All the Harpaniks are having a great time! We’ve been to St. Andrews and Glen Coe and Skye. Loads of photos on our facebook page so give them a look!

We are also excited that our first concert at Dumfries House was super! We had a great time meeting and playing with Meredith McCrindle, the Harpist in Residence. There was a full house and the event raised money for The Prince’s Trust.

We are preparing for our second concert as I write this and we are so looking forward to playing! But quickly after that we will play our third concert at Gatehouse on Fleet – 21st May at The Mill on the Fleet in Gatehouse on Fleet. It promises to be a total revelry! We will be sharing the stage with the Dumfries and Galloway Branch of the Clarsach Society and we are so looking forward to meeting them and playing with our harp brethren in such an amazing facility. The Mill is a very interesting venue, a cotton spinning mill built in 1788. It had a water wheel used to drive the machinery. The mill changed over time as industry changed around it and in the 1980s the mill was restored by Dumfries and Galloway Council and later opened to the public. It has an exhibit, a bookshop (yea!) and we also hear they have a lovely café on site! Hope you can join us there – it’s in the middle of everything!

Our second concert Harpa concert will be at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway. This museum is part of the National Trust for Scotland and consists of six sites within the city including the Burns Cottage, the Monument and Gardens, the Poet’s Path, the Museum, as well as the Alloway Auld Kirk and the Brig o’Doon (should we look for Meg’s tail?).

It will be exciting to perform in the place that so inspired one of the world’s best known poets! There is also an interactive website so you can prepare for our visit right alongside us. The website highlights an excellent collection of items and writings – we are so looking forward to visiting and sharing our music there!

We’ll be there Friday, 19th May – hope if you’re in the area you’ll come out and meet us (and learn more about Robert Burns!).

We will start our trip tomorrow so our next few posts will be from there including what we’re up to and we’ll let you in on the fun! You can also watch our progress and travels on our facebook page.

We are all pretty excited, preparing to go on our vaca to Scotland – with a great group and our harps!

In Harpa tradition, we’re going to be playing concerts along the way. Each one will be somewhere interesting AND all the money will go to a charity of choice of each venue.

Our first concert will be at Dumfries House – one of Britain’s most beautiful stately homes. It has an interesting history, not least because of its recent restoration. There is also a collection of Chippendale pieces that is notably large. We are scheduled to play 16th May.

The property is incredible – 2000 acres and an immense house as well as an arboretum, gardens and walks, all in Ayrshire – a beautiful place.

We know you can’t all be with us, but check out the Dumfries House website and facebook page – maybe you’ll see us there!

We are excited to be doing a Harpa trip in 2017!  (If you want to go on the Harp the Highlands and Islands Tour, start planning – we’ll be going in 2018!). We are scheduling the trip for 11 – 25 May 2017.

Join Sue Richards (Concert Mistress), Beth Kolle (Harpa Founder), and me as we travel to the Isle of Skye, the Borders and more.  We will meet old friends and new. And we’ll be playing lots of music. We will also perform and give back through concerts for good causes.  Bring your harp and have a good time – we will have some ensemble parts to share.

You don’t have to be a harp player – we welcome other (small) traditional instruments and appreciators.  We are delighted to be going back to Scotland and the opportunity to see some new places.

While the schedule is still taking shape, but we are looking a trip along the lines of the following:

Day 1 – Collect everyone in Edinburgh and head to St Andrews

Day 2 – Head to Ft William via Aberfeldy, Falls of Dochart, and Glencoe

Day 3 – Go on to three days on the Isle of Skye

Day 4 – See Scenic Skye including Dunvegan Castle

Day 5 – Visit the Talisker distillery, the Fairy Falls and Eilen Donan Castle

Day 6 – Travel to Loch Lomond, and the Trossochs and Glasgow highlights

Day 7 – Spend the day in Glasgow

Day 8 thru 13. While we’re finalizing the specific days, we will visit Ayrshire and Dumfries (Burns country) and will have five concerts including performances at:

• Culzean Castle (for National Trust for Scotland)
• Robert Burns Birthplace Museum
• Dumfries House (for the Prince’s Trust)
• Others are still in work

Day 14. Return to Edinburgh

Remember that we will have only 14 seats on this trip. You will (as before) need to bring your lever harp (we learned last time that hiring a harp there was in the “just too darn hard” category).

As we have updates they will be posted on the website. I’m already taking places so let me know if you are interested soon.

As always, questions welcomed and encouraged.

I’m so looking forward this trip – I know we’ll have a great time! Hope you join me –

Contact me for more information and to reserve your place.  And watch this space for updates.