Saturday, June 22 I will be giving workshops at “Lark Music Presents Anne Sullivan’s Harp Mastery.” I am very excited about this first-time ever event. I will be able to share some of the valuable things I learned from my teachers and from my own years of teaching privately and at the Curtis Institute of Music. And I am especially looking forward to meeting many of you and...

©iStockphoto.com/Kameel

I love practicing in the summer. I always feel motivated, relaxed and inspired.

It all started the first year I went to harp camp in Camden, Maine. I had never had a daily schedule that was completely my own. I could spend the day however I chose, and the most important thing only my daily agenda was practicing and lots of...

We all have them from time to time, an epic fail in a performance. Whether it’s a memory slip you can’t recover from or a glaring error that cuts to the core, you wish that the floor would open up and swallow you whole. The first installment of this two-part blog post showed you how to move forward and get your groove back if this should happen to you. This second part will show you...

          ©iStockphoto.com/Joan Kimball

We all have them from time to time, an epic fail in a performance. Whether it’s a memory slip you can’t recover from or a glaring error that cuts us to the core, you wish that the floor would open up and swallow you whole. This first installment of a two-part blog post will show...

This is an “odds and ends” sort of post with some important news, some blog post updates and a couple of quotes to motivate you.

Practice, which some regard as a chore, should be approached as just about the most pleasant recreation ever devised.
– Babe Didrikson Zaharias, American athlete (1911-1956)

Post Update: Lawrence had a great addition to the Schubert Ave Maria blog...

     © Brian Santa Maria iStockphoto

Not long ago, I played a contemporary cantata at a church. The piece had an uncomplicated harp part, and I settled myself comfortably for an easy rehearsal. My first entrance was a simple glissando upsweep, and as I played it, I got the little electric thrill I always get when I play a glissando....

It’s wedding season again, and time to dust off all the tried and true ceremony music, from the Pachelbel Canon in D to the Mendelssohn Wedding March. And surely at least once this season, there will be the beloved Schubert Ave Maria.

I have always considered this an interesting wedding selection. Without question the music is sublime, and it makes a lovely setting for the medieval Latin...

This post was inspired by Kim Rowe’s May 18 blog post on the Harp Column website.

No, I was NOT asked to give a commencement address to music school graduates. But if I were asked, this is what I would say in 500 words:

Dear New Music Graduates, Congratulations! You are about to embark on the exciting adventure known as a career in music. Don’t listen to those who tell you that the...

Wouldn’t it be nice if you had some music you could just sit down and play?

Like most young music students, I learned to hate when my parents had visitors. The reason? I knew I would be asked to play for them. I used to protest that my pieces weren’t ready. My parents countered with, “What about that piece you learned last month?” Unfortunately, I’d already...

A painting is never finished – it simply stops in interesting places. – Paul Gardner, arts writer

I heard this quoted at a university commencement ceremony this week. The speaker was making the usual point about the ceremony marking the beginning of a new life phase, not merely the end of school. Absolutely true.

But how many times...