UPDATE TO STOLEN HARPS:

$$ REWARD $$
FOR INFORMATION LEADING TO RECOVERY OF HARPS AND JEWELRY

Stolen between August 23 – 28

Contact: (530) 265-5599  or Nevada County Sheriff (530) 265-1471

James Rydecki Harp, 40 strings Luthian model Walnut carved, electric pick-up.  Signed inside bottom.	*
Dusty Strings FH36s, (Left) Serial Number 8046 Similar to this picture but is Wenge (dark brown almost black) wood with a Koa (caramel color) wood soundboard (chocolate/caramel) 36 strings has electric pick-up 6 small lap harps in green cases, (Right) 22 strings, levers on f,c,b heart cutouts on soundboard	*

American Harp Society is proud to announce that Alexandra Katelyn Mullins is named the new Young Concert Artist for the next two years.  Ms. Mullins, 19, a Sophomore at Indiana University, student of Distinguished Professor Susann McDonald, has performed throughout the US and Europe in many venues, including Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. She has received awards, including First Place in the Advanced and Young Professional Divisions of the American Harp Society, First Place in the Lyon and Healy Awards, First Place in the 18th Petar Konjovic Serbian International Harp Competition, First Place in the Jacobs School of Music Concerto Competition, as well as numerous regional awards. Performances have included appearances with the Charlotte Symphony and the IU Orchestra, and she will make her European orchestral debut in Belgrade in 2014. Participation in AHS competitions since 2005 has contributed greatly to her success as a musician, and she is thrilled to serve and perform in the capacity of Concert Artist for the next two years. Former and current teachers and coaches include Dr. Carrol McLaughlin, Dan Yu, Sivan Magen, Dr. Maria Luisa Rayan-Forrero, Bette Roth, Christine VanArsdale, and Jaqueline Bartlett.

Left to right, back row: Sunny Wu, David Ren, Arielle Herman, Eileen Gao, Emily Mader, Jenny Vo-Phamhi, Elizabeth Vo-Phamhi
Middle center: Charis Woo, Carter Williams
Front row: Tiffany Wong; Erin Kim; Aria Delgado; Hannah Ewell; Danielle Nam
Therese Nguyen is not shown.

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On Sunday May 26, 25 young harpists competed in the Yvonne La Mothe Schwager Harp Competition, held at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. The competition has five categories ranging from Preliminary to Level 4.

The winners are:

PRELIMINARY

• Gold: Charis Woo – student of Jessica Siegel
• Silver: Carter Williams – student of Laura Porter
• Bronze: Aria Delgado – student of Laura Porter
• MusicWorks Prize: Charis Woo

LEVEL I

• Gold: Tiffany Wong – student of Linda Rollo
• Silver: Danielle Nam – student of Sonya Yu
• Bronze: Therese Nguyen – student of Kristal Barlaan
• Harpiana Prize: Hannah Ewell – student of Kristal Barlaan

LEVEL II

• Gold: Elizabeth Vo-Phamhi – student of Doug Rioth
• Silver: Erin Kim – student of Laura Porter
• Bronze: Eileen Gao – student of Kristal Barlaan

LEVEL III

• Gold: Jenny Vo-Phamhi – student of Doug Rioth
• Silver: Sunny Wu – student of Linda Rollo
• Bronze: Arielle Herman – student of Dominique Piana
• Harpiana Prize: Arielle Herman

LEVEL IV

• Gold: David Ren – student of Sonya Yu
• Silver: Emily Mader – student of Beverly Wesner-Hoehn

The judges were Cheryl Ann Fulton from Oakland, Jacquelyn Venter from Folsom and Celia Chan Valerio from Loma Linda, all three of whom hold doctorates.

We had many volunteers who devoted their whole day to the cause, ran an efficient and smooth operation, and whom we wish to thank from the bottom of our hearts: Meredith Clark, Daphanie Lin, Joan Mapou, Doug Rioth, Brian Roberts, Jim Ward and Sonya Yu.

You are all invited to the Winners’ Recital at the Firehouse Arts Center in Pleasanton on June 2 at 2pm. Special guest recitalist Seika Dong will be featured in the second half. Come for good cheer and meet the performers at the reception following in the Firehouse lobby.

Musically yours,

The BACAHS Board:
Dominique Piana, President
Mitch Landy, Vice President
Alice Yothers, Secretary
Susie Spiwak, Treasurer

What:  Yvonne La Mothe Schwager Harp Competition Winners’ Recital

When:  Sunday June 2, 2013 at 2:00pm

Where:  Firehouse Arts Center, 444 Railroad Ave., Pleasanton, CA

Tickets:  $12 – 20

 We are excited to announce that Seika Dong will be the guest artist at the Yvonne La Mothe Schwager Harp Competition Winners’ Recital, sponsored by the Bay Area Chapter of the American Harp Society.  The 19-year-old is currently a freshman pursuing a Bachelors of Harp Performance at Indiana University with full merit scholarship under the tutelage of distinguished professor Susann McDonald. A native of California, she started the harp at age four with renowned teacher Linda Wood Rollo while attending public schools. She also began her piano studies at age six. Seika’s awards include: First Place in the Japan International Harp Competition in the Junior Division in 2006 and First Prize again in the Advanced Division in 2008; First Prize in the American Harp Society National Competition (Intermediate Division) in 2007; Second Prize in the American Harp Society National Competition (Junior Division) in 2006; top three finalist in the American String Teachers Association National Competition in 2007; and First Prize in the San Francisco Bay Area’s Inez Stafford Harp Competition in both 2004 and 2005, precursor of our present competition (The Yvonne La Mothe Schwager Harp Competition). .

In 2011, Seika was an invited performer in the “Young Talents” concert in the Vancouver World Harp Congress. She was also a featured artist in the “Stars of Tomorrow” concert in San Francisco in 2006 and again in the “Stars of Tomorrow” concert at Indiana University during the 2007 USA International Competition. Seika was also a soloist at the San Francisco Opera House in 2007 and the same in New York, 2008.

The Firehouse Arts Center is dedicated to inspiring passion through the arts.  The center is comprised of the 227-seat Firehouse Theater, the 2000 square foot Harrington Gallery, classrooms and rehearsal space, the grand atrium lobby, and the famous interior glass bridge.  With world-class performing and visual arts, exciting interactive programs for all ages, and a state-of-the-art venue which opened in 2010, we combine the sophistication of the culturally rich Bay Area arts landscape with the hospitality and intimacy of our own home town.  The Firehouse Arts Center is located at 4444 Railroad Avenue in downtown Pleasanton.  Media:  Jane Onojafe, jonojafe@cityofpleasantonca.gov, or 925-931-4855

The Firehouse Arts Center will present the winners of the Northern California Harp competition on June 2, 2013 at 2pm. This competition is named after Yvonne La Mothe Schwager, whose bequest to the Bay Area Chapter of the American Harp Society will fund this bi-annual event for many years to come.

This year, the competition will be held at the San Francisco Conservatory on May 26, with about 30 competitors signed up to audition. There are five categories with different repertoire requirements, ranging from below age 9 to age 22.

Yvonne La Mothe Schwager was a Berkeley harpist who quietly made things happen on an international level between 1950 and 1966. Under her stewardship, the Northern California Harpists’ Association, a precursor of the American Harp Society, gave awards to many composers for new pieces for the harp, or for harp with ensemble, some of which became instant hits. Recognizable composers with whom she worked were Marius Flothuis from the Netherlands, the New York critic Virgil Thomson, Josef Tal from Israel or Gerardo Gombau from Spain. The most performed winning work ever must be English harpist David Watkins’ Petite Suite, which includes the famous Fire Dance.

For the youngest harpists, the repertoire consists mainly of works written by well-known harp pedagogues, including Linda Wood Rollo and Nancy Gustavson from the South Bay, and French harp composer Bernard Andres. Salzedo’s arrangement of a Haydn Theme and Variations and Quest by flutist-composer Gary Schocker also figure prominently among pieces selected, as they are works required for the national competition.

In the medium and advanced categories, Eolian Harp by Godefroid, Impromptu by Glière, The Colorado Trail by Grandjany,  Russian Toccata by Slonimsky (the author of the Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians) and the Fauré Impromptu were chosen more prominently by the competitors.

So, if you love harp music, be prepared to hear many gorgeous strains from this entrancing instrument both modern and ancient, simple and complex. There are harps in every world culture, from Antiquity to the present time, from the Near East to Africa and Latin America. yet it is in Europe, at the beginning of the 19th century that Erard, the inventor who perfected the piano also gave the harp its greatest gift, the ability to play in all keys. This allowed the harp to become an established member of the symphony orchestra, and to serve as a unique conduit for solo performance, with an expressive ability surpassing that of the ubiquitous piano.

For more musical information, please contact dominiquepiana@comcast.net.
Additional competition and recital information

 

The Bay Area Chapter of the American Harp Society is now a proud Sponsor of the Harp Festival at Harps Etc. As part of our sponsorship, we are offering a limited number of financial assistance and work/study scholarships to any Bay Area Chapter student member under the age of 25 who wishes to attend the Harp Festival at Harps Etc.

For Bay Area Chapter Membership information go to our newly formatted website: https://bacharp.org/membership/

For scholarship assistance for students under the age of 25 who are members of the Bay Area Chapter and wish to attend the Harp Festival at Harps Etc., contact hotharp@pacbell.net Please include a brief paragraph on why you want to attend the Festival and what portion(s) you wish to attend. Your assistance may be in the form of financial aid and/or a work-study package.

Harps Etc. wishes to extend the Early Bird Full Event and Day Pass registration discount to any member of the American Harp Society. Please be able to provide your membership number or local chapter President’s name and email.

The Harp Festival schedule and registration information are available at: 10th Anniversary Festival Homepage

As one company likes to say, “Membership has its privileges”. We urge you to take advantage of these two offers today! Don’t miss out on the first Harp Festival or the many other fabulous events that the Bay Area Chapter of the American Harp Society sponsors throughout the year.

Dear Harpists,

You are invited to join Harps Etc. as we celebrate our first 10 years of serving the harp community throughout California and around the world! The time went quickly and thanks to our fantastic customers, it’s been a blast!

Our First Harp Festival will feature world class performers and workshop presenters. See the schedule below and be sure to register today, as space is limited. Come join this festive celebration of music, the harp and YOU, our loyal customers! Just click on the link below to register today!

Yours truly,
Jessica Siegel
Harps Etc.
1601 N. Main Street, Suite 106
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
925-937-4277
800-836-5559

Full Schedule for the Harp Festival at Harps Etc.

May 3 -5, 2013

Register at http://tinyurl.com/harpsetc

FRIDAY, MAY 3

6 pm Reception: Please join us for some light appetizers before the Opening Concert.

8 pm Carlos Reyes in Concert Paraguayan Jazz Harp & Violin. Carlos Reyes was declared a child prodigy in Paraguay at the age of five. He made his debut on the harp with the Oakland Youth Symphony at age 14. Since then he has performed internationally and headlined with stars including Chuck Mangione, Bill Evans and Willie Nelson.

SATURDAY, MAY 4

9 am Continental Breakfast: For full conference and day pass attendees

10 am Harp Maintenance: The Basics and Beyond with Karen Gottlieb, Lyon & Healy and Salvi Certified Harp Technician, and Mike Lewis, The Harp Tech.

Karen Gottlieb, harpist, is an international performer, teacher, lecturer and harp technician. She has performed with the San Francisco Symphony, many headline performers and chamber music ensembles.

Ms. Gottlieb received her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Washington and her Masters from the Cleveland Institute of Music. She is on the faculty of San Francisco State University and Mills College.

Mike Lewis began working at Lyon and Healy as a harp technician in 1989 and left to form HarpTech in 1995. As HarpTech, Mike has traveled all over the United States and internationally working on harps. He is a former columnist for the magazine Harp Column under the title of “What’s the Buzz?” for which he wrote and illustrated what all harpists need to know about their instruments. Mike also repairs, restores and builds harps.

1 pm Master Class with Heidi Lehwalder

“The main thing to tell you about Heidi is that she is simply a genius” -Leonard Bernstein, Nov. 1963.

“If I were forty years younger, I’d take the next plane out West to study with Heidi. She’s got it all, and wants to pass it along all to her students.”– Harpist Susan Miron, Music critic for The Boston Musical Intelligencer and Artsfuse.org.

Heidi Lehwalder has performed as a guest artist with more than 65 orchestras around the world and has collaborated with conductors such as Arthur Fiedler, Charles Dutoit, Erich Leinsdorf and many others. She has served as Professor of the Harp at the College of William and Mary, University of Virginia and University of Washington. Her chamber music duo and trio have toured extensively through the US and Europe. Heidi has recorded for RCA, CRI, Nonesuch and Vanguard and been the director of the Fredricksburg Festival of the Arts in Washington, D.C. for 17 years. Lehwalder is the recipient of a Ford Foundation Grant, a Rockefeller Foundation Grant and the first recipient of the Avery Fisher Prize. Heidi studied under master harpists Carlos Salzedo and Alice Chalifoux. She currently lives in the Los Angeles area.

4:30 pm Harp Circle with Joan Raeburn Holland, Professor of Harp, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and Interlochen Arts Academy.

Joan Raeburn Holland began her harp studies with Eileen Malone in the preparatory department of the Eastman School of Music. Starting at the age of twelve and continuing through college, she studied with Alice Chalifoux. She earned a bachelor’s in harp performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music. Along with her position on the faculty at the University of Michigan,, Professor Holland is resident harpist and instructor of harp at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. She maintains an active career in solo, chamber, and orchestral performing. She is currently principal harpist for the Midland (MI) Symphony Orchestra, co-principal of the Traverse Symphony Orchestra, Traverse City, MI, and principal harp for the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra.

8 pm Harp Concert featuring Meredith Clark. Music by Krumpholz, Tailleferre, Faure, Renie, Caplet and Salzedo. Ms Clark is a powerful, dynamic and multifaceted musician who excels in solo, chamber and orchestral performance. Meredith has quickly established herself in the San Francisco area; having performed as guest principal harpist of the San Francisco Symphony, as well as many other orchestras and groups in Northern California.

She earned the honor of playing principal harpist for the Oberlin Symphony Orchestra in a tour of China in January 2006, as well as in a performance at Carnegie Hall in January 2007 under the direction of Robert Spano. Ms. Clark played for a number of orchestras in Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, and Nebraska while completing her studies with Yolanda Kondonasis.

Meredith was invited to perform the Ginastera Harp Concerto at the famed Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Germany, in April 2009, marking her international solo debut. Also a winner of the Cleveland Institute of Music concerto competition, she performed as a soloist during CIM’s opening orchestra concert of the 2009-2010 year. Meredith has been a prizewinner in the Cynthia Mitchell Woods Young Artist Competition, American String Teachers Association competition, and competed in the International Harp Contest in Israel and the International Harp Competition and Festival in the Netherlands.

In addition to studying with Yolanda Kondonassis, Meredith has studied with the late Alice Chalifoux, Paula Page, Ellen Ritscher, Susan Pejovich, and Sydney Howell, as well as performing in master classes with Ann Hobson Pilot, Erika Waardenburg, Joan Holland, and Rebecca Anstine Smith. Meredith Clark is a native of Fort Worth, Texas.

SUNDAY, MAY 5

9 am Continental Breakfast for full conference and day pass attendees

10 am. Healing Harp with Joel Andrews

Joel Andrews is a world renowned harpist, composer, author and pioneer music healer. Few harpists come close to Mr. Andrews’ superb technical mastery of the harp. His 30 CDs are distributed worldwide. Tours to 11 countries have uplifted thousands through concerts. He has been a frequent performer and facilitator at many conferences and has written a book entitled ” A Harp Full of Stars,” chronicling his 28 years as a music healer.

1:30 pm Making Practice Fun Again with Joan Raeburn Holland Bring your practice and performance problems to Professor Holland. Do you have stage fright? Memorization problems? Always make the same mistakes or constantly plagued by new mistakes? Has practicing become a chore? She’ll help you find the fun and solve the mysteries in your music. Be prepared to play during this workshop to find the solutions to what ails you.

4:30 pm Pre-Concert Party with refreshments

6 pm Closing Concert: Bindi Society Featuring an exotic fusion of timbres and disciplines with harp, harmonium, world percussion, marimba, bass and vocals, merging to produce a spiritual and highly energetic musical style.

Harpist Barbara Imhoff is also a composer, and writer. She graduated in harp and piano from UC Santa Barbara where she subsequently taught harp and music theory. She is known for her adventurous artistic endeavors with George Coates and collaborations with Pamela Z, Todd Rundgren and Ronnie Montrose.

HOTEL & ARRIVAL INFORMATION

The easiest arrival is from the San Francisco International Airport. Take the BART train going to Pittsburg/Bay Point and get off in Walnut Creek for Harps Etc. and the Marriot Hotel. Get off in Pleasant Hill for the Holiday Inn Express and Renaissance Hotel. From the Oakland Airport, take the shuttle bus to the Coliseum BART station, take the BART train to Richmond or San Francisco, TRANSFER to a Pittsburg/Bay Point train at the MacArthur Station. Get off in Walnut Creek for Harps Etc. and the Marriot Hotel or in Pleasant Hill for the Holiday Inn Express and Renaissance Hotel.

• Holiday Inn Express: 1-800-972-3165
• Renaissance Hotel: 1-877-274-9900
• Marriot Hotel: (925) 934-2000

Walnut Creek is located at the foot of the majestic Mt. Diablo. The city is a destination well known for its quaint downtown filled with fine dining and shopping. It is 30 minutes from San Francisco and 45 minutes from Napa Valley.

Dear Bay Area Harp Teachers and Harpists,

The Bay Area Chapter of the American Harp Society’s bi-annual student harp competition has been reintroduced under the new name of Yvonne La Mothe Schwager Harp Competition. It will be held on May 26 at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the winners’ recital is scheduled for June 2 at the beautiful Firehouse Arts Center in Pleasanton, a prestigious new venue with a great stage area. I am writing to you today to let you know how these upcoming events can contribute to all:

• by providing opportunity to young harpists and teachers alike
• enhancing the standing of our beloved instrument in the community, and
• enriching the lives of those who will witness the performances

If you are a teacher, please encourage your students to participate and find a way to work with the repertoire choices given to include as many students as possible. The competition is open to all harpists ages 8 to 23. Ideally, partaking in this opportunity allows them to prepare thoroughly for a special performance, and to set and implement goals that will bring out their very best.

If you are a student in this age range, ask your teacher to help you prepare to participate in our local competition and encourage your parents to bring you even from far away to be a part of this exciting experience. If you are a university student studying outside of the area but still officially in residence at your parents’ home within the Western Region, you are welcome to participate as well.

The BAC board believes that organizing this competition is one of the best ways to contribute to our local harp community with the funds our chapter received from the Schwager Estate. Our goal is to give as many people as possible a boost in the development of their talent and to spread the love of the harp. Ultimately the art of music is equally about listening and being heard. Let’s turn the occasion of the competition into a big harpfest that brings us all together.

For details and to download the application for participation, please visit our website at bacharp.org/competitions. All the selections on the competition list are available at Harps, Etc. and can be purchased in person or ordered online. Video demonstrations and score errata and commentaries can be found here. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at dominiquepiana@comcast.net.

Musically yours,

Dominique Piana
President, BACAHS

Dear Bay Area Harpists and Friends,

Welcome to the new BACHARP.org! This new website for the Bay Area Chapter of the American Harp Society offers our members and friends more timely and dynamic information in a clean and easy to navigate format. Use it as a tool to gather and contribute information and to contact us.

Here are some of the interactive features that you can put to good use regarding chapter and/or personal activities and interests:

• Membership: Check out the new interface that makes it easy to join/renew and pay on line.
• Calendar: Let us know about your upcoming events and gigs so we can post for all to see.
• News: Share your stories, adventures in harping and achievements.
• Competition: Find out more about the YVONNE LaMOTHE SCHWAGER COMPETITION FOR YOUNG HARPISTS. Check out the repertoire options and read about the winners of the last competition.
• Classifieds: Have a harp to sell or rent? Let us know and we’ll post your ad.
• Contact: Tell us what else you want from your chapter and from the website, or how you would like to contribute your talents.
• Blog: Stay abreast of the latest news.
• Resources: Find listings regarding harp regulation, stores, societies and other resources.
• Visit often for timely, dynamic and interactive harp news and events.

We’d like to offer special thanks to Jim Ward, our creative web master, for developing this beautiful site, and to Susie Spiwak for her initiative in making it happen.

Please let us know what you think of the new site.

With best wishes,
Dominique Piana