Dealing with Light Bulbs:
Review of the Lyon and Healy International Jazz and Pop Harp Fest
By Megan M. Metheney
Published by Harp Column magazine, September 2007

What can YOU do with the 12 notes of the scale and the 7 pedals of the harp? What about 12 notes, levers, and your own voice?

The answers to those questions are countless. And those answers only create more questions and ideas. That was the beauty of the Lyon and Healy International Jazz & Pop Harpfest held August 1-4 in Salt Lake City, Utah. 90 participants and 17 instructor/performers came together from all corners of the globe at Westminster College in the name of this exotic thing called “pop and jazz harp.” Some were pros. Some were “dabblers” looking to workshop their ideas. Some came simply because they were thinking of dabbling.

Since its debut in 1978, the Harpfest has never been just a series of lectures, concerts, and a competition; it is a coming-together of harpists seeking to push the boundaries of their music, to find their own voice in expression, and to expand the palette of the harp world as we know it. This conference is among the most important harp gatherings, in my opinion, because it puts the instrument of the harp up for discussion and demonstration about its new pathways and new territory in the music world. It is an opportunity to show up with one's own ideas and to be a sponge to the whole environment. I was certainly soaked by the end of the weekend!

As a participant, you go through a single day of workshops and concerts, and you've seen a full gamut of harp ness. You see a performance or sit in on a workshop and shake your head in disbelief, thinking to yourself, “This lady's NUTS! I can't wait to go home and try that myself.” You've got Maeve Gilchrest in one room totally jamming out to a tune she wrote that knits her voice into the eclectic colors coming out of the strings. Then there's John Metras over in one room tearing it up on the cross strung harp playing Jobim rumbas and James Bond. In the other corner is Cynthia Douglass with her intriguing work, resources, and ideas on Middle Eastern music. Then there's Christina Braga who comes onto stage barefoot and plays from her passionate Brazilian heart directly into ours.

And it wasn't just about ripping it up on the strings! It was an opportunity to try out the sweet electric harps by Lyon and Healy, to get a massage, to make your own demo recording, work on ideas for your website, and to talk with the pros about making a living as a harpist.

There were a few underlying themes that seemed to be in the air. The first was that above all else in this harp world of ours, Classical or otherwise, you've got to BE YOURSELF. That's rule number one. Of course, you'll have influences and idols and mentors. Of course you'll want to “steal” licks and ideas from “the greats.” And that is encouraged! But from day one in your harp life, you've got to make your playing and image your own.

At the Harpfest, I loved being around people with varied backgrounds who that took what they knew from their upbringing and education and then tailored it to make it their totally unique style. Carrol McLaughlin's got her ragtime tunes with enough pedal slides to go around (she grew up around her dad's bugle band). Christine Van Arsdale jammed out to a banjo tune on two harps at the same time (she's got a Southern boyfriend). Phala Tracy walks down the street while songs and crazy lyrical tunes seem to just spew out of her (her dad's a banjo player and her mom's a linguist.) They've all got their loves and the things they know best, and they sculpt their harp playing into their own beautiful art piece.

Another underlying theme was that if you want to be a jazzer, you've got to be a geek. Or at least be able to hang with the geeks. You've got to do your time in the practice room, or the laboratory, as Park Stickney puts it. The nerdier you are about knowing and getting giddy about chords and music theory, the more freedom you'll have in learning, arranging, and improving pop and jazz music.

The third concept that seemed to hit home was that as a pop/ jazz/ improv/ etc harpist (or any musician for that matter), it is so important to listen. Listen to music you like and want to play. Listen to other harpists. Listen to the great names in jazz and pop, or whatever other genres you dig. Treat it with the same importance as sitting down behind the harp to practice. When you listen, try to figure that music out. Transcribe. Analyze. Dance. Absorb.

As for the competition, wow! If anyone might be considering entering on the next go round, I would definitely say to go for it. I'm very glad that I did. The judges' written comments alone were worth it for me. When else would I have 5 of my harp idols sitting with a pen, paper and my undivided attention? The feedback was priceless. And the whole environment was so clean and well organized; it was set up so that all of us could play our best (plenty of practice rooms, harps, warm-up time, etc) with the most positive experience possible.

On the panel were Monika Stadler, Kim Rowe, Park Stickney, Lori Andrews, Felice Pomeranz, and Mariano Gonzales. Prizewinners in the pedal harp division were Rizpah Lowe (TX), Motoshi Kosako (Japan/ CA), and Virginia Rogers (WI). From the lever division, the winners were Maeve Gilchrist (Scotland/ NY), Christine Van Arsdale (NC), and Laurie Rasmussen (CA). Bravo and congratulations!

So, thank you Harpfest. Thank you ShruDeLi Ownbey and Lyon and Healy West for creating an environment so well organized that we were able to deal with nothing but the light bulbs that kept going off in our heads. Thank you for whacking the harp with a spatula, Phala Tracey. Thank you for wearing those boots, Rizpah Lowe. Thank you Carol Robbins, Park Stickney, Lori Andrews, and Bart Samolis for letting your theory geek ness inspire the geek in me. Thanks for bending my 4ths and sharping my 9ths! Thank you to people like Felice Pomeranz, who played an energetic and top notch concert one night but was so eager to listen and sit in on all the rest of the artists performing and giving workshops. Thank you, Mariano Gonzalez, for your contagious smile. Thank you to all who were there, for your conversation, your encouragement, and your inspiration!

See you in 2010.