Month: May 2016

There is exciting news to report:! BACAHS has been selected as Chapter of the Year for 2015-2016 by the Executive Committee of the American Harp Society!  (full story here) Ann Yeung, President AHS, shared with Alice Yothers, President BACAHS:

“Congratulations – the Bay Area Chapter of the American Harp Society, Inc. has been selected as 2015-2016 Chapter of the Year! The Executive Committee was so impressed by this year’s applicants and inspired by the wonderful AHS chapter activities presented. The Dallas Chapter and the KC Lyra Chapter also received Honorable Mentions this year.

We would like to recognize the Bay Area Chapter at our Annual Membership Meeting in Atlanta at the National Conference and also to present a chapter representative with the award check…The Grand Opening & Welcome Annual Membership Meeting will be held on Thursday, June 30th from 4-5 PM in the Emory Conference Center.

We also plan to put the BACAHS’ winning application as an example in the Members Only section of the website.

Congratulations again…

Thank you again for your dedication and commitment to the harp and the AHS. All that you, the officers, and chapter members are doing is greatly appreciated and valued deeply.”

Thank you to all who helped achieve this honor for our chapter and to the Executive Committee for this recognition.  If you plan to be in Atlanta for the National Conference, please do attend the Membership Meeting and support the chapter. We look forward to another great year in 2016-17. If you would like to become more involved in our dynamic organization and help contribute to its continued vitality, please drop us a note at bacahs@gmail.com.

Dear BACAHS Members and Friends,

Here’s another newsletter brimming with harp happenings! We’re glowing after a very successful workshop and concert by Julia Kay Jamieson–and Natalie Cox brings us her own perspective on the day. Thanks and gratitude go out to Natalie Cox, Alex Perdew, and Diana Rowan for teaming up with Julia that evening for two of her ensemble compositions, “Buds” and “Snow Ambling”!

And we want to thank Silicon Valley Chapter for once again inviting us to share in their always enjoyable HarpLive! one week earlier at the beautiful Moss Beach home of Gwen Halterman.

In our popular Member Spotlight column, Suki Russack focuses on Naomi Hoffmeyer, who will entertain us at our upcoming Spring Social next week. Don’t miss it! And to round out our abundantly rich 2015-2016 harp year, we’re honored to co-host with SVC, and in conjunction with Peninsula Jewish Community Center, Yuying Chen, first prize winner of the 19th Israel International Harp Contest, the most prestigious harp competition in the world, for a master class and concert in June. So there’s something for everyone!

Please check out our member news and calendar items. The only thing missing is your great news! Send a request to link to the bacharp.org calendar so you can post your own events.

Happy Harping,

Alice Yothers
Susie Spiwak

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Naomi Hoffmeyer by Suki Russack
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be preparing for the USA International Harp Competition (USAIHC)? What kind of energy and concentration it would take to be trying to catch that golden ring? Naomi Hoffmeyer’s sense of excitement and delight in what she has so far accomplished in reaching for this goal is clear even in a long distance phone call. I had the opportunity to talk to her about her preparation for the competition, which takes place June 8–18 in Bloomington, Indiana.

Two weeks ago she passed the first hurdle, which was to have her audition tape accepted by the judges. In June, she will have to pass through four rounds of live competition, each round eliminating more harpists until the clear winners emerge at the finale.

As part of her meticulous preparation, Naomi has been performing at least one, and sometimes two, solo recitals every week since January. She has given over 30 recitals of the USAIHC repertoire since beginning her preparation. She has also had the opportunity, as part of the Artist Diploma program at Rice University, to have four different music professors provide solo coaching for the Competition repertoire.

Naomi now has over two hours of music memorized and up to tempo. She is spending some of her practice time away from the harp, going through the music in her head, listening to different recordings of the music, or studying the score. With every piece she works on, she attempts to find some emotional connection to help bring the music to life and to keep it fresh. She is also very careful to guard against injury, always conscious of her posture and keeping a sense of ease and relaxation in her practice. With this in mind, Naomi spent two months with harpist Alice Giles in Australia in 2012, primarily working on relaxation and ease of playing.

Naomi began her music training with piano at age five and began her harp studies at age nine. Between 8th and 9th grades, she attended Interlochen Arts Camp. She studied with Alice Chalifoux in her home state of Virginia, and then went to Interlochen Arts Academy for two years followed by the New England Conservatory. She finished her undergraduate work at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with Doug Rioth, going on to get her Master of Music degree at Rice University with Paula Page in Houston, where she is continuing to work toward her Artist Diploma. Naomi studied and excelled through training with many of the finest harpists in the Bay Area and the US including Karen Gottlieb, Joan Holland, and Ann Hobson Pilot. She holds the position of Principal Harp for the California and Corpus Christi Symphonies and will perform at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland this summer under the batons of noteworthy conductors including Charles Dutoit and Michael Tilson Thomas.

Naomi has been a supportive member of BACAHS since 2012. As part of her commitment to the chapter, she generously offered to present a recital of her program for our members and friends on Saturday, May 7. The recital and BACAHS Spring Social will be held at the Sebastopol home of board member Henry Heines and Katherine Fines.

We wish Naomi the best of luck in her endeavors and are confident that her efforts will be well rewarded at the USAIHC.

REVIEW: WORKSHOP AND RECITAL WITH JULIA KAY JAMIESON—By Natalie Cox
In April BACAHS sponsored an event that I will remember as one of the most informative and fun of any I have ever experienced in my life as a musician. Julia Kay Jamieson came to the Bay Area to present a workshop on Improvisation, to be followed by a concert of her own compositions and arrangements. Julia is a masterful musician, composer and arranger with a teaching style both generous and enthusiastic.

From the moment I arrived I felt a sense of excitement and comfort. Congregation Beth Sholom in San Francisco was a well-chosen venue with an easy loading zone for harps. In just minutes, with the help of volunteers, I was unloaded, parked and all set up in the concert room, with plenty of time to tune. The other twenty attendees were a friendly and diverse group of harpists with all styles of harp: lap, lever, Celtic, Latin and pedal, each with a unique voice.

Improvisation is, for some, a very scary word, an idea implying no boundaries, open ended, no rules. What’s going to happen? I was put at ease immediately when Julia introduced herself and the subject close to her heart. She began the workshop by demonstrating on her harp a few simple ideas, then letting each of us try them out. Her teaching style is one of encouragement and support, freeing us from the inner critic and allowing our imaginations to flourish.

Idea One: Express what we’re feeling at this moment with sound. Remembering that in free improv, anything goes, we bravely put our hands to the strings and were encouraged to communicate joy, trepidation, hesitation, fearlessness.
Idea Two: Use only a rhythm pattern and stay within it.
Idea Three: Use only five tones, explore ways to extend interest.
Idea Four: Use all dynamic ranges while playing with no rhythm.

The list of ideas went on as three hours flew by in creative exploration and experimentation, giving us all the feeling that we can create something from our own imaginations using the many components of music. Our hosts, Alice, Susie and Melinda thought of everything to support our comfort by providing tasty and healthy snacks during the break.

To culminate this wonderful day’s rich learning experience, Julia performed a concert exceptional in every way. She is inspiring to hear, with clean, precise technique, dynamics ranging from a whisper to operatic fortes, lightning fast pedal work and emotional maturity.

Thank you team BACAHS for providing this exceptional experience!

UPCOMING BACAHS EVENTS

RSVP for BACAHS Spring Social Featuring Recital by Naomi Hoffmeyer at the home of Henry Heines and Katherine Fines in Western Sonoma County (between Sebastopol and Occidental). Come and bring your friends. You do not have to be a BACAHS member to attend. The afternoon is open to all who love music and sunny afternoons.

Date: Saturday afternoon, May 7, 2016
Time: Socializing and refreshments at 1 p.m., performance at 2:30 p.m., further refreshments after the performance—please note performance time change!

Highlights of Naomi’s performance include Salzedo’s Ballade, Jeremiah Siochi’s Sublimation (the piece that was commissioned for the USA International Harp Competition), and Caplet Divertissements.

Location: Sebastopol, CA (actually, 5 miles west of Sebastopol, RSVP or see the BACAHS newsletter for directions)

RIDE SHARE: If you need a ride or can give a ride, please let us know so we can connect you with others from your neighborhood or who are on the way.

Admission: free, although feel free to contribute a bottle of wine for the hosts

RESERVATIONS are requested, so that we can get a head count. Please RSVP to Alice Yothers at ayothers@yahoo.com

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The Bay Area and Silicon Valley chapters of the American Harp Society in partnership with PJCC present:

Yuying Chen, the 2015 First Prize Winner of the most prestigious harp competition in the world, the 19th Israel International Harp Contest, performs works by Renié, Grandjany, de Falla, Tchaikovsky, Liszt and Bach.
Join us for this special one-night-only concert, followed by a “meet the artist” dessert reception.

Date: Tuesday, June 14
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: Peninsula Jewish Community Center Board Room
Fee: $20 PJCC and AHS Members, $25 Public
Code: 47268

To purchase tickets, visit the PJCC Welcome Center, www.pjcc.org/arts, or call 650.378.2703.

Master Class with Yuying Chen on Wednesday, June 15, 6pm-8:30pm at a private home in Hillsborough. Open to participants and auditors. For more information and to register visit universe.com/yuyingmasterclass

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MEMBER NEWS
Kristal Barlaan announces that San Jose Youth Symphony Harp Ensemble auditions for the coming year are taking place now through August. Harpists junior high aged through age 22 are invited to audition. For more information please visit their Facebook page: Harp Ensemble of San Jose Youth Symphony, or https://docs.google.com/…/1X420D1h5881larQ_olg9aX6…/viewform or contact Kristal at kristalharp@gmail.com

Please help Erica Messer promote the harp as an accessible instrument to learn to play. She would love your vote for music classes at Bay Area Parent Best of the Peninsula. Write in “Erica Messer, Harp Instruction” in the Music Classes category. Please share with friends and post to social media. Just follow the link below and there is a category for MUSIC CLASSES
http://www.bayareaparent.com/Best-Of-The-Best-Ballot/Peninsula/ Thank you for your vote.

Ellis Schuman’s Prelude for the Harp is scheduled for publication by the Lyra Music Company. Editions distributed by Vanderbilt Music Company of Bloomington, Indiana.

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CALENDAR
May 2, 2016, 8pm, SFCOM Harp Studio Recital, Molly Langr, harpist. Molly’s program includes Handel Concerto in B-flat Major and Pierne Impromptu-Caprice. Molly and her teacher, Doug Rioth, are playing a number of 2-harp pieces as well including Bach French Suite, Salzedo Rumba and Chanson dans la Nuit.

May 7 and 8, the SF Conservatory of Music Orchestra, Scott Sandmeier, director, closes its season with a diverse sampling of orchestral works. The program features the overture to Johann Strauss II’s operetta Der Zigeunerbaron (The Gypsy Baron), Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas’ Sensemaya, Ravel’s Suite No. 2 from Daphnis and Chloé, and Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder sung by mezzo-soprano Molly Hill ’15. Molly Langr and Doug Rioth, harps. For more information and to purchase tickets http://calendar.sfcm.edu/index.php?eID=1309

May 14, 2016, 11:00 am, Memorial Service for Bob Fonda at the Peninsula Free Methodist Church, 599 Jefferson Ave. Redwood City, CA 94063. Bob Fonda was loved by many, and all who knew Bob are welcome to attend. Wife Reiko and the family are touched that friends of the Harp Community have offered to play at Bob’s Memorial service. SVC harpists will provide harp music for the prelude, postlude and a special song during the service. For further information, please contact Celeste Misfeldt at harpangelcm@gmail.com

May 21 and 22, Jessica Schaeffer performs harp with Opera Cultura’s River of Women/Rio de Mujeres in San Jose. Part II of Hector Armienta’s La Llorona Trilogy, the chamber opera takes place in a 1940’s small town in Texas, close to the Great River. Paula dreams of escaping the rural life of the river, but is thwarted by her family and her culture. In the end, the spirit of the River and La Llorona take from her what she loves most – her only daughter. Sung in English with some phrases in Spanish.

Mexican Heritage Theater – School of Arts & Culture @ MHP, 1700 Alum Rock Ave., San Jose , CA 95116. Sat May 21st 7:00pm, Sun May 22nd 2:00pm; Ticket prices: $15.00 – $32.50; www.operacultura.org

May 22, 2016, 2PM Pleasanton Chamber Players will take you on a Pastoral Journey at the Firehouse Arts Center in Pleasanton, performing a unique program drawing on intimate connections to nature and painterly soundscapes. The program consists of Vaughan Williams’ well-loved On Wenlock Edge for tenor, piano and string quartet from 1909; the rarely performed Delius String Quartet from 1916-17; the premiere of Russian émigré David Finko’s song cycle Passages in the Wind in a new version for tenor and harp, on fifteen poems by American writer John Gracen Brown, which was first composed for tenor and piano in 1994; and Golubev’s wondrous Quintet for harp and string quartet from 1953, which was inspired by the famous virtuoso, Bolshoi harpist Vera Dulova.

Performers for this concert are longtime members Philip Santos and Cecilia Huang on violin, violist Melissa Huang, cellist Paul Rhodes, pianist Priscilla Granger, harpist and artistic director Dominique Piana and the up-and-coming tenor Greg Allen Friedman. They are all based locally or in the greater East Bay area.

The Firehouse Arts Center is located at 4444 Railroad Avenue in downtown Pleasanton. Parking is free and plentiful right next to the theatre. Tickets range in price from $15 to $25 and can be bought by calling (925) 931-4848 or going online at www.firehousearts.org

May 23rd and 24th 7:30 pm. Méliès Madness: Enter the whimsical, wonderful world of French illusionist and filmmaker Georges Méliès. Some of his famous short films are set to music and performed with live accompaniment of harp by Carla Fabris, string quartet and flute. Featuring local Bay Area composers and musicians. Reception to follow! Tickets: $20 General, $15 Students/Seniors/Children; Balboa Theatre, 3630 Balboa St, San Francisco, CA 94121.

International Harp Festival 2016: The International Harp Festival runs from Thursday, May 26, through Sunday, May 29, 2016, at the San Damiano Retreat Center in the East Bay Hills town of Danville. Over 40 workshops and four days of exciting concerts are planned. Stay at the retreat center. Rooms include three meals a day. Double rooms are $125 per person/day. Visit http://www.harpfestival.org for more information or call 800-836-5559 for assistance.

IHF is offering a few work/study opportunities. If you work a day, you get one day free! Contact Jessica at hotharp@pacbell.net for more information.