Jenius Creations

Author: Jen

  • The Holidays are Coming! The Holidays are Coming!

    While it is not as threatening as to need signal lamps for one if by land and two if by sea, the holiday season can be very stressful. With the buying, wrapping, giving of gifts, the baking, the visiting, the housekeeping, the hosting, the social events – they all pile up. And if other people know you play the harp, add the stress of preparing for holiday gigs and the need to have a completely different seasonal repertoire.

    It is a dangerous time – so be careful out there. Whether you’re booking gigs every day with multiples at the weekend or being strong-armed into playing for relatives after the Christmas (Chanukah, Inti Raymi, Yule, Lenaea, Pancha Ganapati, Yalda, Brumalia, Festivus, Holiday No 11 or another winter celebration not listed here) feast – make sure you’re ready.

    And if you’re not ready to play – or just don’t want to – say no. If you think you’re not capable of this, remember that everything, even saying no, gets easier with practice.

    But most of us do want to play – whether its work (and if you’re fortunate enough to book a gig every day until Jan 2nd – good for you!) or being the embodiment of a Victorian Christmas card and entertaining family and friends after dinner. Regardless of the number of times you perform this season and irrespective of your level of development as a musician – you must get ready!

    Over the next few weeks we’ll discuss how to be ready successfully – while minimizing your stress and your injury potential and maximizing your enjoyment and performance.

    And don’t forget, coming to Scotland with us for Music in the Highlands and Islands Tour makes a fantastic gift and fits everyone!

  • 2012 Music in the Highlands and Islands Tour

    We are pleased to announce the 2012 Music in the Highlands and Islands Tour will be held 16 – 23 July.

    Due to the overwhelming success of the Highlands and Islands Tours, and based on feedback received from our guests, the 2012 Music in the Highlands and Islands tours will be even better than before!

    As always, non-harping companions are welcome and this year, we  are  expanding our offerings.  If you, a friend, companion, or music partner play a small instrument and would like to join us – welcome and come along! While we will continue to bring the harp experience to our guests, we understand that not everyone is ready to play the harp, but that is no reason that these instruments can’t also come with us on our musical adventure. So this year we are also inviting other musicians to join us. So if you already play fiddle, flute, concertina, or whistle) please bring your instrument and join us!


    You’ll get the same great instruction and tunes.  You’ll still have the opportunity to try your hand at the Harp – THE traditional instrument of Scotland, but you now have the opportunity to learn some or all of the tunes on your “native” instrument.

    For more information, go to the website: http://www.jeniuscreations.com/ and click on Harp Tours of Scotland or leave me a comment here.  Remember that seats are limited.  I hope you’ll be joining us!

  • Wow what a party

    we had a great time in Scotland

  • 2011 SHSA National Champion

    It was a fine soft day with a Nor’easter blowing at the Meadow Highland Games and Celtic Festival, the site of the 2011 US National Scottish Harp ChampionshipTM. Inside the tent the competitors guesses on the temperature ranged from 30 – 40F. Either way, despite the rain, the wind and the chill, all the competitors played wonderfully, with excellent airs and marches and dance tunes that raged!

    Clan Currie, the Title Sponsor, was represented by President Bob Currie and we were fortunate to once again have this delightful bardic clan with us. Clan Currie sponsorship is vital to the ongoing success of the competition. Virginia Harp Center was the Prize Sponsor and with their generosity, every competitor went home with a prize.

    I am so pleased to tell you that the 2011 SHSA US National Scottish Harp ChampionshipTM winner is Kelly Stewart Brzozowski! She played a beautiful set including the air, Where Does the Bonnie Lass Sleep Tonight? and a rousing SMR (that’s a Strathspey, March, Reel – which is a twist on the traditional piping set) of Scotch Mist, Arniston House, Blair Atholl.

    Stand by for the upcoming announcement of the location of the 2012 SHSA US National Scottish Harp ChampionshipTM. Be sure to keep an eye on the SHSA website (http://www.shsa.org/) and the Kilt and Harp (an exclusive benefit for SHSA members) for the full results and for other upcoming competitions.

    And throughout the year, I’ll share thoughts about how you can prepare to compete – whether you decide to enter or not – competition (or the promise of it!) will help you build your repertoire and your “chops” to perform anywhere.

  • SHSA US National Scottish Harp Championship

    Come to Richmond Saturday, October 29, 2011 for the
    US National Scottish Harp Championship

    The Scottish Harp Society of America’s US National Scottish Harp Championship will be hosted at The Meadow Highland Games outside Richmond, Virginia and is open to all SHSA members. This year’s judges are the renowned Ann Heymann and Sharon Knowles. Rules and categories are available on www.shsa.org. For more information on the 2011 Championship, visit http://www.meadowceltic.com/.

    The day’s Official Schedule of Competition –

    9:30 am Onsite Registration/Sign-in
    10 am SHSA Nationals Competition begins
    Noon Lunch break
    1 pm SHSA Nationals Competition continues

    If time allows, after the competition there will be Open Mic/Judges performances.

    Special thanks to the Title Sponsor of the National Scottish Harp Championship of America – Clan Currie Society.  The Clan has generously agreed to sponsor the National competition through 2014. It is especially rewarding to be supported by a clan with such an ancient and distinguished history of Gaelic poets and musicians.

    Robert Currie, president of the Clan Currie Society, described this as partnership as a perfect fit, saying “The founders of our Clan were the celebrated MacMhuirich bards of Medieval Scotland and the instrument of the Bard was the clarsach.”  The MacMhuirichs served for over 700 years as professional poets to the Lords of the Isles and later to the MacDonalds of Clanranald among other prominent Highland clans and families.

    Over the past several years Clan Currie has sharpened its focus on the arts and not only sponsors our competition, but also has established an annual harp scholarship at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow, Scotland.  To learn more about Clan Currie, go to: http://www.clancurrie.com/
     
    Be sure to thank competition organizer Jo Morrison and welcome the 2012 organizer Denis Sadat while you are registering, volunteering or audiencing!

  • Stepping through our week – Day Eight The Road Home

    Our last day came and it was time for us to depart.

    But no dry hustle back to the airport on a Harp in the Highlands and Islands tour! Along the way we saw even more of Scotland’s back roads. We had a lesson on listening to traditional music along the way as well. It was sad to say goodbye, but we had a wonderful time throughout the week.

    I hope you’ll think about joining us for the 2012 Harp in the Highlands and Islands tours!  At nearly every road sign we pass, I’m likely to chime in with, “there’s a tune for that!” – don’t you wish you knew those tunes?!?

  • Stepping through our week – Day Seven Highland Spirit

    On this day we took a laid back Sunday start. After a more leisurely breakfast we headed for Ballindalloch Castle – home to Lady Clair McPherson Grant-Russell. She graciously allowed us to once again have our harp event in her dining room. And, as harpers, we were glad to be granted the honor and privilege of being invited to play in someone’s home. And what a home!

    After touring the castle and seeing some incredible artifacts, we met in the Dining Room and learned a tune specifically related to the Castle. One of two people poked in and enjoyed observing our playing too. When we were done playing it struck us how very fortunate we were to have been invited to play there.

    We enjoyed lunch in the tea room and then headed back for individual lessons during which we worked on earlier tunes, new tunes, technique and theory.

    But we were not done yet! We all made ready for a lovely, homemade dinner in the style of hospitality for which Scotland is famous. David and Heather invited us into their home for a traditional dinner on our final evening.  Before we arrived for dinner we got to take in some of Morayshire – a lovely coastal area with some quaint villages:

    Heather made us a magnificent banquet and we all ate ‘til we were full to burstin’! I only wish any of us had had the presence of mind to take a picture – but again – if you want to see it, you’ll have to come with us next time!

  • Stepping through our week – Day Six Royal Deeside

    Today was travel in a different direction – geographically, historically, politically – and wend to the Royal Deeside. It is called the Royal Deeside because of the area’s close association with the Royals. It seems trite to say that the scenery is breathtaking, but it is! And we took it all in as much as possible spectacular bridges, enchanting castles, and captivating landscapes! But rather than prattle on about them, let me show you some of the sites of our day:

    Corgarff Castle
    Crathie Kirk, the beautiful church the
    Queen attends when in residence at Balmoral

    

    Delgatie Castle

    We were permitted to play in the Withdrawing Room at Delgatie Castle – a lovely room with a warm atmosphere.  After we had shared a couple of new tunes, we had some of the award winning scones made by Joan (the lady of the house).  These were a not to be missed treat!
     
    After another full day of sites, history, stories, meeting real people where they live, and learning another tune, we headed back to the Dowans for another delicious dinner before repairing to bed to prepare for the next day of possibilities!

  • Stepping through our week – Day Five Battlefields and Lochs

    Everyone knows about some of the places we went today – they are some of Scotland’s best known, but we also did a little “hidden” Scotland too.  We started our day by visiting Urquhart Castle (and later we learned a tune that related to it). 

    After that old history, we went to Colloden for more recent, but often misunderstood history.  Colloden has an incredible visitor center (during which I was too busy learning to remember to take photos to share with you!).

    From those two history packed treats, we meandered through quaint and beautiful areas and saw more about local people and the way of life in Scotland today and long ago.  The intrepid David made requested photo stops as the scenery begged for pictures!
     

    And those photos really help us to remember the fantastic color of the heather in bloom!
    We returned to the Dowans to refresh tunes  and get ready for the next day’s adventures!

  • Stepping through our week – Day Four The Western Highlands

    The days continued clear, warm and bright – and on this day we had a little bit of a lie in and then headed for that most iconic of castles – Eilan Donan. One of the things I like best is that this castle has a place for harpers!

    After visiting the castle we did a little musical relationship building with a wonderful local piper who was playing nearby. We wanted to set up a little jam but were a tad concerned about tuning up to meet him without breaking a lot of strings! And we decided that we needed a photo of the harpers:

    The piper, Lea, shows the gumption of pipers,
    willing to be photographed with harpers!

     After leaving Eilan Donan, we traveled an astonishingly beautiful path that lead us through the sites we’ve come to expect, to see a part of Scotland that many visitors don’t even know to look for:

     

    We crossed the Beauly Firth and the Black Isle before heading to our next accommodation in Aberlour.

    Along the way we saw new things and “must see” things. Once we arrived, we learned a great tune that was directly related to our visiting. Come with us so you can learn it too.