Dear BACAHS Members and Friends,
It is the time of year to join or renew your membership in the Bay Area Chapter of the American Harp Society. The membership year begins September 1 and goes through August 2016. Although you may be a member of the American Harp Society at the National level, we hope you will join the Bay Area Chapter as well.
There are great benefits to being part of the local chapter:
Community: Join a community of people who love to play the harp, some professionally, others for recreation and enrichment.
Meet visiting harpists at concerts, master classes and receptions.
Stay informed of concerts and activities by bay area harpists.
Connect with local harpists.
Find friends for playing ensemble works and networking.
Get involved with local events of interest to harpists.
Visibility: With community comes visibility.
Performing harpists create demand and new opportunities for our beautiful instrument at special occasions and within daily life.
Stay up to date through the monthly newsletter and bacharp.org.
Let others know what you are up to by posting your events on the calendar and sharing through member news.
Support: As a member, your dues, talents and efforts contribute to the overall vitality of the harp community. Dues help to:
Fund Continuing Education, Student Competitions and local events making it more affordable for members and families to attend;
Host world class harpists of all styles from around the world for concerts, master classes and workshops.
Continuing Education: Concerts, master classes and informal salons provide opportunities to learn from professional harpists visiting the Bay Area.
Competition: Our bi-annual regional competition offers students and teachers an opportunity to organize and achieve yearly goals. Students, start practicing now for Spring 2017!
Chapter highlights from 2014-2015 membership year included:
Workshop and Performance by composer, author, educator and Gold Record winner recording artist Alfredo Rolando Ortiz;
Remarkable musician Motoshi Kosako, who educated and wowed with his improvisations and compositions for the harp;
Grammy nominated electric harp virtuoso with a wicked sense of humor, Deborah Henson Conant, who entertained with concerts, group lessons and workshops;
23 young harpists performing for prizes and experience in the bi-annual Yvonne LaMothe Schwager Harp Competition and Winners’ Recital;
And the always anticipated Annual Winter Potluck, where we met and were entertained by Annabelle Taubl, the newly appointed harpist for San Francisco Ballet.
So why wouldn’t you join?
Members and friends will receive the September newsletter in just a few weeks. There will be new features, including a Member Spotlight. Make sure your events, accomplishments, and awards are included. Please send us any upcoming events you have scheduled that you would like included in the newsletter and at bacharp.org. Also, if you have a harp or accessories for sale or rent, please let us know so they can be included in Classified Ads. If you currently have an ad listed on the website, please review it and let us know if you want to add, change or delete any information.
Looking forward to an exciting, entertaining and educational year in the Harp Community.
Happy Harping!