Jenius Creations

Author: Jen

  • The Happy Afterglow of Harp Camp



    One Creative Ensemble

    This year’s Harp Camp – the 17th Annual – was fantastic! We had a great time. Our theme was “Music suits me to a Tea!” and we did some excellent things in that vein.  We focused on fakebooks this year, learning how to read them, how to use them to build repertoire, increase arrangement variability and as a launch point for new arrangements. Monica did a fantastic job with helping us get into our theme with an excellent craft and all our campers made themselves very fine hats for our Tea Party.

    During Tea we took turns enjoying our light repast and playing for each other as “sonic wallpaper” to help each person get more used to playing for an audience, to try out some of the things we had learned, to enjoy each other’s music and to enjoy one another’s company.

    

    Note our delightfully clever chapeaux and tea goodies.

    We also had our old staples – Creative Ensemble and Directed Ensemble – to assure that everyone had the chance to grow and stretch – and practice their counting. And our usual sprinkling of games and activities that all contribute to our development as musicians – rhythm, breathing, counting, drawing, listening, and laughing!

    Our campers all had a great time – and left tired and with their heads full – just like we like it!
     

    Kris teaching “reflectively” –
     couldn’t resiste the image in the mirror!

    Harp Camp is always fun and challenging with small groups (no negotiating your harp down long halls through throngs of people), plenty of one-on-one time with the tutors and with other campers.  I hope you’ll consider joining us next year – more information will be available on my website soon (and I’ll let you know here when to look).  Kris and I can’t wait!

  • Off to Summer Camp

    Harp Camp that is!

    This post will be short – I’ve packed and gotten ready and I am leaving for southeastern Pennsylvania for Harp Camp. I am so excited – looking forward to a long weekend of great music, learning, and sharing.

    We’ll be focusing on working with fake books as well as our usual collection of interesting, different, unusual activities to ensure a wonderful learning experience.  

    I hope you’ll consider joining us next year!

  • Corrina Hewat has sent me this – I hope you seriously consider participating in this year’s Harp Village in Cromarty.

    The Harp Village 2012 will take place in Cromarty, Scotland. It will start Friday September 28 and runs through Sunday Sept 30th 2012. Tutors this year are Maire Ni Chathasaigh and Chris Newman, Corrina Hewat and Dave Milligan and the Duplets -Gillian Fleetwood and Fraya Thomson. They will perform in a Dazzling Duos concert on the Friday night. Harp workshops will be held throughout the weekend for all ability levels from beginners to intermediates and beyond. In addition, there will be a masterclass with Maire and Corrina on the Saturday night followed by a harp session led by the Duplets.

    Application forms are now available from the website: http://www.cromartyartstrust.org.uk/the-harp-village-2010.asp 

    What a great opportunity!

  • Highlights of the 2012 Harp in the Highlands and Islands Tour

    Well, you already know that we had a great time this year!  Last week I told you about the basics of the trip.  We all really had a great time and shared some fantastic tunes.  And David and I have already started planning out 2013 – including things we are adding and new tunes for some new locations. 

    Some of the highlights from this year:

    Fine days that allowed us to sit in nature’s glory and play

    Fun locations of incredible beauty:

    Mrs. Russell again graciously allowed us to play in her dining room at Ballindalloch Castle and later joined us for a photo. 

    We really did have fun – can’t wait ’til next year.  We are deciding what to add and what to tweak – I hope you’ll join us – start planning now.  And, as always, if you’re ready for more information so you can start planning, just let me know via email or comment!

  • 2012 Harp in the Highlands and Islands Tour was Delightful!

    We have just finished the 2012 Harp in the Highlands and Islands tour and had a fantastic time!  As always, we modified the activities and events to match the weather (which was pretty good considering that Scotland hasn’t gotten their summer yet), ongoing events in the places we went and the things in which our guests were particularly interested. 

    Our guests thoroughly enjoyed themselves and were really open to new adventures.  Although our basic itinerary was only moderately modified, each day we were able to accommodate everyone and find new things even we hadn’t planned!  From changing the location of our daily harp event on Day 1 to catching a ceilidh and doing some dancing later on and including options for activities for each person on our last day, we almost had more fun providing the tour than our guests had being on it!

    We also learned some great tunes, sang some, and had enjoyable conversations and discussions.  We met some interesting people, tried some new foods, and experienced outstanding scenery. 

    We also welcomed our first non-harp playing musician – a guitarist.  Robin is an accomplished guitar player and she learned all the tunes along with the harpers.  It was a real pleasure to have a broader instrument base and we really enjoyed the interplay of harp and guitar.

    Over the next few weeks, I’ll share some more of our trip and photos.  But for now, start planning!  The 2013 Harp in the Highlands and Islands Tour will be 2 – 9 September.  We’re already working on it so I hope you’ll plan to join us! 

  • Harp in the Highlands and Islands Tour 2012

  • What will you do on your Summer Vacation? Harp in the Highlands and Islands Tour!

    I am on pins and needles waiting to depart for this year’s Harp in the Highlands and Islands Tour! David and I have made some minor changes based on previous guest feedback and we know that 2012 will be the best year ever!

    We are meeting in Edinburgh 16 July (so soon!) and are going to see some of the most beautiful scenery.  From the majestic beauty of the Isle of Skye, through the breathtaking western Highlands, and around the lush Spey valley you’ll see and hear more than you could imagine.  Each day we’re going to play and learn and laugh and have a great time.

    And all the while we’ll hear gasping – every mile we go we see something that noteworthy! We’ll head towards the Highlands enjoying all the by-ways highlights that make Scotland so delightful. We’ll explore the Spey Valley, Royal Deeside and more.

    We will return to Edinburgh on 23 July sadly ending our time together.  Our very small group size allows flexibility so that each day you can see the very best Scotland has to offer as well as those special things that can’t be planned.

    If you missed it this year, don’t despair – David and I will plan a slightly different trip for next year!  If you want to come along – email me directly on jentheharper@gmail.com

  • Happy Independence Day

    To all my American friends – Happy 4th July! 
    Go play your harp enjoying the freedom to play and say whatever you please. 

  • The week at OSAS

    I am at OSAS, busy meeting new people, seeing old friends, teaching as well as I can, playing as much as I can muster, trying to learn new tunes, and not sleeping enough! 

    This is a week of scintillating learning, sharing, laughing, playing, sessioning, dancing, and hanging out with other harpers as well as cool people who play fiddle, dance, play pipes, drum, and play assorted other instruments.  Fortunately, although I’m running around like crazy, Sara Walthery has very graciously created some photo collages:

    If you’ve been to OSAS before but weren’t able to come this year, dig out the tunes from your summer and brush them up and remember the great times you had. 

    And if you’ve never been before, I sure hope you figure out a way to work it into your schedule – it is WAY too much:

    • Fun
    • Learning Tunes
    • Playing
    • Playing the Harp 🙂
    • Learning Tunes
    • Making friends
    • Learning Dances
    • Learning Tunes
    • Learning pipe stuff
    • Learning fiddle stuff
    • Learning Tunes
    • Jamming
    • Laughing
    • Growing

    And I’ll be trying to remember to take more photos to share with you – but sometimes I get too caught up in the fun and forget I even have a camera! 

    Thanks for understanding!  See you soon.

  • What will you do on your summer vacation? Swananoa

    Swananoa is an event that I have never gotten to – but I am looking forward to the time that I do make the trip.  However, I have heard such great things about it that I invited Mike Conners to write the blog post this week and tell us all about it.  Hopefully he will inspire you to give it a go!
    

    Mike learned a great deal
     from Willaim Jackson
    My annual summer North Carolina harp tradition is the Grandfather Mountain Highland games near Boone (this year July 12-15) followed by the Swannanoa Gathering near Asheville (July 15-21). I have been told that Grandfather is the largest Scottish highland gathering in the world. This year’s harp leader/judge is Jo Morrison with the workshop on Friday and the contest on Saturday. http://www.gmhg.org/.

    Immediately following Grandfather comes Celtic Week at the Swannanoa Gathering at Warren Wilson College. It is total immersion with some of the most noted vocalists and instrumentalists in the world. I study harp there annually with William Jackson and Grainne Hambly. Although one can register for up to four classes a day, I opt for two so I can have time to practice while I am there.  I prefer that to being overloaded with new material on the spot that I might not to get to learn when I get home. In addition to harp I have in past years enjoyed daily bodhran classes, “pennywhistle for the complete beginner” and Robin Bullock’s bouzouki class. This year I’ll take a DADGAD guitar class. Swannanoa Celtic week is the place for fiddle, flute and tin whistle, harp, fretted instruments, reeds, song and folklore, percussion, and dance. The staff/performers are friendly and accessible.

    Grainne Hambly gives
    a fantastic workshop

    There are a variety of afternoon “potluck” classes, afternoon slow sessions directed by the guest artists, evening concerts, and literally dozens of sessions happening simultaneously outdoors all night long across campus with the Blue Ridge Mountains as a backdrop; complete with a snack cart, wine and local craft brew beer truck, vendors hall and hundreds of great Celtic musicians to listen to and jam with. Continuing education credits are offered for teachers, the food is great, and the instruction outstanding. Can you tell I’m excited about the upcoming Swannanoa Gathering? Here is a link to a PDF of the Celtic Week catalog. http://www.swangathering.com/catalog/cl/celtic-week.html