A single harp sounds beautiful. Its strings echo gracefully sharp notes that stick in your ears like no other noise.
Jill Connor / The Citizen
The Tiffany Harp Ensemble members, top left, Nancy Prosser, Chris Molloy, Chris Komar, Deborah Geer and Sherj DeSantis; bottom row, Janet Correll, Janet Cuthbert, and the youngest member, Lily Nelson, 10, sit with a Lever harp at Geer's home in Auburn. The newly formed group meets monthly to rehearse.
The Tiffany Harp Ensemble members, top left, Nancy Prosser, Chris Molloy, Chris Komar, Deborah Geer and Sherj DeSantis; bottom row, Janet Correll, Janet Cuthbert, and the youngest member, Lily Nelson, 10, sit with a Lever harp at Geer's home in Auburn. The newly formed group meets monthly to rehearse.
But 10 harps together?
“There's a real orchestral breadth of sound there,” said Deborah Geer, a member of Auburn's Tiffany Harp Ensemble.
Formed in October 2007, the ensemble brings together multiple harpists to make a sound that greatly enriches that of a single harp. The group took its name from the style of stained glass in the Willard Memorial Chapel as a nod to its Auburn home.
The group meets once a month at Community Computer Services on Hulbert Street and consists of harpists of all ages and callings, from a 10-year-old to a retired college professor. They came together mostly through word-of-mouth to practice Celtic, classical, folk and other styles of music.
“Harpists tend to drift together,” Geer said.
The ensemble meets in a relaxed setting that emphasizes learning and skill-building. Some members impart their deeper experience with the harp to newer players. Others bring in new compositions for their fellow harpists to learn.
“Some are learning the basics, others have been playing for a long time,” Geer said.
Geer began playing the harp about 10 years ago, when her son, then 12, started.
“Once we got a harp in the house I couldn't leave it alone,” she said.
Geer praises the instrument's capacity for calming her following her stressful days as a general surgeon. With membership in the Tiffany Harp Ensemble open, she hopes the instrument's natural appeal and accessibility will lead many members to join the ensemble in the future.
“The harp is a beautiful instrument to play, you can not be proficient and still sound very beautifully,” Geer said. “You can play simple things, and it's therapeutic.”
The Tiffany Harp Ensemble is planning its first live performances in the fall, culminating in a Christmas concert at the Church of the Nazarene in Auburn. Although they plan to continue as an all-harp ensemble, Geer is open to the possibility of performing with other instruments in the fold. She is also hopeful for a performance in the historic place that gave the group its name.
“That's one venue we hopefully can play in,” Geer said.
Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
“There's a real orchestral breadth of sound there,” said Deborah Geer, a member of Auburn's Tiffany Harp Ensemble.
Formed in October 2007, the ensemble brings together multiple harpists to make a sound that greatly enriches that of a single harp. The group took its name from the style of stained glass in the Willard Memorial Chapel as a nod to its Auburn home.
The group meets once a month at Community Computer Services on Hulbert Street and consists of harpists of all ages and callings, from a 10-year-old to a retired college professor. They came together mostly through word-of-mouth to practice Celtic, classical, folk and other styles of music.
“Harpists tend to drift together,” Geer said.
The ensemble meets in a relaxed setting that emphasizes learning and skill-building. Some members impart their deeper experience with the harp to newer players. Others bring in new compositions for their fellow harpists to learn.
“Some are learning the basics, others have been playing for a long time,” Geer said.
Geer began playing the harp about 10 years ago, when her son, then 12, started.
“Once we got a harp in the house I couldn't leave it alone,” she said.
Geer praises the instrument's capacity for calming her following her stressful days as a general surgeon. With membership in the Tiffany Harp Ensemble open, she hopes the instrument's natural appeal and accessibility will lead many members to join the ensemble in the future.
“The harp is a beautiful instrument to play, you can not be proficient and still sound very beautifully,” Geer said. “You can play simple things, and it's therapeutic.”
The Tiffany Harp Ensemble is planning its first live performances in the fall, culminating in a Christmas concert at the Church of the Nazarene in Auburn. Although they plan to continue as an all-harp ensemble, Geer is open to the possibility of performing with other instruments in the fold. She is also hopeful for a performance in the historic place that gave the group its name.
“That's one venue we hopefully can play in,” Geer said.
Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
Citizen
Hot Jobs
New! Off the Menu
The Citizens' Say
Post your comment - click hereThere are No comments posted.