Along with playing for the world premiere of the New Horizons African Ballet, I was asked to present a workshop on the harp to the students of the Musical Society of Nigeria.
I played a few harp solos for them, including a personal favorite of mine – Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” – and they started singing along! I love how music crosses cultural and geographic boundaries.
We talked about the construction of the harp, and how my lever harp differs from a pedal harp (and how I didn’t want to risk getting a pedal harp through customs in Lagos!), the history of the instrument, and how I got my start as a professional harpist and music teacher. The students asked insightful questions, and even got to try out the harp for themselves (and snap a few selfies).
If you are in Lagos, be sure to attend the performance on May 28th! You’ll hear the Musical Society of Nigeria orchestra perform for the African ballet, as well as a vocal soloist and some Celtic harp solos as well.
