June 2016
Dear BACAHS Members and Friends,
It’s soon to be summer and things are winding down for the harp year. Don’t forget about us, though, and continue to send us any harp happenings that we can post to the calendar and share with the harp community.
We’re coming off of a fantastic year which culminated in our being named “American Harp Society Chapter of the Year for 2015-2016”! We’ll be officially recognized at the 2016 AHS National Conference this month in Atlanta, Georgia. If you’re coming, please join us at the Annual Membership Meeting on June 30 and show your support as BACAHS is awarded a $300 check to be used for future programming.
If you missed our first ever Spring Social in May, you shouldn’t have! In addition to great food and fellowship, we enjoyed a recital by Naomi Hoffmeyer, who played for us pieces she’s prepared for the USA International Harp Competition in Bloomington, IN that starts tomorrow, June 8. Naomi will chronicle her experience on her blog for those who want updates. Good luck Naomi!
Our last event of the season will be a recital by Yuying Chen, winner of the 2015 Israel Harp Contest — the most prestigious competition in the world — coming up June 14. And there are auditor positions still available for the Master Class she will be presenting the following day in Hillsborough. Please see coming events for ticket details for both events.
Our Member Spotlight this month features Ellis Schuman, much lauded teacher, composer and arranger of harp and piano music, and longtime associate of our chapter, whose works have been published and widely performed for many years.
Thank you to all who helped make this an exemplary year. And consider joining us on the board as we plan for the next start-studded season!
Until then, have a great summer!
—Happy Harping,
Alice Yothers and Susie Spiwak
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Ellis Schuman—reprinted with permission
Versatility has highlighted the long music career of Ellis Schuman. Now retired from teaching, he continues to create a legacy of original compositions and harp arrangements, many of which are published and widely performed. Major performances of his chamber music and choral works were included in concerts at the Tanglewood Music Center, WNYC-FM in New York City and by the New Century Chamber Orchestra of San Francisco.
Born in Chicago in 1931, he received his early education there and continued his studies earning degrees in music with honors from Roosevelt University and Ohio University. He studied composition with the Czech composer Karel Bareslav Jirak and the noted Hungarian composer Ernst von Dohnanyi. Advanced piano study included master classes with Rudolph Ganz, Maurice Dumesnil and Rosalyn Tureck. His harp teachers include Marie Ludwig Giordano of Chicago, Mildred Dilling at the University of California, Los Angeles and Lynne Wainwright Palmer of Seattle.
Ellis Schuman was harpist/pianist with the Musica Viva Quintet of Chicago and harpsichordist with the touring Baroque Repertory Ensemble. The first active Chicago Chapter of the American Harp Society was organized by Mr. Schuman and elected him its president in 1969. The chapter sponsored student recitals and enjoyed a large membership. The chapter soon honored the eminent and active Chicago area harp teachers Marie Ludwig Giordano and Alberto Salvi on a special program of tribute at Lyon & Healy.
Mr. Schuman developed the first music major course of study for the Chicago Board of Education and was chairman of the Advanced Placement Music Committee for the Gifted Program. He was recipient of the Kate Maremont Teacher Award in 1978 for his innovative accomplishments. He returned to Roosevelt University for several years as lecturer in harp at the prestigious Chicago College of Performing Arts.
In 1984 Mr. Schuman moved to San Francisco and became associated with the Music Center of San Francisco as a teacher of harp, piano and composition. He was elected Vice President of the Bay Area Chapter of the American Harp Society soon after his move.
Ellis Schuman’s life and work was the subject of an interview in the Summer 2005 issue of the American Harp Journal. In 2008 he received the Harold Washington Professional Achievement Alumni Award presented by Roosevelt University. His Prelude for the Harp is scheduled for publication by the Lyra Music Company. Editions are distributed by Vanderbilt Music Company of Bloomington, Indiana.
MEET THE ARTIST: YuYing Chen
Ms. Chen will perform at the Peninsula JCC on June 14 (see Upcoming Events for details), is the Principal Harpist of the Shanghai Philharmonic and was born in Shanghai, China. She started playing piano at three and at the age of 9 she began her studies with Li Duo Zhang at the middle school affiliated to Shanghai Conservatory of Music and later with Professor Xiao Jie Zhang (Jason Chang) at Shanghai Conservatory of Music. She also took classes with Willi Postma, Isabelle Perrin, Carrol McLaughlin, Xavier de Maistre, Jana Bouskova, Helga Stork and Elisabeth Fontan-Binoche during her study at the Conservatory. In 2005 she was featured on the “Focus on Youth” program at World Harp Congress in Dublin. YuYing was the winner of the ‘Concours International de Harpe 2006, an International Harp competition hosted at the Ville de Lille in France as well as the First Prize Winner of the 19th Israel International Harp Contest.
Read the interview with Yuying Chen in Harp Column.
UPCOMING EVENTS
On June 14 and 15, the Northern California harp community is honored to welcome Yuying Chen, 2015 First Prize Winner of the most prestigious harp competition in the world, the 19th Israel International Harp Contest. Ms. Chen will perform a recital at the Peninsula Jewish Community Center in Foster City and master class in a private home in Hillsborough. These performances are presented by the Bay Area and Silicon Valley Chapters of the American Harp Society.
Attend one or both events to experience internationally acclaimed harp performance and teaching. Space is limited so sign up now. Participation in the master class is already sold out although there is still room for auditors. 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 auditors—participant registrations are sold out. For more information and to register visit coming events at bacharp.org.
MEMBER NEWS
Welcome new member Amelia Romano, who takes the path less travelled. Her newest album, “New Perspectives,” is a testament to that. This album offers a fresh take on the electric harp, featuring her compositions and arrangements of Latin and contemporary music, drawing from her time living in Cape Town, South Africa, her passion for social and environmental justice, and the people and events that inspire her creative process. The album includes several tracks with vocals and features over a dozen Bay Area musicians.
For a Compact Disc of “New Perspectives” click here, and you’ll be directed to PayPal. Include your address in the note portion and you’ll receive the CD in the mail.
CALENDAR
Carla Fabris is performing Harp/Flute/Soprano concert if you’d like to check it out!
Tuesday, June 7th, 8 pm @ San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Sunday, June 12th, 5 pm @ Westside Art House, 540 Balboa at 7th Avenue, San Francisco
Program includes: Ariel’s Hail – Kaija Saariaho;** Belief – Elliott James-Ginn Encarnación; Elegie – Jules Massenet;**une ariette oubliée – Elliott James-Ginn Encarnación; A Gershwin Sampler – George & Ira Gershwin
**world premieres
Save the Date—November 11-13, 2016: The Camac Harp Festival will be in Pasadena, CA. All events are free subject to registration. For more information download the flyer. To reserve your space, contact Carolyn Sykes, owner, Pacific Harps; 626-791-6262; carolyn@pacificharps.com; www.pacificharps.com
MEMBERSHIP
Thank you to all who have joined the chapter or renewed your membership in BACAHS. Please join or renew now for 2016-2017. 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. The Chapter serves to meet the need to share information, promote and foster an appreciation of the harp as a musical instrument in the Bay Area, and further harp education at all levels. Your support enables continued sponsorship of harp programs and master classes. Visit BACHARP.org/membership. The Bay Area Chapter of the American Harp Society is a 501(c)3 corporation and, as such, both membership dues and all donations are tax-deductible, to the full extent allowed by law.