Monday 31 December 2012

2012 Summary - a concert, a gig and a playday

I had planned to go for my grade 5 exam this term but with too much else going on I didn't get the pieces learnt so will go for it next term. I did manage to play it in a concert and provide background music for a charity ball so had plenty to work on.

The first event was a concert for a local village's Autumn Feast. Karen, a singer who lives in the next village, was asked if she could organise some musical entertainment so invited Margaret and myself to put on a short programme featuring mostly voice, clarinet and piano. As well as a few trios I was allowed to put in a harp piece and Karen also produced two pieces by Edmund Rubbra for voice and harp. Rubbra was born in 1901 in Northampton, which is also my home town, and died in 1986. Of the two pieces A Hymn to the Virgin was quite slow and worked on my lever harp as the changes were manageable. Karen was very easy to work with and her voice, which can be extremely powerful, was just right for this setting. Usually it takes a few run-throughs to get used to the other performer/s especially when it is a new combination but neither of us had anything particularly critical to say after the very first play-through. We'll hopefully do more in the future. The concert itself was fun and we had a lovely meal of shepherd's pie and apple crumble all made by the WI. We think it was a success but we'll know for sure next year if we get invited back!

The very next day I was back in Northampton as one of my oldest school friends, Gemma, had asked if I would like to provide some background music for a charity ball that she had organised. I said yes and set about preparing for it. I remembered from the Open Gardens day in June that I would need quite a lot of repertoire so went through all my books finding old tunes and new tunes that I could get to a reasonable standard in time. I had around 30 minutes of music and with breaks this stretches out to 45 minutes or 60 minutes if you slow pieces down and add repeats (there are all sorts of tricks). I played my first set in the bar and after a short break, at the start of the meal. I did feel nervous at first (very unlike me!) but as I settled down I got a bit more adventurous with the pieces I knew, playing a little faster or louder, to see what I could do. I also tried a piece that was still in progress but that didn't go so well so I imporivsed an ending and went back to my normal repertoire. Gemma thanked me with an enormous bunch of flowers and I was allowed to have my dinner! It was another super evening and it was great to see Gemma again. There are some photos but they've not quite made it to me yet. I'll post them when I get them.

Finally, the event I have been looking forward to for over a year... the ACE Foundation Playday with Catrin Finch! This took place in November and attracted around 60 harpists. After arriving and setting up Catrin was introduced and she gave a 30 minute recital.
Catrin warms up
I'll write this up properly when I find my notes but included a piece by Paul Patterson called The Mosquito from his 2003 suite Bugs.
Catrin attempts to squish a mosquito
(Photo from the ACE Foundation)

 We split into three groups led by Rohan, Elspeth and Helen, all harpists working full time as performers and teachers. I was in the Intermediate group with Elspeth and she got us warming up gradually getting us to play more fully and with stronger tones. Catrin popped in and gave us more advice before she headed off to another group. During the rbeak we were able to try out the harps, buy music and accessories, and talk to harpists from Pilgrim's and Morley's. After lunch we watched a masterclass with a young student. Hand and arm position featured heavily here and throughout the day so it was very useful seeing the instruction given and how it was, or wasn't in some cases, followed. The final session was led by Catrin who created an improvised piece with us playing various motifs underneath.
We played our rehearsed pieces in the final concert. Rohan had organised the music, harpists and timetable and had done a brilliant job. Trevor and Susannah from the ACE Foundation were on top form as ever (I've mentioned ACE days before) and I came home buzzing with new ideas.
Final session before the performance
(Photo from the ACE Foundation)
Since then I have changed my warm up and at my last lesson just before Christmas Rohan had noticed an improvement in my technique. She then told me to work on changing another aspect so there's still a long way to go. Plans for 2013 include grade 5, the Cambridge Music Festival which this year will include a trio with Anne and Robyn and maybe another course or playday. There are some in Scotland and Cornwall that look good but for now it is back to work and normal life for a while. The blog will probably take a back seat now but I'll try and remember to update it every so often.

2012 Summary - Weddings

I realise the last post was back in August and since then rather a lot has happened so I'll use the last day of the year to write up a summary since then. I'd been a bit busy and the blog has taken a back seat.

Most importantly Chris and I got married in August. We had a super day which was filled with lots of laughter, cake, beer and of course - music. We got married at the local register office so as we were not there for long ceremony music was recorded and put onto CD. This meant I could play on all the tracks so started with Disney's I'm Wishing on the harp, then two pieces for clarinet and harp with Rohan as well as a tune from a computer game called Transport Tycoon for clarinet and piano with Margaret accompanying. We had fun making the recordings and this also allowed friends to relax on the day. Not so for Robyn as she very kindly agreed to play some background music during the drinks reception.
Not one for playing in public this was a new experience for her and friends and family said it was lovely. Rohan helped out with transport and support but Robyn was fine. Robyn has recently moved up to a pedal harp and had one on loan.

Walden Winds, a group that I coach, played at the start of the evening do then Mind The Gap, a rock band played for the rest of the evening. The highlight however was our version of the first dance where rather than dance we performed a duet. I've always felt that Chris had untapped musical talent despite never taking any opportunity to learn at school so I bought him a swanny whistle and after literally minutes of practise time we were ready. This is what happened!

First Dance

The second dance featured all the musicians playing The Muppets then Mind The Gap took over. It was a brilliant day and the weather was superb.

Just a few weeks later harpist Claire Jones got married to Chris Marshall. They went back to Wales and from the photos I have seen also had a fantastic day. I knew the dress would be good but it was stunning! It has been a very good year for Claire as her album Girl With the Golden Harp was released around the same time and did very well n the charts. I have a copy and it is a lovely collection. Chris composed one of the pieces and arranged most of the others. They have more planned for next year so they will no doubt be as busy as ever.

Wednesday 29 August 2012

Paralympic Torch relay

I started the Harping On blog back in January 2011 as part of a grade-1-a-thon to raise money for Spinal Injuries Association and in support of Guy Llewllyn who had suffered an injury in 2010. While the main grade-1-a-thon only lasted for two months many of us continued with our new challenges and the Spinal Injuries Association of course have to keep going and continue raising funds for their on-going work. However it is often possible to look back and reflect on past work and today Guy is a torchbearer in the Paralympic Torch relay. Guy posted a message on a social networking site thanking everyone for "messages of support and kindness" and also mentioning that the grade-1-a-thon and money raised from that was just one reason why he was nominated by the SIA. I hope he won't mind me quoting him here but he finished by declaring: "So a flame not just for the Paralympic movement, but for all the unsung heroes who help and support the disabled every hour of every day."

Guy will probably be setting off at around 5pm in Tower Hamlets. There is a tiny bit of information here:
http://www.london2012.com/paralympics/torch-relay/torchbearers/community=tower-hamlets/index.html
as well as information about the whole relay which started last night at Stoke Mandeville Hosiptal.

I was hoping to go but haven't made it down to London today but wish Guy and the rest of the torchbearers all the best for their part in today's relay.

Thursday 2 August 2012

Grade 4 result...

My grade 4 harp exam result arrived this morning. I got 141/150 which is a distinction and one mark better than my grade 2 and 3 results... so I am improving! The best piece was Butterflies with just one or two marks dropped in other sections and comments were generally positive so I am really pleased with that. My only concern was that the examiner put my name as Steve Reeve (although it is Stephanie on the certificate) so I'm not sure where he got that from.

I'm still practising hard as I want to get a piece recorded for mine and Chris's wedding ceremony and I have been playing pieces from some of the new books I bought at the harp festival. I will start to look at grade 5 pieces but have to be carfeul not to become too exam focussed so I will carry on with easier pieces. For me having an exam looming does seem the most effective way to get me to learn a piece to the highest standard but I still need to think about certain areas of technique and work more on my sight-reading skills. Of course the more I learn and improve the more I realise there is to learn and improve on so I just hope I can keep the momentum going for a little longer!

Monday 30 July 2012

Harp Fest Day 3

The final day began with a health and fitness session with Danielle Perrett where we worked out our aching muscles becoming aware and concentrating on muscles particularly affected by harp playing. I won't say I enjoyed it as it made me painfully aware of how tense I had become but it was very interesting and we did feel a little more relaxed afterwards.


During the break Robyn tried out one of the Pilgrim pedal harps that was on display and I bought yet more music. I then chatted to Nicholas a little further about his research into the tuning of harp strings. He had his laptop with him and showed me how plucking strings in different places and in different ways affects the overtones produced which changes the tone quality. Many players realise this and instinctively play in the way that produces the best, or required sound but it was fascinating seeing the proof as the different overtones were displayed on the computer screen. He did say there is software readily available that can be downloaded so I might look into this further purely for my own amusement.
Robyn tries out Pilgrim's latest pedal harp
Nancy then led us in an ensemble session playing two of her folk arrangements. Now that we all really knew each other we were all a lot more relaxed and after Nancy had explained the features to look out for in Butterfly we had a clear aim of what the music required. Once we had mastered the notes and fingerings of course! After some rehearsing we got through the whole piece pretty well so Nancy set us a much faster tempo and we had another go. This time the music really flowed and it felt a lot better, and almost easier, at the quicker tempo. Next up was The Aran Boat Song, an Irish/Scottish traditional tune. Nancy explained how the opening was to sound like the water glistening and my part had high spread chords to represent the shimmer in the water. The tune had to be imagined as a journey across the water with the boat rocking. It had just started raining outside and we were all glued to Nancy as she continued with her depiction. Nancy is a fabulous story teller and as her bright eyes told us about the island the boat was headed to a clap of thunder sounded. It was beautifully timed and gave us further inspiration. The piece was well arranged with interesting parts for all players and manageable I think for all with a short practise.
Nancy Hurrell leading an ensemble workshop
During lunch I learnt that the final concert would be introduced by Sioned Williams. This was exciting for me as I had been hoping to meet her since starting the harp. We had passed brief messages through our mutual friend Caroline but I had not spoken to her directly. Sioned is the president of the UK Harp Association who had organised the final concert of the Clarsach Society's Festival. The first half featured two student harpists, Cecilia Sultana de Maria and Rosanna Rolton both at the Royal College of Music and between them they presented a fantastic programme of recital repertoire to a very high standard. Both have had many competition successes and have performed orchestrally and as soloists. Highlights were a Grandjany Rhapsodie from Cecilia, two movements from Tournier's Sonatine from Rosanna then they both teamed up to give a duo arrangement of Schubert's Ave Maria. In the second half harpist Frances Kelly was joined by other members of the London Harp Trio and they played a varied programme for flute, viola and harp finishing with the Debussy Sonata. Again it was a super performance and a lovely way to finish the weekend. I managed to catch a few words with Sioned and she remembered my name and the Grade-1-a-thon and she was really sweet.

Sioned Williams introduces the London Harp Trio
A fantastic weekend which has given me many ideas, influences and introduced me to a new world of players. The tutors were excellent and many thanks to Anne from the Clarsach Society (London & South East branch), Danielle for organising the weekend and Sue, Nancy and Robin for being a fabulous mixture of erudition, encouragement and friendly critique not to mention demonstrating some wonderful musicianship.

Saturday 28 July 2012

Harp Fest Day 2

It has been an action packed day! There has been something on almost the whole time. I'll do a quick summary for myself then pad it out when I get more time. Robyn arrived today so when I could have been writing it all up we were chatting!

The first session was with Nancy Hurrell and was a talk on the history of the harp. Nancy is based in Boston, MA and gave us a super potted history on the harp using many examples that she has been privileged to see as part of her connection with the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. One of her interests is the harps of composer and harpist John Egan. He was also Ireland's leading harp maker in the early 1800s. As part of her work at the MFA, and on her travels, she gets the chance to play on such instruments and was able to describe the characteristics of instruments and how they adapt over time.

One of my strings broke over night. I knew it was going so bought a news one in the break. I still haven't fitted it as I am hoping someone who can sort the knot more quickly and effectively than me. After break we had a workshop on ornamentation for 17th and 18th century music with Robin Ward. This was really interesting and gave us a few ideas for how to decorate certain styles of music. Robin played examples on his triple harp that he built himself. It's a fascinating instrument and he plays it very well.

After lunch Nancy gave us a wonderful workshop on Renaissance Dance. As well as learning the dance steps for the Branle, Pavane, Galliarde and Canarie, we heard examples and then played them. This was quite exhilarating and a fair few of us were out of breath! This also helped as an ice breaker as you find you can talk to someone more easily when you've had to choose a partner or hold hands! Nancy made it look effortless and never needed to adjust her steps as I frequently had to!

Needing a break from the dancing we then had a lecture on tuning stabilisation and about the possibility in the future for a harp where the strings will not go out of tune. Very scientific but interesting and I learnt a little about the behaviour of a nylon string.

The Q&A session with the tutors covered all sorts of issues to do with performing, techniques and instruments then Danielle was joined by a chamber ensemble to perform Ravels' Introduction and Allegro and a new piece by Gary Higginson. Both pieces were well played and this was an enjoyable hour.

After supper we had a performance by some of the course participants who already play in a group. Robin Ward then performed a fabulous piece by Albeniz on the triple harp. Sue Rothstein performed two of her own compositions on Danielle's pedal harp and Robin played again on a wire harp. The sound from this lap instrument was startling. The best description was that it was a 'silvery tone' and it had a gorgeous resonant sound. The final piece was the Branle where Nancy taught us the steps again and the day ended with a jam session outside as people suggested tunes for us all to busk along to. Around 11pm we were politely asked to move inside.

Robyn took a load of photos so I'll get a few up when she's sorted them out. A great day and now I'm ready for bed!

Friday 27 July 2012

Harp Fest Day 1

I am currently in Woking at the Harp Fest 2012 organised by the Clarsach Society. After a rubbish journey around the M25 I got here just in time for the first session. Around 12 lever harps and one pedal harp were already set up and we rehearsed two pieces with Sue Rothstein, all good fun and sounded lovely by the end. Sue was encouraging and helped the group through the sections of the piece.

After tea we were treated to a concert by the International Harp Ensemble, a group of around 18 mostly young harpists. There are normally 32 members but a few are on holiday. Their programme featured many short works in a variety of styles, all well played. Some of the members play other instruments (double bass, percussion, voice) and so a few arrangements used these as part of the ensemble. They are going on tour to France in August. I was delighted to realise that I knew their director, Louisa, as she was the harpist in my County Youth Orchestra. It's a small world! There are more about them here: www.internationalharpensemble.co.uk
They regularly go on tour and this year are heading to the south of France. The harps travel in a trailer, driven by Louisa's dad, while all the players travel with their parents and families, usually flying.

Monday 16 July 2012

Grade 4

I've been a bit slow in updating things on here but I had been practising and even had to change two strings since the last post. All preparation had been going well for grade 4. Of the three pieces Eriskay Love Lilt had had a public performance at Queen's Park, Sarabande gradually fell into place over the last few weeks and Butterflies got faster and faster with the aid of the metronome. I knew I was on straight after lunch and managed to arrive really early. I was able to leave my harp at the venue so I nipped next door to the pub to find Rohan and Anne who had organised the session. Also eating his lunch was the examiner so I joined them for a bit and chatted about the grade-1-a-thon, exams and the sabotage of the Tour de France.

I left before the others to warm up and had a play through a few scales and my pieces. I tuned my harp as best I could then Rohan came along and retuned it. Her keen ear noticed a possible problem with the tuning of one of the lower strings. E and E flat on the third string up were very slightly out of tune with each other. I hadn't noticed this before and Rohan had to demonstrate several times before I noticed. It didn't affect the pieces in the exam too much so we went with that.

I think I'm getting the hang of these exams by now. This is my fourth on the harp and something like my 19th graded instrumental exam. I felt no nerves, just a little bit of excitement and if I noticed my mind wandering very quickly managed to bring it back to the job in hand. Rohan had sneakily said "check your harmonics" as I got settled as the fingers need to be placed at exactly the right point on the string to get the bell-like effect just right. If you suddenly switch to a higher or lower stool this can affefct where your fingers might end up. I did this just as the examiner was filling out the top of the report form and made a mental note of where my fingers should be. I hit an unusual wrong note in bar 2 of Eriskay but nothing too obscure. Sarabande is a tricky one to get right first time and a few chords contained some chords Schoenberg would have been proud of then Butterflies was fine. It is difficult to get the rhythm sounding really even and I haven't quite managed it yet but this will come. Scales were fine, no hitches at all today with my levers. I memorised as much of the sight-reading as I could and got through this fairly well looking from harp to music to harp again where I needed to. However I did relax too soon and hit a wrong note at the end, just as I did in grade 3! Nothing disastrous but just goes to show how the concentration has to be in place until well after you have finished the task. The examiner tried to give me the grade 3 aural tests until I politely pointed out that I should be singing and not clapping a pulse and he apologised and chuckled and we carried on.

I came out smiling and left Rohan to sort out my harp while one of my youngest pupils, Maisie, warmed up ready for her grade 1 clarinet. Despite it being her first ever exam Maisie looked very relaxed looking as experienced as someone who had done it all before! She played her first two piece beautifully and she said the rest of it had gone well too.

Next up is the Harp Festival in Woking and I have already been sent some material to look at then I need to get a piece recorded for my wedding ceremony. And then I might start thinking about grade 5. As for this evening, I might just have a night off!

Friday 22 June 2012

An unexpected little gig

After having the summer ball put on hold until October I had been all set just to work on grade 4 pieces but the chance of a little background entertainment suddenly came up. The Palace Band aim to play at a couple of summer events each year and every two years plays for the Queen's Park Area Resident's Association's Open Gardens and Studios day. Many local gardens are available to look around and artists open their doors allowing visitors to admire their work. For as long as I can remember Palace Band have played on the bandstand as part of the main park entertainment then several of the chamber groups that are formed from within the band go into two of the gardens to provide music for the visitors. Usually we like to provide four groups, two in each of the gardens that request music but of the current ensembles only one was available to play this year. Knowing how much the music in the gardens is appreciated I didn't want to leave a gap so I wrote to the organisers explaining the problem and asking if they would mind having an amatuer harpist rather than a wind ensemble as in previous years. The reply came back quickly: "Yes please!" so I hastily got my music back out and brushed up on what I thought should be enough pieces.

On a suprisingly sunny Sunday for June I dropped the harp off then went and had lunch with Caroline (if you've read all the other blogs you'll know Caroline almost as well as me) who lives in the area then we headed off to the bandstand in Queen's Park for the Palace Band's main performance. The band have worked really hard over the past few months and our performance of Purcell, Albeniz, Bizet and Warlock went down well with the crowd.
Palace Band on the Queen's Park bandstand
After a quick stop for ice cream Caroline and I headed to the garden of local resident Martin. Palace Band chamber groups have been playing in Martin's wonderful garden for as long as I can remember so it was great to see him again. I set up out of the way by the kitchen door, had a quick tune up and picked an easy grade 2 tune to start.

It didn't go quite as I expected, with a few odd slips here and there, but as I moved through a few more pieces it felt easier and I settled down. If something went well I added a repeat and if something wasn't going well I slowed down as musically as possible, got through the hard bit then gradually moved it on back to tempo. These allargando (broadning) passages also helped lengthen my programme. My set lasted for 30 minutes although this did include at lest 5 minutes on a children's hands-on presentation when a couple of inquisitive youngsters came over.
Back into teacher mode
When confidence had built up, and when visitors had gone down I went through Eriskay Love Lilt, my most demanding piece. I really enjoyed playing this in th open air especially when surrounded by all the greenery! There are two places that I still need to sort out ready for the exam but otherwise it was good to get a performance of it done. During my break Martin suggested moving me further into the middle of the garden so my second set (the same as the first, only with different wrong notes) was much nearer the pond.
Both Martin and Caroline said how well the harp sound carried across the garden and Martin booked me for the next event in 2014. I said I'd know a few more tunes by then. Martin also let slip that he has a flute and was thinking of playing it again. I suggested he try out Palace Band so maybe we will have a new member in the coming months! Many thanks to Caroline for taking the photos and to Martin for allowing me to play!

Sunday 10 June 2012

A lesson and a recording session

If things had gone to plan I would have spent this blog reminiscing about my gig at the ball last night but as it happened I stayed in and watched the telly as the ball got postponed to October. I knew this a while ago but hadn't got round to updating the blog. I'd practised hard learning various pieces but knowing it was to be in October came as a bit of a relief as it gives me more time to prepare. So it's more focus on the grade 4 pieces now. I had a lesson with Rohan who is now making more suggestions about technique including finger and hand position. She has mentioned this before but it is now much more specific and she is able to show how my current technique sounds and what a change in fingers will sound like. It's subtle but I'm noticing it. There was a lot to take in so I scribbled a few points down in my notebook and have been thinking about them since. She liked what I was doing so far though.

After I had played Rohan and I recorded a couple of pieces for clarinet and harp that I will use at some stage for mine and Chris's wedding ceremony. The Prelude from Victorian Kitchen Garden is a favourite of both of us and we have performed it before so had a quick rehearsal then went for a take. After two attempts at the introductions featuring a couple of rare squeaks from me we nailed it. One of my early clarinet pieces was the Entr'Acte from Carmen, for flute and harp in the original but arranged for clarinet and piano and on the grade 3 clarinet list. This transfers well for harp so after a qick practise we got that one recorded too. That will please my Mum as that was one of her favourites in my first year or two of playing the clarinet.

I have a lot coming up over the next few weeks but hope to find time to get a recording or two done of my grade 4 pieces. While it is expected that grade 4 is harder than grades 1 to 3, it is like the stepping stones are further apart and so a lot more mental effort and technical competence is needed going from 3 to 4, than from 2 to 3.

I also need a new top F string so I will have to practise my knot-tying again. I'd best set aside a good hour for that task!

Friday 1 June 2012

Harp Festival, Woking 27 to 29 July

As festival fever hits the nation my own thoughts turn to another festival that catches my attention, a harp festival organised by the Clarsach Society London and South-East branch. It is taking place during the weekend of 27th to 29th July in Woking and will feature concerts, workshops, talks, a harp exhibition, sales of music and harp-related items, opportunities for private lessons and come and try sessions. The International Harp Ensemble will give an opening concert on the Friday night and then Saturday and Sunday will be packed full of various workshops and presentations given by Danielle Perret, Nancy Hurrell, Robin Ward. I am particularly interested in Nicholas Lynch-Aird's presentation on the Theory of a self-tuning harp and will be curious to see if this theory could be applied to other instruments like, say, the clarinet...

Accomodation is available and it promises to be an exciting weekend.

More details are here: http://harpfest2012.wordpress.com/festival-programme/

Saturday 19 May 2012

A little gig for me and some big news from the harp world

A few weeks ago Gemma, a very old school friend of mine, came to one of my concerts and asked me if I was free on a Saturday in June. I said yes thinking she meant her birthday but she told me about a summer ball she is organising is to raise funds for her charity The Lighthouse Centre. I've known Gemma from the age of 5 and I don't remember her ever wanting to be anything other than a nurse. She probably never remembers me wanting to be anything other than a musician. After a few years in nursing she realised there was a greater need for long term care at home and set up The Lighthouse Centre which offers support and therapies for people with long term conditions. Having followed my progress on the harp she asked if I would be interested in playing my harp at the ball. I immediately accepted which prompted shrieks of delight on both sides but then I had to seriously think about whether I was up to this sort of performing.

Up until now the most I have had to prepare for a single performance is three pieces for an exam. While this gig would be background music I would still need a good half hour of music, I totted up what I would manage and it came to about 10 minutes. My usual tricks of playing slowly and adding repeats might get it to just over 15 but people would probably notice if I went through the same programme again. So over the last few weeks I have revised all of my exam pieces so far, worked on the new grade 4 pieces and added a few from other books. Practise has been particularly varied as I haven't been able to get through everything each time so I've had to focus on grade 4 and rotate all the others. I won't be able to memorise the whole lot I have had to get used to playing while reading, not something I am fond of as I lose my place in the music when I look at the harp then lose my strings when I glance at the music! However as it is background I can probably get away with the odd wrong note and it will be a great chance to try out my grade 4 pieces in preparation for the exam in July. Having been inspired by Claire Jones (and more news from her shortly) I am actually looking forward to wearing a dress!

News has come out today that Claire will be recording her new album for Classic FM tomorrow (Sunday) and Monday with music arranged and composed by Chris Marshall, her fiance, accompanied by the English Chamber Orchestra. It will be conducted by Stuart Morley another old friend from college and who was a GOAT sponsor on day 19. It will certainly make a change for Stu who is usually to be found conducting We Will Rock You in London. The album is due to be released in September shortly after Claire and Chris's wedding. 2012 is certainly proving to be an exciting year for them. I know from seeing updates from Chris that both he and Claire have worked particularly hard in getting the music ready for recording and I really look forward to hearing the finished album! More information is here: http://www.clairejones.co.uk/

Wednesday 9 May 2012

Duet for harp and ... tuba??

It's been a while since I last updated but after a lull in practise and numerous performances on my normal instruments and exams I managed to get back into a practise routine. I have a plan to do grade 4 this term so ordered various books and started learning plenty of pieces. I have narrowed down to three pieces and will make those the main focus of my practise. I also have mine and Chris's wedding to think about and am working on some pieces on the harp, as well as the clarinet, that may get used at some point on the day.

You remember Kirsty and Derek from the last post? They did their grade 5 exams on trombone with me as their accompanist. I am delighted to report they both passed. Kirsty got a distinction and I understand Derek was somewhere around that mark. Maurice (on horn) and Thanea (on cello) from the GOAT are taking their grade 5 exams early this term so I wait with interest to hear how they get on.

Sticking with the brass world and moving smoothly from trombones and horns to tuba I can now explain the title of this post. Shortly before Easter musicians from the music service took part in Live Music Week, a chance for staff to perform in small ensembles and a larger orchestra and travel to schools to present programmes of a variety of styles. I organised my small group and we gave a programme of Latin music to some primary and scondary schools in Cambridge. Rehearsals have to be long as we spend more time laughing and eating cake than we do actually playing. The day was a success and our programme went down extremely well. No one got lost (see last years related post) and no one fell over (not documented but did happen last year). On the Thursday and Friday we teamed up with enough other staff to form an orchestra for a larger scale piece. This year it was Howard Blake's Land of Counterpane which is based on poems by Robert Louis Stevenson. It is a lovely work, evocative, and imaginative. School children from across whichever area we were in (Huntingdon, then Wisbech) joined us for the performances. The music service regularly invites a guest soloist in for the County Wind Orchestra concerts, usually a past student who is embarking on a performing career and this year we had tuba player Callum Rookes. Callum is currently studying in Denmark and is particularly interested in promoting the solo works of the tuba to a wider audience. One of his pieces he performed as part of the schools concert is Fnugg by Oystein Baadsvik. It is a fantastic mix of singing and playing, multiphonics, beatboxing and many other advanced technical skills. I have heard the piece three or four times now and it never ceases to amaze me! Fnugg means either something very small, or invisible, or it can mean a snowflake. The piece doesn't sound particularly like a snowflake and certainly isn't invisible but it's great fun. The tuba has a great range of tonal characters and personalities and as a contrast Callum wanted to play a slower, expressive piece. My good friend Margaret (featured in many previous blogs) was the orchestral pianist on the day and is the official accompanist (although she never remembers agreeing to the latter role usually because the music is given to her on the day of the performance). On the first day of our performance Margaret was introduced to Callum and Callum (who had already been assured there was an official accompanist) showed her the music. With a rolling of the eyes and a chuckle Margaret had a look. At around the same time Rohan, who was playing harp that day glanced over. 'That would work on the harp' she said. Margaret and Rohan both then tried it out and somehow a decision was reached that Rohan could do it. Callum liked the idea and he performed it with Rohan. The warm, mellow sound of the tuba sat beautifully with the harp and it was a great performance.
Callum and Rohan, as seen by the clarinet section
Could this be a commissioning project for Callum in the future? As harp players tend to be almost as rare as tuba players there is a more practical consideration to think of but musically it would be lovely. Doing a quick search to find the composer of Fnugg I discovered that Callum has just set up his own blog: onemanandhistuba.blogspot.co.uk. There is just one post so far but is well written and hopefully this will develop further. Callum has an infectious affection for the tuba and will never tire of exploring its possibilities. I hope he inspires others to take up this rare but exciting instrument.

Friday 23 March 2012

Grade-5-a-thon

The only mention the harp will get in today's blog is a lament that I've hardly touched it over the past two weeks. With the end of term fast approaching I've had too many little tasks to deal with including pupil exams, school performances, and other concerts. I am also organising a group and arranging music for several music service performances next week so time is tight. For me to take on any extra work around this time of year it has to be 1. well paid; 2. offer substantial food; or 3. be so musically satisfying that I feel I can't turn it down. So when an email came through from fellow musician, teacher and Grade-1-a-thon (GOAT) participant Kirsty asking if I would be able to accompany her for her grade 5 trombone criteria no. 3 sprang to mind and I could hardly resist! However I was a little put out when I went on to read "I need someone who is not going to laugh at my playing!". I treat every musical engagement with the seriousness it deserves so once I had pulled myself together and stopped chuckling I replied to say yes. I then discovered that Kirsty's other half Derek needed accompanying for the same exam so said yes to that too. Kirsty did trombone in the Grade-1-a-thon. Derek actually learnt the bassoon for the GOAT but already had a trombone so switched. We had a quick rehearsal one evening which went well. I am always fascinated to hear highly qualified musicians (in this case Kirsty, proficient on many woodwinds including the bassoon and ocarina and Derek a percussionist) play on an unfamiliar instrument. The tone was there... most of the time and there were some great characterful moments, particularly in Kirsty's Gershwin (ironically it was Let's Call the Whole Thing Off) and other than stamina there didn't seem to be too many problems. They discussed their differing technique for scales, neither of which seemed to be the most logical method to me but I smiled politely as I didn't want to worry them at this late stage.

Of course another reason for me keen to accompany was to keep track of other GOAT participants. Not that I am competitive of course but I do know that Maurice and Thanea, both pianists who were on the GOAT organising committee and featured in early blogs, are taking grade 5 on the horn and cello respectively this term.

The day arrived and I set off for Hemingford. Both were there and when I arrived we had a few jokes with Elaine who runs the centre and both talked about their last minute preparations (which didn't seem to include many scales so maybe their methods had worked). We went out to the summer house for the final warm-up and got a few photos.

All set for grade 5
So how does B flat minor go again?
 
Elaine keeps chickens and ducks and this morning they were quite happily scratching around the garden enjoying the sunshine. Derek went to play to the birds but just as he parped his first note they ran to the far end of the garden with one screeching louder than the forte that Kirsty and Derek combined manage on their trombones! Elaine's head appeared from the back door and she demanded to know what we were doing to her chickens!! We sheepishly went back to the summer house to warm up. The chickens eventually calmed down.
Derek tries one last time to find an audience who will listen
Kirsty went in first. Despite all the fun beforehand, the enjoyable preparation, and as well as experience and knowledge of the music grades system an exam room is still an exam room and I could sense the change of atmosphere as we went in. After tuning up we played the Mozart. I felt this went well and Kirsty's tone sounded clearly over my accompaniment. There were even some dynamics! The Gershwin began well although with a trickier piano part I was not able to listen in quite the same detail as I did in the Mozart so I worked mostly to keep the pulse steady just focussing on Kirsty's rhythm. I perhaps now appreciate just what stamina is needed on a brass instrument, especially from someone who has been learning for only just over a year. The demands on breathing and control of sustained notes is something that builds up over years of regular playing so what Kirsty has already achieved is pretty spectacular! When she came out the first things she mentioned were the negative things (doesn't everyone though?) but she quickly mentioned the aural had been easier.

Next up was Derek. Purcell's Rondeau was fine and included some nice changes of tone colour which I think were planned. His second piece was an odd little number by a little known composer called Francl. (There may be a reason why he is little known but that's not for discussion here.) Again, I had to concentrate on rhythm more than notes here but we started and finished together so think it was fine. Chatting with Derek afterwards he revealed how he had been playing a scale and then had not realised where he was within the scale which threw him slightly. Woodwind and keyboard players do not have to find the note in the same way as string and brass players as fingerings alone on the whole will give you the note you are after. Again, experience plays a huge part in this so maybe when they do their grade 6 exams this will be sorted!

I did enjoy the morning and thanks so much to Kirsty and Derek for asking me despite being warned about the standard of my piano playing! I look forward to hearing how you've both done!

Sunday 11 March 2012

Cambridge Music Festival

Due to a mini-marathon taking place in the city with road closures I left a little earlier than I perhaps needed to get to the venue in good time. This meant getting up earlier than planned and after miscounting how many times I'd hit the snooze button I only had enough time for one very quick run through of Barcarolle before setting off. Not the best preparation but that had to do.

When I arrived I saw another harp being unloaded from a car then saw Robyn so we walked round to the music block together. We were directed into a room where numerous harps were being unpacked while Rohan tuned one at a time. Eventually all the harps for the first two classes were tuned and all were moved into the performance room. The first class was for Grade 1-2 players and we heard four performances, all very well prepared and while we waited for the adjudicator to sum up Robyn and I predicted who we thought would win. The adjudicator went briefly through each performer with at least one positive comment and one thing to think about in the future.

We then went straight onto my class, for Grade 3-4 harpists. The first competitor played one of the grade 3 pieces, Alpine Waltz, very well. I did try this one a while ago and found the short glissandi quite tricky and she pulled them off beautifully. I was up next and waited patiently for what seemed like ages as the examiner finished writing the previous report. I felt a little nervous but not as much as I thought I might do. I was aware it was an unusual setting but relaxed into the piece which felt better as it went along. I did hit a few wrong notes but managed to keep going. The next player performed O'er the Sea to Skye. It was another good performance. The adjudicator went through comments and suggestions which included more dynamic contrast in Alpine Waltz and making sure that the middle section is as well learned as the beginning section for O'er the Sea to Skye. To me he said that because a barcarolle is a song I should imagine myself singing while accompanying with the harp. That way I might put a few more 'breathing' spaces into the music. It was a good point and one I have to think about on the clarinet, because I have to breathe, but had not considered this with the harp. He read out the marks and because mine was the highest I was the winner! It was very close though and I am sure my fellow competitors will go on to have successes in the future. After a break we heard the Grade 5-6 and 7-8 category. Most played on pedal harps but there was a lever harp in each class so it was good to see what was possible on the instrument at those higher levels. I look forward to being allowed to try 'New Blue' by Deborah Henson-Conant which had a great section written to sound like a walking bass line. The morning finished with the ensemble class. Two harp duets and a flute and harp duet gave really impressive performances.

Rohan has the manouvering of harps down to a fine art and at one point we were running 15 minutes early, very rare for a festival. She is the master of organisation and huge thanks to her for her initial arm-twisting and being there on the day helping things run smoothly.

The adjudicator was friendly and encouraging and during one of the breaks told us that he knew very little about the harp (just in case we were wondering what his qualification to talk about the harp was) but as an organist he understands how much goes into a performance, by that he meant the technical challenges of getting the right notes, changing levers, moving pedals, often with both feet. While different parts of the body are moving just one thing should come from the body and that is the music. If he shut his eyes he should not be aware of the technical difficulties the player might be experiencing. He did say he was now thinking about taking up the harp... with Rohan!

Saturday 10 March 2012

Clarsach Society Playing Afternoon

The first of my double bill of harping activities this weekend was near Sudbury with members of the Clarsach Society south-east branch. Robyn came along but as has moved up to a pedal harp wasn't able to bring hers but she enjoyed listening and helping some of the younger members and took a few photos.


As well as Anne, the rep for the branch, there were four younger students there, aged 5 to 9 and an array of harps right from a tiny lap harp to mine, which was the biggest. As well as the various sizes our harps had a great range of colour, shape, and design. One of the harps had a lovely Celtic knotwork decoration.

We had a lovely afternoon playing through easy ensemble pieces with Anne suggesting easy accompaniments for the children which they learned remarkably well by ear. Each of us played one of our own solo pieces we had been working on and finished the afternoon with a run-through of the group pieces. It was a little different to last time where there were three adults but it was lovely to see how much the youngsters were enjoying their harps. Three currently study with Danielle Perret and the fourth, on the lap harp, will be starting lessons with Danielle shortly.


Robyn and I had a slow drive back stopping at one of the village churchs to have a look round while the weather was good. I had a very short practise session when I got in and I can now look forward to my performance in the Cambridge Music Festival which takes place tomorrow.

Saturday 25 February 2012

Music Festivals

One of the highlights of the year as a teenager was taking part in the local music festival. Northampton holds a large week long festival of music and drama during April or May and there were classes for beginner piano to concert bands and everything in between. Most categories were divided into age groups up to an open class for any amatuer. While it was competitive it was useful for practising pieces that were to be performed in exams or school concerts. I did every available clarinet and woodwind class and played with numerous county chamber groups and I teamed up with friends to play duets. I had a very good friend called Naomi who also played the clarinet and lived close by. We were both highly competitive but this was a bonus when it came to the clarinet duet class as we won it three years in a row and had our photo taken for the local paper one year. We had many rehearsals together usually working on duets by Crusell and this must have helped develop our listening and ensemble skills no end as well as our relationship in youth orchestra as we knew each others playing well. We had a little bit of coaching from our teacher but most of the work was done ourselves. We also busked in Northampton town centre so had plenty of performance practise that way too.
Taken during the 1992 Northampton Festival
Sister Viki and I also had success in the recorder duo classes. Again we had plenty of opportunities to practise and as I was the older one could boss Viki around so she did what I requested. One year I did a piano duet with a fine pianist called Elizabeth. I was not particularly good technically but we worked hard on Faure's Kitty Valse, at Elizabeth's suggestion we did it from memory and we beat other pairs where both players were much more competent than I was. This was a good lesson for me as I realised it was how much effort you put in rather than how good you were to start with that counted. As well as the victories the defeats also taught us all something. One year the woodwind open class was very strong with around 10 decent players, any one of us grade 7 or 8 standard players could have won, but the first prize went to a grade 5 or 6 flautist. She also played an easier piece so was out of the running as far as we were concerned but she played with such poise and musicianship that while we were disappointed when she won it was no surprise based on her performance. It was another lesson that preparation for the actual event is more important than how good you are on paper.

I haven't done a competition since college (a mixture of results) and don't think of myself as particularly competitivie but I was suprised recently to learn that a few of my colleagues think I am highly competitive using examples such as the grade-1-a-thon, learning the oboe and even the fun quiz in a youth theatre company's show (although I only came second in that)! If I am going to do something I do think carefully about what I want the outcome to be but I thought it was just a battle against myself rather than others so it was interesting to learn that others see it differently.

Cambridge has it's own music festival and the harp classes are taking place on Sunday 11th March. Rohan has entered a few of us and I am in the grade 3-4 category so no age limit here. I am going to play Barcarolle by Grandjany as this was my favourite of the grade 3 pieces and I adjusted my fingerings after the exam so it will be good to try it in a different way. I will want to do my best for myself but will also use the opportunity to hear many other harpists in my own class as well as the  higher and lower grade categories. It should be a fun morning but this is a new situation for me on the harp so wonder how I will get on with nerves. I have a lesson on Wednesday and will use this for last minute preparation for the 11th as well as getting grade 4 pieces checked. I have started learning two of these but they do seem to be quite a jump up from the grade 3 pieces. This time last year I was putting the finishing touches onto my grade 1 pieces. This year I have done nowhere near the same amount of practise so priorities have definitiely changed. Hopefully I can turn that around over the next two weeks!

Sunday 22 January 2012

Claire Jones Recital - 21 January

Back in early December I discovered that Claire Jones would be giving a recital for the Holbrook Music Society at the Royal Hospital School, Ipswich. I ordered tickets for myself and Robyn and spent the first few weeks of January looking forward to it. I picked Robyn up after a concert of her own and after hiding her viola in the car boot we headed along the A14 for what we hoped would be an evening of entertaining harp music. We were not disappointed! The RHS is spread over a vast campus and after driving around for a while we eventually found what looked like a concert hall. We could see a harp and harpist through the window and the car parked outside with the number plate H** ARP convinced us we had found the right place. With time to spare we acted like true musicians and went back into the village to find a pub for a quick drink and bite to eat. When we got back to the hall I was recognised by Claire's fiance Chris, a percussionist I knew well at college. I haven't seen Chris for a while so it was great to catch up and he filled us in on some of his and Claire's plans over the next few months. They have a percussion and harp duo called C2 and I have been keen to hear a performance. Chris told me to keep an eye on the website as things will be developing very soon.

Claire had given a masterclass with 4 RHS pupils that afternoon and one of the staff featured this in his short introduction to welcome her to the stage. Claire looked amazing in a gorgeous purple dress and her harp was stunning. The first piece was a Fantasia on Themes from Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin and set the tone for the evening. She makes a wonderful sound and her flawless technique supported her careful phrasing and expression. The way in which she brought out the melodic line from arpeggiated chords was staggering and Claire made it look easy. The change in sound for the Sonata No. 1 by Parry, a much earlier work, was impressive and the simple sound contrasted well with other pieces. There was huge variety in era, nationality and style throughout both halves. I also enjoyed Mathias' Santa Fe Suite and Robyn was particularly taken with Watching the Wheat by John Thomas.
Robyn admires Claire's harp
The music on its own would have made it an enjoyable evening but what really added to the occasion was Claire's fantastic communication with the audience. She looked out into the audience when playing, smiled at times and clearly enjoyed her playing. She spoke frequently to introduce pieces and to explain why she had chosen them and included a short Q&A session in the second half. She also shared a few stories about her role as Harpist to the Prince of Wales and the gruelling selection process and subsequent engagements. The position was created to help launch the career of a promising young harpist and even though she is no longer in that position she remains, in her words, an ambassador for the harp. She is indeed that and much more and will no doubt continue to have a wonderful career.
Claire takes a final bow
Claire was asked about her dresses as each photo on display featured a different elegant gown. She takes a keen interest in dress design and has worked with leading designers. Most elegant was the gold design in a photo from one of the main rooms at Clarence House. However most striking was a photo she showed us of a dress complete with Welsh Dragon design that she wore when she played before the start of the Wales-South Africa international rugby match at the Millennium Stadium!
Claire contemplates forming a new harp trio
Like true groupies Robyn and I hung around at the end and Chris finally introduced us to Claire. She was lovely to chat to, very warm and welcoming, and encouraged us to keep in touch to hear about future plans, of which there are many! We left with a refreshed interest in our hobby, some new repertoire ideas and a desire to practise even more, and maybe the confidence to buy a new dress or two.

For more info see www.clairejones.co.uk