From The Editors
Julie Spring talks about heading north of the border after winning the Principal Harp position with the Toronto Symphony. Find out how to dress the part from tux to toes, learn to play today's hits on the harp, and more in the March/April 2010 issue of Harp Column!
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Coming up in the next issue of Harp Column: Spring cleaning tips to organize your music library. Plus an interview with Catherine Michel in anticipation of her opening concert for the American Harp Society Conference in Tacoma this summer.
Editor's YouTube Pick of the Month
Harpist Elizabeth Jaxon has some fun with the third movement of the Ginastara Harp Concerto in this YouTube clip.
Each month we will post our favorite YouTube harp clip here to share with the Harp Column community. If you see a video on YouTube that you think we should pick, e-mail it to us!
- Harp Community Loses Two Legends
Posted 01/28/10The harp world suffered two deep losses this week with the passing of Suzanne Balderston and Martha Dalton.
Balderston passed away on Monday, Jan. 25, 2010, in Sun City West, Ariz. Balderston served as president of the American Harp Society from 1970–1972, held positions with Salvi Harps, and was best known for her legendary teaching of many students. Plans for a memorial service will be announced at a later time.
Dalton died on Sunday, Jan. 24, 2010, in Willoughby, Ohio. She was 90 years old. Dalton played second harp with Alice Chalifoux in the Cleveland Orchestra for 35 years from 1946–1981. Prior to moving to Cleveland, Dalton started the harp department at the University of Texas and played with the Austin and Houston Symphonies. A memorial service is planned for the spring.
Read the March/April issue of Harp Column for memorial remembrances of Balderston and Dalton and their contributions to the harp community. - Flores Builds Harp for Charity
Posted 01/19/10George Flores
A new pedal harp will be auctioned off early this year to benefit the National Spinal Cord Injury Association (NSCIA), a non-profit organization that helps people with spinal cord injuries. Harp technician and spinal cord injury survivor George Flores built the harp with the assistance of Venus Harps. Flores, who suffered a major spinal cord injury in a motorcycle accident in 2004 that left him paralyzed, returned to regulating harps in late 2007 with the help of a standing wheelchair. He says he came up with the harp auction idea because he wanted to do something to help others suffering from spinal cord injuries as he did.
“While I did this to bring awareness to spinal cord injuries, I am also doing this to show the healing power of the harp,” Flores says. “I am living proof.”
The 47-string concert grand harp took about three months to build and features some modern technological advances, a hand-painted gold leaf decal on the soundboard, and a natural finish. For information about the auction date and how to bid, visit the NSCIA Web site at www.spinalcord.org or www.venusharps.com. For a sneak peek of the harp, visit Flores’ My Space page at www.myspace.com/george_flores. - Six Awarded Prizes in Nippon Contest
Posted 01/19/10Kyoko Okuda
Japanese harpist Kyoko Okuda won the 21st Nippon Harp Competition held Nov. 11–15 in Soka, Japan. Other prizewinners included Mami Segawa, second prize; Ayano Kaji, third prize; Rieko Sato, fourth prize; Kei Nakayama, fifth prize; and May Miura, sixth prize. All of the prizewinners are from Japan. The competition was judged by a jury chaired by Japanese composer Teruyuki Noda, and including clarinetist Yasuaki Itakura, composer Michio Kitazume, and harpists Milda Agazarian, Fabrice Pierre, Erika Inoue, Yo Saito, Ayako Shinozaki, and Junko Tabuchi.
Okuda, 29, graduated from Musashino Academia Musicae. She studied with Kumiko Inoue, and Judith Liber. She also one first prize in the 2005 Moscow International Harp Competition. Okuda is an active soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral harpist, and teacher.
