Steve Invites Himself To Dinner

The first time I went to the Somerset Folk Harp Festival, I met up with my friend Misha O'Hanlan. He was already friends with Timothy Habinski, so he was planning on eating dinner with Timothy and several other harp vendors. I got to tag along, and I've had a blast each time. So this year, as soon as I said proper hellos, I asked Timothy if I could join him for dinner. Timothy always scouts up some great Indian food, and he did so again this year. He is sitting beside Liza, who is a harpist, flutist, and harp technician who is certified to regulate and service Camac, Lyon and Healy, Salvi, and other prominent orchestral pedal harps and lever harps..

Mike Playing His Sligo Harp

Mike is sooooo lucky. His wife really understands him. She brought this harp home to him. Surprise! It is a beauty and it is exactly what he wanted. It plays great and sounds great. Mike's a lucky guy.

Sligo Harps at the Somerset Folk Harp Festival

Rick Kemper is the builder of Sligo Harps. In just about 10 years he has gone from novice harp builder to master harp luthier. There was a time when Larry Fisher was having Rick construct the shells for the body of his harps because of some specialized equipment Rick has. Rick's daughter Carolyn has been winning several prominent Irish Harp competitions!

Harp Stands for Mike's Harp Program

Last year I met Mike at the National Scottish Harp Competition held at the Ohio Scottish Games. He is a master guitarist who has developed a guitar program in a public school system in North Carolina. Because of Mike's developing reputation as a harp player and media publicity he garnered, his administrator asked him to develop a harp program. He purchased several small harps called "harpsicles" from Wm Rees Harps. Mike was deliberating how he would have the students hold the harps, since keeping a small lap harp stable while playing can be tricky. I showed him this stand that Timothy Habinski of Timothy Harps designed. It can attach and detach from a small lap hap allowing the harp to be self supporting rather than precariously balanced on the players' knees or between their crossed legs or balanced with "knee bones" or resting on a board the player also sits upon or suspended in a vulgar looking harp stirrup which looks like a bra or jockstrap. Mike liked the solution, and Timothy readily offered for Mike to use his design.

Timothy Harps

The reason I stayed a few more nights in New Jersey was so that I could go to the Somerset Folk Harp Festival. This year, the festival was held in Parsipanny. So it only took me 1/2 hour to drive there. Since I was only there for the one day, I decided to just purchase a vendor hall pass for $15 rather than attend workshops and concerts. This would allow me to see various people I've met over the years. I ran into June and Maia from The Ohio Scottish Arts School. Candyce Dunham was there with her star student. When I saw Sharon Knowles, she said, "I want to hear all about your trip to Scotland." I also saw Kathy Chanick and we played some tunes together. I hope she bought that harp that she fell in love with. It was a beauty. My favorite harp builder, Timothy Habinski, was there. The harp he is standing behind is for my friend Carol. It is a 40-string Storm King that Carol will use in her vibro-acoustic harp therapy. This is one of the healing modalities she incorporates into her healing practice. 

Gone

After the movers took everything else, the only things left were my Lionwood harp, two paintings, and the small pile of important documents in the corner. Oh, and the white pallet constructed of four pillows for me to sleep on while I stayed a few more nights. 

Moving

Doug's new job is taking him to the Boston area. Since he has started his new job already, I got to get his old place ready for the movers. I also wanted to make sure that my Lionwood harp got transported in a car, rather than by movers. I spent three days organizing things, throwing out trash, and boxing some items. The thought of having the movers pack everything up, trash and all, full of dust, just wasn't very appealing. The movers called at 10:00 a.m. to say that they would arrive shortly. They arrived after noon. They worked loading a shuttle truck until 8:50 p.m. The shuttle truck was the size "Two Men and a Truck" would use. Then they'll transfer everything to a semi for the four hour trip, intermingled with other people's belongings, to Westhampton (not Northampton or Easthampton).