Attending: Laurel Wright-Feighery, Kinsey Mitton, Pam Archbold, Kate Dougherty, Peggy Cann, Angela Scothern, Chris Watts, Kristen Rogers-Iverson, Tamara Oswald, Meg Smith Dawson, Cyndi Bowen
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic we chose to meet via Zoom so everyone could stay home and participate who was able. Kate was our technical person who hosted the zoom conference on her account and Peggy led the meeting.
We went around the group and each of us talked about what we had been doing with regard to playing harp for patients as well as self care. It sounded like Kinsey and Cyndi were still working but with reduced hours. Some of us found playing our harps were providing us much needed comfort and others found that they couldn’t play harp right now. Other activities included: zoom meetings with friends and family, sewing masks and quilting, taking long walks outdoors and staying indoors, video game playing, learning new music and foreign languages, reading, napping, baking. Nobody seemed to be bored.
Some suggestions during this stay at home time included many resources for online harp instruction.
Somerset will be holding their annual conference online instead of in New Jersey this summer. http://www.somersetharpfest.com/ $100 discount for earlybird registration.
The MHTP program will be holding their conference online as well June 18-20. For more information see their website: https://www.mhtp.org/mhtp-conference
The Edinburgh Folk Harp Festival Society held their first virtual and free festival starting April 3 through April 8. Video can still be accessed at Youtube https://www.youtube.com/user/edinharpfest and Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/EdinburghInternationalHarpFestival/
Harp Column is offering many freebies due to the virus and if you are a subscriber, Harp Column Academy always has a myriad of harp tutorial videos available and regularly changing. It’s not just for pedal harps. www.Harpcolumnacademy.com
If you are a Facebook User you can follow a number of sites where harpists video themselves and upload to the site. These are not usually tutorials but more relaxing interludes. Anyone is welcome to post so maybe some of you might want to do this. Music Heals the World is one and I know there are many others. So many musicians are not able to work now they are just posting videos. Check out Youtube also.
Edie Elkan of Bedside Harp hosts an online therapeutic harp meditation every evening at 4:50 pm MDT. This is free and accessible via Zoom However, Edie would appreciate it if you want to join send her an email introducing yourself and requesting to be invited. edie@bedsideharp.com Both Peggy and I find this very therapeutic and relaxing. Edie plays harp to begin and then leads in a guided meditation that changes daily. We’re usually done by 5:30 and feeling rested and energized.
We took turns playing harp for each other.
Peggy began by playing Reflections by Barbara Semmann in the Angie Bemiss book, The Music of Friends
Tamara said she had been focusing on upbeat music and was playing from Sylvia Woods music from the musicals, Up and LaLa Land.
Heidi played William’s Lullaby from the Angie Bemiss Friends book.
Chris said she had been working on some pieces to accompany one of her home patients who liked to sing but did not play for us.
Pam played Somewhere Over the Rainbow with her own bass pattern arrangement.
Kate has been working on Irish jigs and played Spring Fever by Nadia Birkenstock, Morrisey Jig and Butterfly jig for us. She also provided urls for free music in a follow up email (see below).
Angela played a song called Alta Cri on her wire harp
Laurel played a song called Alan is Dear To Me from the Angus Frasier Collection and also Nora Likes Cake from the Edward Bunting Collection, both happy tunes to prove to us that wire harps don’t only play sad songs.
Cyndi was at work and not able to play for us but asked about harp repertoire recommendations. Several recommendations were made including any of Sylvia Woods harp books, Kate provided the following online sources for free music:
https://imslp.org/wiki/Main_Page
If we are still quarantined for May, Pam offered to host our next Zoom meeting on the topic of making recordings. Tentative date will be May 13 at 10 am.
