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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.

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

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

Somerset Folk Harp Festival is a loverly way to get immersed in a wide variety of techniques, modes, genres, approaches, types, and kinds of harp music.  Instructors are always incredible and there are so many choices it will literally make your head swim.  While it has a long and appropriate title, you’ll hear it referred to simply as “Somerset”.

There are more than 100 workshops and classes (a record number!) from 33 presenters with the theme Narrow Your Focus or Expand Your Horizon.  Somerset is a 4-day conference celebrating the diversity of music, talent and experience of the folk harp world.  The Exhibit Hall is the best harp and music shopping under one roof you’ll find anywhere on the East Coast – and will leave you drooling!  And over 30% of the workshops qualify for MHTP Continuing Ed units.

Most of the workshops are 90 minutes in the 3 main workshop periods on Friday and Saturday.  In addition, there are mini-workshops scheduled for things like Harp Tastings and Do It Yourself Harp Maintenance.   You can attend any of the other workshops. There are downloadable files tools to help you put your Somerset itinerary together.

This year’s focus areas are:

• Accompaniment & Arranging
• Beginner
• Business & Career
• Body & Harp
• Celtic
• Historical Harp
• Jazz & Blues
• Latin Music
• Rhythm
• Skills & Technique
• Therapeutic Harp
• World Music

and you’ll have tons of fun at:

• The Carolan Marathon
• La Fiesta!
• Jams
• Saturday Banquet

And if you are interested you can look into private lessons with your favorite instructors!

I am sorry that I won’t be able to go to Somerset this year, but I hope you don’t miss it!

See the website: http://www.somersetharpfest.com/

It’s May!  Already!  Wow, 2012 is proceeding apace.  OK, really, it’s flying by.  So, you too may be thinking about what to do this summer.  I have some favorites that I want to remind you about.  So for the next few weeks, I’ll tell you about them in their order of appearance.  I hope you’ll consider joining me in some of my favorites.  Harp events are always a lot of things – informative, energizing, exhausting, and FUN!  You will see old friends, meet new friends, learn about your harp, take in all sorts of new music, and did I mention, you will have FUN!

The first of my favorite summer activities is the Ohio Scottish Arts School or OSAS.  You might also hear it referred to as simply “Oberlin” (after the college that houses all the yummy harpy goodness).   Much of what you will read below is lifted directly from the OSAS website: http://www.ohioscottishartsschool.com/

OSAS provides comprehensive instruction in traditional arts of (a lot of tangentially related stuff and) harp.  At the end of the week, the students will have increased their knowledge of theory, improved their basic skills and technique, and been exposed to new material (and will be delighted and tired!).

Participants must be at least 10 years of age and adult students are encouraged to enroll. Students should have some knowledge of their particular art, but people of all skill levels are encouraged to  enroll.   Classes begin on Sunday morning and are held from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day. In the evenings students can enjoy various supervised athletic and social activities as time permits. An informal variety show is held on the last night and all are encouraged to participate.

Harp students are expected to bring their own instrument. Classes will focus on basic harp technique for beginners and intermediates, repertoire at all levels, including tunes for competition sets and Scottish style, including ornaments, lilt, and dance types. There are classes for both nylon/gut harp and wire strung and historical harps (bray harps welcome).  We will also have a “band class” for all instruments.

This year, there is a new incredible option to assemble, finish and string your own 27 string wire harp – see the website for details. And the evening jam sessions offer students the chance to develop accompaniment patterns and learn more tunes.

The instructors are always amazing with Seumas Gagne, Ann Heymann, Charlie Heymann,and Sue Richards teaching this year.  And I am thrilled to have been invited to join this illustrious faculty this year.

I hope you will join us for a fantastic learning opportunity that will make you fall in love with your harp all over again!