“The Harp is Like a Gem” An interview with Paraguayan harpist Nicolas Carter
“The Harp is Like a Gem”
Music is one of those magical things that can bring people together. It brings people from different backgrounds together to create. Nicolas Carter is a performer, teacher, and storyteller who combines his love of the Paraguayan harp with storytelling to give back to the world.
The Arts Are Essential
Nicolas and I discuss how the arts and how they are being utilized to help deal with what is going on in the world and how more harmony is being created. Nicolas was born in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area of Minnesota and started his music career there after growing up in Paraguay. Some of our conversation does touch on the unrest in the world and how he and I hope that some good will come out of the protests to create a more just world. He believes that music, and especially the harp, will help people to communicate and heal.
A bridging of two different worlds North and South America
“It’s [The Paraguayan Harp] something from Latin America that is beautiful and wonderful. And so, what brings people to love somebody else is what do they do that is beautiful and wonderful? This is what the Paraguayans, their history, they gave a lot of importance to doing this, playing the harp. "
-Nicolas Carter
Nicolas was moved when I said that he was an ambassador for Paraguay and the harp. His parents were missionaries in Paraguay and he believes that they shared the best of the United States with the people of Paraguay and he hopes to do the same
“There’s a family of people that have devoted energy, enthusiasm, passion to developing this harp, this instrument. So I am sharing that love, that excitement, that passion from that group of people to this group of people here. It’s bringing the best of Paraguay to the United States. “
-Nicolas Carter
“Latin American people and music bring joy to the world.”
On Teaching at the Somerset Folk Harp Festival
“It’s one of a kind in all that it has to offer.”
“If you want to expand ways we think about the harp, ways we think about rhythm and how we learn, these are great introductory classes.”
The Power of Music
There’s a world that’s starving for making music together. Gathering around the bonfire telling stories in community. Happiness has to come from within. In many ways it’s the purpose of my life. We want to bring what’s the best in all of us.
Nicolas’ Website
Nicolas’ Workshops at The Somerset Folk Harp Festival