Winter 1999
Newsletter
Internet edition
©1999 FHF
Winter 1999
Newsletter
Internet edition
©1999 FHF
We asked members who joined during 1999 to answer a few questions about their experiences with the harp. The following members were kind enough to share their thoughts.
Boyd Dolan:
I started playing harp because... I fell in love with the sound it produced. My greatest thrill with the harp is... bringing pleasure to those who are listening. If I had to do this again I would... have started to learn the harp earlier in life. My advice to a budding harper is... practice,practice,practice and thumbs up.
My wife, Beth, and I play harp and flute at many occasions. I'm employed at St.Timothy Catholic Church (Lady Lake) as the worship director. I taught music education in the PA public schools for 30 yrs. Beth and I have three children and seven grandchildren.
Vicki Erhardt:
I started playing the harp because music is a wonderful discipline, and is good for the mind. I have played the organ since I was 8 years old. As a child, I saw a fabulous harp in the music store where I took organ lessons and I guess the desire has been there ever since. When the organ stopped functioning, I found I really missed playing music. The desire to play the harp was rekindled, just prior to LSO season, when I saw the article in the newspaper for harpists to give a concert, and also finding out that there were excellent teachers in this area.
My greatest thrill with the harp was when it arrived at my home! My funniest memory with the harp was trying to play my new untuned harp with hopelessly fashionable nails and realizing that it wasn't going to be easy to turn the horizontal keyboard I was used to, into a vertical plane! If I had to do this again I would have started before my 50's!
My advice to a budding harper is practice, practice, practice, and not take any other advice from another budding harper! I'm a mother of 1, grandmother of 2, with one more due in January. I work full time as a nurse anesthetist in Daytona Beach, sing in the church choir, and love recumbent bicycling. I'm happy to be a member of FHF.
The President's Perspective - Bambi Fischer
It has been an active fall and for me, teaching school, giving lessons and harp jobs occupy most of my time. On the plus side, my fingers are really toughening up! :)
At present, all is going well with the club's on-line meetings, web site, the newly completed shirts and bags, and the upcoming workshop. As we look forward to the exciting holidays and to the unique year of 2000, I hope everyone will have time to reflect on the true meaning of these holidays and the endless opportunities in the wonderful year before us. We are truly blessed.
Your Acting President, Bambi
From the Desk of the Secretary - Caren Traynor
The past three months of our on-line board meetings have included much discussion and votes regarding the ads, sponsors, distribution and cost of the FHF Tune Book, T-shits and bags which will be available by the Jan. workshop. Marg and Melody reported to us that because FHF did not fit into any existing category for a state sales tax exemption, we were denied that benefit, BUT we were approved to solicit donations for items that we wish to distribute.
Since the printing of the Sept. Newsletter our editor, Frank Sledge, has resigned. On behalf of the board and all our members, we thank Frank for his help this year and also thank Marg for coming to the rescue to get this Newsletter printed and mailed. A special thanks to Vicki Mansur who has accepted the nomination and has been voted to be our new editor in the year 2000!
Respectively Submitted - Caren Traynor, Sec.
The publication date is rapidly approaching and the book is reaching completion on schedule. By the time you read this the music, ads, and supplemental information should be entered into the computer and the final formatting begun. My goal is a finished product by the end of the year. At this time it is really too late to add new song suggestions. I do want to thank those who assisted in compiling the material, and especially Melody Anglin for working on the ads and locating the music I didn't have.
Our Club shirts and bags have arrived and will be available at the Annual Workshop in January. The shirts are white cotton with the blue FHF logo. The bags are blue canvas with the FHF logo in white. Many thanks to Barbara Mullen for locating a screen printer, working on the color scheme and design, obtaining the logo from Melody, and transporting the order to the workshop.
The club is financially stable and activity relatively non-existant at the moment. Our busy time is the workshop when membership fees are due and we have Workshop income and outgo. We have applied for a sales tax number for processing the shirts, bags, and tune books.
Club Assets:
$2726.11 bank balance, the result of previous workshops.
$536.00 shirt and bag inventory.
Don't forget to renew your membership as all memberships expire on January 31st.
Harper's Lead Jam in Barberville - November 6-7, 1999
The Barberville Folk Festival, near Deland, has become an annual event for FHF members. This was our 6th year hosting a harpers & friends jam session and as always variety reigned supreme. The "friends" outnumbered the harpers Chris Purdy and Marg Chauvin. Our friends were Alyna Rule (bodran &fiddle), Pat (keyboard), Marty (fiddle), a story teller/vocalist who joined us for a song and new harper, Barb Linser, and husband Paul (guitarist) our permanent cheering section. This year's jam was not as professional or harp dominated as other years but the experience and sharing were wonderful.
Since most members were from the surrounding area there was a constant stream of "Hello - sounds great". We had to stop frequently for audience questions, participation, greetings, and of course to regroup. As with all harp jams there were plenty of questions about the difficulty of the harp, children checking out the strings, and the eternal question "what is that instrument?".
One of the delights of the jam was our storyteller/singer. She flattered us by weaving a story about our performance at the Will McLean Folk Festival in 1996. It was obvious why she is a storyteller - the image was better than either Chris or I recalled. But her powers must be real because we are considering another jam at the 2000 Will McLean festival.
So, expect a call next year from Chris or me. We will be recruiting more harpers to even out the numbers. Contact me if you are interested in harp jams at folk festivals. Marg Chauvin (561) 624-4896 or chauvin_m@hotmail.com
Bambi Fischer's Harp Happenings in Fort Meyers/Tampa
October was a busy month for the president, Bambi Fischer. She presented the Not-So-Famous, Famous Harpists program to the harp students of Gayle Ossip's in Tampa, Florida. Once again the program was a hit and the closet harper Thomas Jefferson is gaining respect for his gourmet pallet in music.
Next Bambi teamed with Lynn Painter (flutist) to perform at the grand opening of the new Books-A-Million in Fort Myers. Not being content, Bambi changed venues and flutists to play with Lucille Foster at a Goodwill Industries Appreciation Banquet. This was followed by a crescendo at the Hallmark Christmas Open House at The Commons Shopping Plaza where she paired with daughter Barbara and Lynn Painter (again).
December 5:
First Annual Florida Artists Holiday Concert, Clearwater.
December 18:
Lake County Folk Club, jam & social. Cathy (352) 589-4754
January 14-16:
South Florida Folk Festival, Ft. Lauderdale (800) 785-8924 www.southfloridafolkfest.com
SW Florida Song Writers' Festival, Ft. Meyers, try www.foff.org
January 21-23:
4th FHF Workshop, see insert
February 26:
Scottish Harp Competition/Workshop, Jacksonville. Nancy Crawford (904) 246-6957 www.jshg.org
February 26-27:
MHTP Training, Tampa. www.mhtp.org
Scottish Harp Competition - Jacksonville Scottish Highland Games
February 26, 2000
Schedule of Events:
· Circle 9-10 AM
· Workshop 10 AM to noon
· Competition 1PM
· Circle to follow
Pat Talbert, Celtic harper, is the Judge & Workshop teacher.
Contact Nancy Crawford, (904) 246-6957
or Marg Chauvin (561) 624-4896 Chauvin_m@hotmail.com
March 11:
Deborah Henson-Conant Concert, Orlando (407-896-6700)
April 14:
Deborah Henson-Conant Concert, Jacksonville (904-354-5547)
May 26-28:
48th Florida Folk Festival, White Springs, FL
July 11-16:
ISFHC HarpCon 2000, Monterey CA. (408) 374-1042 www.harpcon2000.com
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