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Welcome
The Santa Clara Valley Chapter has about 75 member harpists located in Silicon Valley, in the South Bay Area of San Francisco. We range from professional solo and/or orchestral harpists to amateurs who simply enjoy playing the harp. We have members of all ages, levels, and motivations, including pedal, lever, and folk harpists.
Regular Chapter meetings include “Harp Live” sessions in which chapter members are invited to bring their favorite pieces to share or play for the group. Some sessions are dedicated to solo playing and others to ensembles such as harp duets or chamber ensemble pieces. We strive to present a wide variety of concert artists to inspire and educate our members. We also sponsor workshops to help our members increase their harp knowledge and proficiency on such topics as arranging and improvisation, stage fright, or the healing properties of harp music. We usually have 3-4 main events each year, plus Harp Live sessions. Ideas are always welcome.
We are affiliated with the American Harp Society (AHS) which has over fifty chapters throughout the United States. Grown from the needs of harpists - performers, teachers, and pupils - the American Harp Society is a non profit corporation. Founded in 1962, the Society now has over 3000 members. The Society aims to promote and educate its members and the general public about the harp and its music. It encourages composition for the harp and aims to showcase the finest performers on the instrument in the world today.
The Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the AHS is also a member of the Silicon Valley Arts Coalition (SVAC), whose mission is to increase visibility through the media and to expand audiences for arts organizations with small budgets. The membership includes theater companies, many musical groups and others.
Next Chapter Event
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Deborah Henson-Conant
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March 15, Sunday, An Afternoon with Deborah Henson-Conant Tentative schedule:2:00 Baroque Flamenco Hands on workshop for harpists (lever and pedal). Learn the basic techniques in Deborah Henson-Conant's innovative showpiece for harp. The cost is $15 for members, $20 for non-members (in advance). The sheet music for “Baroque Flamenco” can be purchased on Deborah’s website: www.hipharp.com/ccorder.html. When you RSVP, ask Janet for the discount code to purchase not only the sheet music, but also the DVD and CD that include "Baroque Flamenco". Deborah will also be posting a single sheet for the workshop that people can download (for free) from her website, but not until about a week before the workshop. 4:30 Strings of Passion Deborah will talk about her life, her work and the development of "HipHarp". The cost is $15 in advance, and $20 at the door. 6:00 Open reception RSVP to Janet Hamm at (408) 866-6438 or jhammeez@hotmail.com by Thursday, March 12, 2009. If you would like to attend this event but find the cost prohibitive, please contact Linda Rollo (the major sponsor of this event) at 408-395-4327 or LWRollo@gmail.com as scholarships may be available. Deborah Henson-Conant is best known for her high-energy performances that blur the line between concert and theatrical event. She’s a Grammy-Nominated recording artist and star of her own Public Television special, “Invention & Alchemy”, with 80-piece orchestra. She sings and plays the harp, with a theatrical narrative of storytelling and humor. She performs solo concerts and One-Woman Shows – and also appears frequently as a featured guest with orchestras, performing her original music. Her symphonic performance is captured in the award-winning 2006 CD & DVD “Invention & Alchemy”. She has been described as “the wild woman of the harp” by bandleader Doc Severinsen and “a cross between Leonard Bernstein, Steven Tyler and Xena, the Warrior Princess” by the Boston Globe. Her playing ranges from full-out bluesy to delicate ballads in a genre she describes as “Blues-Flamenco-Celtic-Funk-Folk-Jazz-Musical-Theatre.” Her audiences cross generation, gender and genre. Henson-Conant has revolutionized her instrument. She’s brought vibrant passion and individuality to its sound – and in the process she herself has been transformed. Her work is an exploration of possibilities – a transformation that moves her audience out of the ordinary and into the extraordinary. Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1710 Moorpark Avenue, corner of Moorpark and Leigh, San Jose, CA 95128 |
