HARP ILLUSTRATED: ROSE ADELAIDE DECREUX WITH SINGLE ACTION PEDAL

Self Portrait with a Harp, by Rose Adélaïde Ducreux, c. 1791.
In the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Single-Action Cousineau or Naderman?

Blog article by Costume Studies student, Katy Werlin
'The Chemise a la Reine' in two parts.

HARP SIGHTING: LEAH CECIL AND STYLE 100

Cal State Fullerton music major Leah Cecil prepares herself to compete for the title of Miss California 2012 this June in Fresno. Cecil currently holds the title of Miss Southern California.
Photographed by Heather Dickins

Article in The Daily Titan, March 6, 2012
"Armed With a Harp, a Smile"

PRICE UPDATE: APRIL 1, 2012

It's been over 3 years since Lyon & Healy adjusted harp prices. Due to increases in materials, labor and production costs, new harp prices will take effect April 1st, 2012.

Prices will increase 8 - 12% and affect both lever and pedal harp models. Additionally, the Style 85GP, Style 85SG and the Style 17 are no longer in production. 

If you have been considering a Lyon & Healy harp purchase, you might do so now, before prices go up.  If a harp model you wish is currently unavailable, a 10% deposit before April 1st, 2012 holds the next available harp at its existing price. 

We have received the new April 1st price list, so if you have any questions regarding the price of a new harp or anything at all, please ask! 

HARP SIGHTING: COURTNEY HERSHEY BRESS AND STYLE 100

Colorado Symphony's harpist Courtney Hershey Bress
with Lyon & Healy Style 100 Concert Grand harp.
Photographed by: Todd Rosenberg

Article in The Denver Press, January 27, 2012
"CSO Harpist Courtney Hershey Bress to Perform Rare Piece by Composer Carl Oberthur with Colorado Symphony."

TECH TALK: HARP REGULATION: WHAT IS IT ANYWAY?

We are pleased to welcome again harp technician and guest author Steve Moss of The Harp Herald who presents a series of informative articles to our blog about harp care. In today's article, Steve explains what takes place during a routine harp regulation appointment.

We'd like to thank master harp technician Peter Wiley and harpists Peggy Skomal and Paul Baker, who kindly agreed to an impromptu photo shoot for Steve's article. On with the Tech Talk!

Have you ever wondered what goes on when you bring your harp to a technician for a regulation? In a nutshell, a harp regulation is a periodic maintenance service designed to keep your harp playing and sounding its best.

A harp regulation normally includes a complete inspection of your harp’s condition, replacement of short-lived parts such as pedal felts, adjustments to compensate for the changes a harp undergoes over time, noise elimination, and adjustment of action parts to improve intonation.

The steps below are the ones that I use for each one of my customers. These steps may differ slightly from what your technician may do, but basically the end result remains the same. Let’s look at the whole process of harp regulation, step by step:

HARP SIGHTING: ROSAMOND BERNIER WITH SALZEDO HARP

Rosamond Bernier, the glamorous lady of high end arts and culture events, has recently published her autobiography Some of My Lives. Writer, editor, founder of the arts magazine L'oeil and friend to many artists and composers, Bernier was also a student of Carlos Salzedo, performing in a Youth Concert series with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the age of 16. Beautiful!

CARLENA DIAMOND FOR THE HOLIDAYS!

Carlena Diamond in "Harpist Supreme" (1929) directed by Murray Roth. 35mm, 6 minutes.

Between 1926 and 1930 Warner Brothers produced over a thousand small films featuring actors, opera singers, comedians, musicians and vaudeville stars using their new! state of the art! Vitaphone system.

The 10 minute featurettes were intended to show the virtues of Vitaphone which synchronized sound and moving pictures through a 16” record that was played along with the projector. Pre-dating “The Jazz Singer”, these Vitaphone gems pretty much disappeared from public view.

ASTAIRE & KELLY: HARPIN' IT UP AT THE GATE

Ziegfeld Follies (MGM) is a 1945 Hollywood musical comedy film directed by Lemuel Ayers, Roy Del Ruth, Robert Lewis, Vincente Minnelli, Merrill Pye, George Sidney and Charles Waters. It had a cast that could stretch from your wrist to your shoulder.

LYON & HEALY ANNOUNCES THIS YEAR'S AWARDS WINNERS

2011 Lyon & Healy Awards
University of North Texas College of Music
June 18 - 19, 2011

Alexandra Katelyn Mullins (Matthews, North Carolina)
Samuel Karlinski (Atkinson, New Hampshire)
Elizabeth Anne White (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Sarah Nicole Davis (San Diego, California)

2011 SPRING FLING: TRIBUTE CONCERT AND FINZI AWARDS

WHAT: Spring Fling/Tribute Concert
WHERE: Glendale First United Methodist Church
WHEN: Sunday, May 22, 2011. 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
HOW MUCH: Donations kindly accepted!

Each spring the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Harp Society hosts what is called, their 'Spring Fling', an event which acts as a fundraiser for the chapter and for the Valeria Finzi Scholarship Fund.  It always includes food, a relaxed setting for harpists to mingle and performances by the recent harpists awarded that year’s Valeria Finzi Memorial Scholarship.

This year's Spring Fling is especially important in that it is dedicated to the memory of Dorothy Remsen, a wonderful lady and outstanding musician of the harp world, who passed away in October, 2010. The event will be held at the Glendale First United Methodist Church, whose Christmas Eve services Dorothy graced with her harp playing for fifty years.

Performances at this year's Spring Fling include those awarded the 2011 Valeria Finzi Memorial Scholarships (see below) as well as performance by harpist Allison Allport and flutist Amy Tatum,  harpist Maria Casale and renowned organist Ladd Thomas.

THE LYON & HEALY CHICAGO SERIES: LOVES L.A.!

HILA is happy to announce that we now have ALL 4 CHICAGO MODELS at our LA. studio. 
We invite you to come play, see and hear what they are all about! *

The Chicago models are a great series of instruments for someone moving from lever to pedal, a serious adult student or as a second light gig instrument for the experienced harpist. 

LET'S COMPARE: CHICAGO VS 85.
In comparing models the Chicago Concertino and 85 Concertino are similar in size, as well as the size of the Chicago CG-EX and the 85-CG model. Beyond that their construction, looks and sound are considerably different. 

The Chicago 40 model has nothing similar to compare it to however this small 3/4 size pedal harp is a class act, possessing a responsive, powerful and full bodied tone. 

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

Both series are built with high quality sitka spruce soundboards and  fine hard maple bodies. The soundboard tempering period with the Chicago series may be less compared to the 85 series and other high end instruments. The Chicago's structure, high wood quality and the action are the same as in the higher end instruments. The production procedure is where differences lay.

SUMMERTIME, SUMMERTIME: THE SUMMER HARP EXPERIENCE

The summer harp experience bolsters and encourages creativity. At the end of it all, you've met incredible people, done amazing things and worked harder than you ever would on your own. You're hyper and exhausted and can't wait to do it all again.

L.A is lucky to have four such harp programs taking place this year - all being offered by four talented and enthusiastic local harpists. To find out more about the summer harp experience and these four very special programs - read on! 

March 10, 2011 -

Hey Megan!

Welcome back to dah Etats-Unis! Total culture warp, yeah? France is great, but sometimes it’s nice to be back home...

Susie Allen, Marcia Dickstein, Mary Dropkin and Allison Allport all have summer harp programs going on this year, and I thought our harp community would like to learn more about them, particularly since many take place in California!

So I shot them all an email, asking for a bit more information.

What I discovered is that there is more to the summer harp experience than can be expressed by reading a brochure or a web page; it sounds as if the instructors receive as much from the summer harp experience as its participants.

So Megan, the reason I am writing is to ask about your camp harp experience.

You're back home to teach at a harp program.  Why do you come every year, especially all the way from France?

What makes the summer harp experience different than say, going to weekly lessons or a university program?