations in my contract is All performance venues must be entirely non-smoking. If they have hired me, they have signed on to this. While I have seen people smoking at my outdoor jobs, it was never close to me. If they came close to me I would enforce this immediately as my lungs shut down from smoke. Typically explaining to someone that you are allergic to smoke gets them to put the cigarette out or move away as most people aren’t monsters but just thoughtless.
If you’ll notice, I was actually the first person to ask the question about Venus being built in the US but being less expensive. I am glad to receive an answer, but resent being called “silly” for asking. I am a professional performer and teacher. I must regularly advise students and their parents on the harp buying process (mostly lever harps but sometimes pedal as well). It certainly does make a difference on the consumer end how much harp models cost, and people want to make sure they are getting a quality instrument when spending thousands. It is unrealistic to assume that people who have nothing to do with the business end of these companies are going to automatically know how they determine their profit margins. I have been impressed with the quality of Venus harps each time I have tried one or heard one. I believe they are comparable instruments to the other major brands available here. These kind of reactionary posts, however, concern me.
Would that mean that the Venus harp parts are made in China also? I ask because they have many harps in the same price range but their site says they are all American made. I never thought to not believe that. It would be very interesting to know.
For me there is definitely a difference between the piano and the harp. At the piano I have to be constantly aware of which key I am in to remember which white keys and black keys to use. At the harp I can set the pedals and go, needing only to look for pedal changes for accidentals as the strings remain always the same.
If the piece contains a huge amount of accidentals, however, requiring a great deal of foot movement, the greater difficulty shifts back to the harp from the piano.
Shenandoah University Performing Arts Camp in Winchester, VA is two weeks long, the students do private lessons, harp ensemble, orchestra, and wind ensemble (if needed), and can take secondary lessons in other instruments. The students live in the dorms with counselors to watch over them. In the evenings they have organized activities. They are accepting applications now. The director, Jessica Frost is also the harp teacher and she is excellent.
I was taught to write the diagrams in above the staff and can only remember seeing them published above. Putting them below would be distracting and difficult to read, possibly making it harder to play than having no diagrams at all. I cannot remember seeing anything published with them below, but I am going from memory. I doubt you will reach a consensus though with people shouting back and forth.
