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Check out the American Harp Society website at http://www.harpsociety.org.
As a member of the AHS you and your daughter will have access to all
kinds of information about teachers, instruments, activities,
conferences, etc.I believe the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) offers a policy. Check with your local musicians union if you are a member.
Chris Frederick
There are harp teachers and several harpists in Brevard County. I live in Melbourne and teach. You may reach me for more information through vmansur@mindspring.com
Carrol McLaughlin has one of the greatest programs in the country. She was
trained by Susann McDonald (french method) and other greats.I recently inquired about a million dollar liability insurance policy–I called a commercial insurance agent–one who deals with businesses.
I suppose I come at this from a slightly different angle. I started
the cello in 5th grade and the harp in 11th grade. I played cello in
school and community orchestras, and later on added playing
the harp in some cases.I would say, without hesitation, go for it! I learned much more
about being an orchestra musician from playing the cello than
from playing the harp. Having a section of people all playing the
same part (or, at least, attempting to) fine-tuned my ear to
recognize when people were not playing the correct rhythm or
pitch. I also learned to hold my own when I knew that I was right,
even if my stand partner was wrong. Playing the harp is all about
playing alone and with confidence, and I have found it’s much
harder to play against a section of cellos than to play a harp part
alone with no one to know if the harp is right or wrong.The other huge bonus of playing another instrument in rehearsal
and harp in the concert is learning the music. Harp parts are,
let’s face it, full of rests and counting. I found it much more
interesting to count my rests when I was already familiar with the
piece from my perspective in the cello section. I also knew
exactly what was going on at each rehearsal letter or number in
the piece because of all the weeks spent drilling those parts. If I
ever daydreamed while counting my rests in the harp part, all I
needed to do was listen for a few measures to get my bearings
straight and know exactly where in the piece the orchestra was.In any case, good luck!
Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma has had a harp program of which I have been the instructor for over 12 years.
I figured it was time to inform everyone about what has recently happened…I have finished the final draft of the letter(I’ve been in and out of town for the past two months, thus the late finishing), and I am trying to get in touch with my teacher and principal of my school to get their opinion of the letter.
It sounds like you have a great list of schools. While you’re at it, you might want to check out the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign too (that’s where I’m going this fall). We have a great harp department here.
Wherever you visit, make sure that you meet the harp professor and have a chance to work with her so that you can judge who would be the best teacher for you.
Good luck!My daughter was in middle school orchestra and played a L & H troubadour or a Salvi Angelique (I think).
Well, I am a harp teacher in San Jose area, CA. If you need help, please let me know!
You may also get to know me more from my web page:
http://www.musicA2G.comSY
Sonya Yu (408) 666-7899
The situation Paul describes sounds familiar to me! I spent three-quarter of my time in orchestra’s listening to the others play, an other quarter counting and after all the last quarter playing! Harpists just have to be patient musicians in an orchestra, that’s always one of the disadvantages of playing the harp. It could be a solution to let your son play the cello in pieces in which the composer didn’t write a harp part, but I would say that he definetely should rehearse the harp parts with the rest of the orchestra, because some parts really can be tricky, especially when you have to count a lot! Hope to have helped you with my vision! Your son’s choice to play in an orchestra is definetely a wise one, I always love my orchestral work the most!
