featured in this issue
or harpists looking at colleges this fall, we’ve got a few more to for you to consider. Our college harp program listings that appeared in the July/August 2013 issue of Harp Column included 114 college, university, and conservatory programs. Here are 29 more that didn’t make it into our original article. We include only four-year […]
Editor’s Note: Jump to the end of the article for detailed results and more info on interpreting the chart above. To view the full chart, click on the image. here are few subjects that will raise the collective blood pressure of professional harpists as much as gig rates. It is a loaded subject—and one that Harp Column readers […]
Looking at where past USA International Harp Competition winners are today. There have only been eight gold medals handed out at the USA International Harp Competition, making it one of the most prestigious and coveted international awards in the harp world. Those hoping for a chance to compete have to wait three years for their next […]
Remy van Kesteren sought redemption at the USA International Harp Competition, and he got it. n 2009, Remy van Kesteren made it to the final stage of the International Harp Contest in Israel. He finished third. Not bad for a teenager performing on an international stage with an orchestra for the first time. Though the […]
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departments
—by Brandee Younger The notes we play are only the beginning of our work. Early in my career I received the following call for a gig: Client: “I need a harpist to play four hours of background music at the Waldorf Astoria. It will be amazing exposure—far beyond anything you’ve ever done or will do.” […]
Improving on the economic picture for freelancers. Early in my career, shortly after graduating from college, a friend overheard me talking with a potential client about my gig rates. After I got off the phone, he asked me how I could charge money for playing. “Shouldn’t you play because you love it, and not because […]
Reviews and more
Claire Jones, harp; Classic FM, 2012. 4.25 harps (Note: recording reviews prior to 2014 were based on a 5-star system.) She is not just a gigging harpist. For Claire Jones, weddings, parties, and teas are celebrated with panache by the UK’s elitist of the elite. For four years, Claire was the official harpist to His […]
Caroline Leonardelli, harp; Centaur, 2008. 4.75 harps (Note: recording reviews prior to 2014 were based on a 5-star system.) Debussy’s “The Girl with the Flaxen Hair” returns in Canadian harpist Caroline Leonardelli’s first solo disc El Dorado, but its gossamer texture is surrounded by a distinctly ethnic flavor. The mostly French selections are bookended with […]
—by John Wickey Once upon a time, in a land not so far away (Detroit, to be precise), a young harpist was asked to play his first paid Christmas gig—10 minutes of solos in front of a big church congregation for three services. Around that same time there was also a Christmas party or two […]
Question: How do you turn down people who ask you to play for free for a non-profit, charitable event? I always feel guilty when I say no! believe that everyone should have a charity, cause, or group that they support both financially and physically with as much or as little as they are willing to […]