“Narrow Your Focus. Expand Your Horizon.” The Somerset Folk Harp Festival Motto.
“Narrow Your Focus. Expand Your Horizon.” The Somerset Folk Harp Festival Motto
(This story was written in July of 2019)
This will be my 10th year working as the concert manager at the Somerset Folk Harp Festival. I am grateful to Kathy DeAngelo, the festival director, my harp teacher, and friend, for taking me under her wing. I have been given the opportunity to meet so many wonderful musicians from around the world and to learn from them. The harp has opened up so many doors for me, and this festival is like a second home.
The Somerset Folk Harp Festival started in 2001 under the direction of Gerry Serviente. It used to take place in, Somerset, NJ, hence the name. Kathy DeAngelo was the original concert manager at the festival before taking over as festival director in 2008, and I was asked to take over as concert manager in 2009.
The Somerset Folk Harp Festival is a four day festival with over 120 harp-related workshops; everything from “So, you always wanted to play the harp?”, beginner to advanced classes, build-your-own harp workshops, jazz harp, historical harp, Paraguayan harp, and more. All of the harps are non-pedal harps.
What do I mean by “non-pedal harps”? The concert harp that most people know from orchestras has mechanical pedals to change the pitch of the strings. On the lever harp, there are individual levers on the neck of the harp for each note. Some harps have levers on every note and some are partially levered.
The harp goes back thousands of years, and a version of the harp can be found in almost every corner of the globe. It is believed that some of the earliest harps were based on the hunting bow. The Sumerian Harp of Ur is believed to date back to c. 3500 B.C.E. whereas the concert harp, which many people are used to seeing in orchestras, is actually a much more recent invention. The pedal harp was invented in the early 18th century. So this festival’s goal is to highlight the world of the non-pedal harp.
The lever harp comes in all shapes and sizes, and the music it produces is as varied as Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream flavors. Here’s a list of some of the music covered at the festival:
Irish Traditional music
Scottish Traditional music
Manx music
Celtic music from Brittany
Accompaniment for singing with the harp
Music for healing and transition/music therapy
Cuban music
Paraguayan music
Venezuelan music
Liturgical music
Classical music
Jazz
Blues
Wire-strung harp
Swedish & Nordic music
Electric harp
Medieval harp
Regency Harp
Storytelling with the harp
Contemporary music
Vibroacoustic Harp Therapy
Folk Dances
And more
The Youth Harp Orchestra
The Youth Harp Orchestra is a wonderful program at the festival. The YHO gives students ages 6-18 the opportunity to learn as a group. Beginners to advanced are welcome. The students gather on Thursday of the festival and work with Dominique Dodge to learn tunes that are performed at the Sunday morning concert. I have watched this program grow exponentially over the years. Scholarships are available.
The Exhibit Hall
The first time I walked into the Exhibitor Hall at Somerset, I probably had to scrape my jaw from off of the floor. Picture hundreds of harps on display. Hundreds. Of. Harps. Harps from all over the world that you can try out and even take home. That’s where I found my first harp. It kept calling to me. You’ll know when the right harp chooses you. Oh, and did I forget to mention that you get to meet the luthiers who make most of the harps? They are so passionate about what they do and are thrilled to talk to you about their creations.
The Harp Tasting
So, you walked through this hall of wonder with harps playing all around you, and now you are really confused about which harp you like best. The festival has two “harp tastings” to help you out. Basically what happens is we bring in a number of harps from different luthiers and set them up on stage, and the audience sits with their backs to the stage. You are given sheets with different questions so you can write down your impressions of the harps. The idea is that you get to hear the harps without knowing the make or model. You may find you love a harp by a maker that you never looked at before. You might find that you really do love the harp that you’ve been looking at all day.
Concerts:
Lunchtime Concerts
Now we’re on my turf, talking about the concerts at the festival. There are two lunchtime concerts one on Friday and one on Saturday, so you can listen to some lovely music while having a snack. This year we welcome The Bedside Harp Ensemble, The Cicely Tyson Harp Ensemble, under the direction of the amazing Robbin Gordon-Cartier (check out Robbin’s workshops; She is an amazing and caring teacher and makes learning so much fun and her students are incredible), The Scottish Harp Society of America, and The Heart of God Harpers.
Each group plays a variety of music, from classical to jazz to traditional and everything in between.
Evening Concerts
I like to think of the evening concerts as the cornerstone of the festival. It is the place where the festival goers, presenters, performers, and staff get to spend time together. It’s where friends meet up with each other and share stories about what they have learned in their workshops. It’s a time in the day to unwind, enjoy, and be inspired. The caliber of artists who perform on the stage at Somerset are some of the most highly regarded musicians of their fields in the world. I am so fortunate to be the concert manager. I get time to get to know these amazing musicians, share stories, share a meal, and to sit in on their sound checks.
I think the best place for you to start to understand these concerts is to check out the Somerset youtube page. I could talk all day about music, but as Martin Mull once said, “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.” Please do yourself a favor and check out the festival’s YouTube page.
We have visitors from all over the world at the festival: China, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Russia and more. So join us for one of the largest festivals of its kind in the world. Every July Kathy and our amazing staff help turn the venue into a harp haven. There is music everywhere and friends coming together to share stories, to create, to learn, and to laugh.
The Somerset Folk Harp Festival
July 18-21 2019