Grade 5 - my turn

I haven't posted anything for three months but that's partly because I've not done much at all. Oh, apart from take grade 5! It was a bit last minute as we needed some extra candidates to make up numbers for a special visit session so I thought if I had the exam coming up I'd be forced to practise. I did manage some extra practise although not as much as I should have done but got through the exam with a merit (84/100 - Trinity) so I was pleased with that. I now join the illustrious group of Grade-1-a-thoners who have achieved grade 5.

I changed exam boards for this one and used Trinity rather than ABRSM. There is some overlap on the pieces but the main difference is that you can choose which supporting tests you do so I did improvising and sight-reading instead of aural and musical knowledge. The improvising was a bit of a challenge and while I had practised some techniques it did feel like I was winging it. I followed the chord patterns but I ended up playing at half speed to what I had intended so that dragged it all out a little longer than I'd planned. Scales were a little ropey and I missed switching a couple of levers so there were some strange notes here and there. I did feel quite unprepared at this stage. I do find the less prepared you feel the more nervous you are likely to become. So advice for those who are nervous is practise even more than you feel you need to! I may be more understanding now with pupils who do no practise because they say they've been too busy but if that is the case then don't expect to give a decent performance when it counts.

My next harp events are a couple of weddings for friends and family so I need to get my general repertoire back up to standard. My singer friend, Karen, has given me some folk songs for voice and harp so we'll work on those and hopefully get a performance in at a local venue. There are plenty more orchestra and chamber concerts coming up so I'll hopefully get the forthcoming performances bit sorted again. Tomorrow morning I will make a rare appearance at church as I've been asked to play the piano for the newly formed village choir who are singing in the Easter service. I like accompanying but have to work hard so that I don't sound like I'm wearing flippers as I work my way blindly around the keyboard. There are just two pieces, Mozart Ave Verum Corpus, a beautiful four part choral work which requires smooth gentle accompanying, and subtley shaped phrases to support the singers, followed by Oh Happy Day, a gospel version that needs to be as funky as possible. I just hope I get the styles the right way round!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!