Photo Blog Post - Comic Relief

I’ve run out of written words this week so I thought I’d somewhat appropriately do a photo blog post for a change. It gives me the opportunity to shout about another one of my local heroes, photographer John Steel. I’ve known John since 2015. We met when I was playing at a wedding fayre in the village, and we’ve collaborated on several projects since. Working with giant John is always a pleasure. His photos are vivacious with a generous dash of fun and he captures rare moments, emotions and personalities. His style is unique, imaginative and artistic - if you like pretty posed portraits, then he’s probably not for you. If you like poetic, poignant, memorable (I ran out of p-words) images, he’s your man. Think brides jumping out of windows, newlyweds bouncing around on space hoppers, men sipping tea up a hill, and even a harpist with her harp on a boggy moor, and you’re there. Despite his stature, he’s discreet and professional, and he offers a personalised service to suit your requirements. Talk to him about skateboards and offer him a brew (milk, no sugar) and you’ll make him a very happy man. His creative work is fabulous and you can check it out by clicking on these buttons:

I asked John if he’d take a few photos of the goings on at Sainsbury’s on Red Nose Day and he was willing to help out. Let me know what you think of the results:

Manager Gina

Using her mobile as a microphone, and Grant from Wedding Fayres Yorkshire making a live video recording of the incredible pie eating contest

Pie face

Manager Ryan

Those lovely Sainsbury’s Local ladies

With an unsuspecting customer

Bizarre and slightly surreal

You don’t see this kind of action every day at your local shop

Just one more wafer thin squirt of cream…

Selling scratch cards for a good cause

Well aisle be

Sainsbury’s Local Holmfirth sure know how to give a warm welcome

The final tot up in my fundraising box was £107!

Thanks to everyone who came to support. You’re the stars!!

Moaning Minnie Designs

Moaning Minnie

Modelling one of her scorching hot herringbone tweed neckscarves

There are times when I really want to shout about people I meet. Moaning Minnie, AKA Julie Taylor, is one of these people. I met her when I was working on the tills at Sainsbury’s one evening and we got talking about weddings. Her pink Docs and funky individual dress sense meant she stood out immediately. I love pink. Then there’s her warm sparkling smile and her contagious laughter. She really is a ray of sunshine. We started chatting a bit more over the weeks since I started working at Sainsbury’s Local in Holmfirth, and she totally brightens my day whenever she pops in for supplies. She’s got a wry dry sense of humour. Julie rocks.

When she told me her company name, I checked her out on social media and caught a glimpse of her working world. It was like discovering a textile wonderland. Her intricate creations stand out and really took me by surprise. I’ve never seen anything like them and I play at quite a few wedding fayres. Her work is a flat-capped nod to her local roots. She crafts her goods from the finest Yorkshire tweed that’s super soft to the touch (I know, I’ve felt her coat!) in stunning unexpected colours. Not only does she bring beautiful designs to life for weddings. I’ve just seen she does bow ties for dogs! Any pussy bows in the pipeline Julie?

Another thing that makes Julie memorable is her company name. She doesn’t moan though - she does great banter with a playful twinkle in her eye.

I love supporting local smaller businesses and I shop locally as much as I can. There are some amazing inspiring creative people out there working from cosy workshops and offices in their own homes.

If you want to know more about Moaning Minnie Designs, click the buttons below:

Make 'em laugh? Comic Relief 2019, Sainsbury's Local Holmfirth

I’m often told my playing makes people cry. I think this is a good thing. In an age where many of us are numb to an environment in which we’re bombarded with stimulation, having the ability to stop people in their tracks with my music can feel liberating and empowering. With music, I can help people slow down and take a few moments out from their day to pause, listen, hear and watch. And maybe feel. Escape. Music is therapeutic. It’s healing. It feeds the soul.

This was my experience last Friday. I was invited to play for Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day activities at Sainsbury’s Local in the idyllic town of Holmfirth. I started working there part time in January. It’s a great little supermarket with a lovely team of staff who have welcomed me as one of their own. Although it’s been a steep learning curve, I derive immense pleasure from being able to help customers and I love taking a few moments to engage with them if they have time. The shop gets busy very quickly and by the same token, the quiet lulls in traffic are blissful oases to catch my breath during my shift.

I decided I’d use this opportunity to test out a few pieces I’ve been learning to gauge audience reaction. They went down well so they’re keepers and are coming soon to Soundcloud or a similar platform. Apart from a 30 minute break, I was “on duty” from 11-5. It was a long shift. I had a bit of a slump at 3.30 and HAD to sample just a little bit of the shop’s incredibly appetising array of chocolate. I plumped for 2 bunny shaped goodies which gave me a much needed bouncy boost of energy. I rarely eat very sweet chocolate preferring small amounts of the extra dark stuff. I discussed the merits of veganism with one of my students this week and we both concurred that vegan is all very well but sometimes, you just need a bacon sandwich.

I was delighted and relieved at the positive public reactions on Friday. I didn’t know what to expect and there were some magic moments. One man told me his daughter would be disappointed to have missed my playing. He told me he was Welsh and did I happen to have Calon Lân? As chance would have it. Off we both went, me sing-playing along without a worry in the world. It was reminiscent of carefree times in chapel.

I’ve included a couple of video clips if you want a clearer idea of events on the day. There’s another clip of me playing the theme from Love Story. “For Comic Relief?” I hear you ask. Well, yes. I decided this year that I’m going to play music I love and enjoy playing at promotional events. I mean, if I’m enjoying myself, there’s more chance my audience will, right? Yes, I play all the standard wedding music, the Ed Sheerans and Twilights, the Disneys and the Yourses. Is that the music I listen to at home? No it isn’t, and the customer is king so for weddings, if it can be played on the harp and I can get paid, I’ll play it!

Some of my lovely Aqualadies came to support which was fantastic. I’m surprised they recognised me in my ruddy disguise. A colleague told me I looked like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. “Nice!” I thought to myself. She then reminded me what Julia’s job was in the movie. Anyway I’ve checked and her wig was blonde, so no resemblance whatsoever. Phew. I tried wearing the nose but that together with the wig was a step too far. I’d asked my photographer friend John Steel if he’d come down to take a few of his fab photos, which he did in his own unique quirky invisible giant photographer style. Soon after John turned up, I was pleasantly surprised that Allan and Grant, the men behind ace wedding fayre organisers Wedding Fayres Yorkshire made a special guest appearance. I reckon the three of them were after a bit of pie.

I was touched by the support everyone showed and I have some great content for my website and social media for a while. After the tot up, there was £107 in my box. That definitely made me laugh!

Over the Bridge - Camac Harp Weekend, Cardiff

“Attending a music event can be a breath of fresh air and can provide inspiration in so many ways. Read on to find out what I got up to in Cardiff last weekend”

Oval Sculpture (Delos)

Barbara Hepworth, 1955

Last Saturday lunchtime I drove across the Severn Bridge for the first time. When I drive to Cardiff, I usually take the inner more “scenic” route (name a route in Wales that isn’t picturesque) but for some reason, this time I stayed on the motorway. The bridge’s sprawling telescopic steel limbs funnelled me into Wales like a minuscule spider scuttling home. Whooping as I drove excitedly over the monumental bridge, I gained the momentum I needed to keep going for the remaining hour of my journey. Cardiff’s a fair old drive from West Yorkshire.

I got lost here half an hour from home

In my defence, I’d taken an alternative route to get to the motorway to avoid a traffic jam, soon after having my car door slam on my shin, driven by strong winds. I heard a crack. I swear that cursing profusely for 5 minutes definitely eased my pain

The main reason for my trip was to get my harp serviced by those fantastic Camac technicians. Wrench wielding recent recruits Guillaume and Louis did themselves proud and my harp sounds great. Thanks guys! The after sales service Camac Harps provide is just brilliant and I know my harp is in the best hands.

I received a customary warm welcome from lovely Elen of Vining Harps, who were organising the harp weekend. Apart from having my harp seen to, I was very excited about the recital to be given by Isabelle Moretti that evening in the Impressionists Gallery at the National Museum of Wales. That all sounds a bit heavyweight doesn't it? And yes, it was, but effortlessly so. I felt like a VIP, granted permission to the museum after hours. My heart started racing walking past Rodin’s bronzes and, would you believe, some works by Yorkshire lass, Barbara Hepworth. You can take the girl out of Yorkshire… The intimate room was full to capacity and I couldn’t quite register how I was to be treated to such a sumptuous feast for my eyes and ears. I let it all wash over me like an exquisite wave, sweeping away the staleness from my business and my scant unenthusiastic solo practice.

The Clouds

Auguste Rodin

I’ve heard Isabelle perform many times and I can genuinely say I’ve never heard her play better. She performed with character and charisma, grace and elegance, and I forgot about my life for a couple of hours. I was whisked away to another universe, where music and emotion dominated. I can still hear her opening piece, the Sonatine by Marcel Tournier, played with an extraordinary palette of colours. Tears welled up as my soul was soothed. One minute my ear was drawn to the definition given to a phrase by her left hand, the next it zoomed in on her right hand, deftly negotiating a jump with élan and sparkle. To call her playing perfect is false. Isabelle’s playing is beyond that. When I listen to her, I don’t hear a harpist. I hear a musician, an artist, a human being, and I have no questions.

The best photo I got

of Isabelle’s spectacular Canopée harp with Monet’s work. The door looks nice doesn’t it?

In the first half of her meaty programme, she played famous pieces from the harp repertoire with a freshness that made me believe she hadn’t played them countless times in public over the years. After the intermission, we moved from Monet’s hazy impressionistic mood to Spain. The smooth transition came in the form of her own intricate arrangement of La Soirée dans Grenade by Debussy. After a marathon programme, her finale by De Falla from his opera La Vida Breve catapulted me straight back into the pit. The orchestral sounds flowed organically from her fingers. I could hear flamenco guitars and imagine swarthy bronzed hombres arrogantly blowing cigarette smoke in the faces of their sultry señoritas, their heels click-clacking noisily in a hot airless tapas bar.

Unlike my vivid imagination, there was no excess, no indulgence in Isabelle’s performance, one that will stay with me for a very long time.

What Isabelle played, by heart

Walking into the museum, I bumped into Ceri Wynne Jones who I hadn’t seen for years, possibly not since a Gregynog harp course. Remember those? It was great to catch up with her and compare stories from our freelancing endeavours. There was a post concert reception at the intimate Kooywood Gallery. Even more art! Wine was flowing freely. This was one of the first social events I’ve been to since I stopped drinking a year and 3 months ago. Despite feelings of inadequacy and shyness, I think I managed alright. I wasn’t a butterfly and neither was I a wallflower. I left with a clear head filled with notes and no anxiety about how I was going to get back to the hotel. It was reassuring not to feel a looming sense of dread in anticipation of the morning after.

Victor Hugo

Auguste Rodin

There’s never enough time to fit everything in at this type of event. I heard promising sounds from Claire Jones and her ensembles rehearsing and doing their sound checks, but I had to head back up North before the closing concert. And yes. I went over the bridge again with the exact same excitement. You can take the girl out of Yorkshire…

Hands on

Shoes off - a masterclass with Isabelle Moretti. It was, for me, a reminder of the importance of the rhythmic feeling within the bar

Colour full

Rhi-sabelle!

“See you next time for a blog post about Comic Relief!”

Camac Harp Weekend, Cardiff

“We need inspiration on a regular basis. Read on to find out what I’m up to this weekend.”

National treasure

In my garden

This morning, I’m off down to South Wales. It’s a 4 hour drive and weather conditions aren’t favourable, but I’m really excited about having a few hours away from home. The change of scene will do me the world of good. The main reason I’m going is to get my harp serviced by those fabulous people at Camac Harps. Yes, that’s right. There’s a harp weekend being held by Camac Wales in the beautiful capital, and tonight there’s a concert by wonderful inspirational harpist, Isabelle Moretti. I’m very excited about that. Isabelle was my teacher in Lyon for a couple of years before she was appointed professor of harp at the Paris Conservatoire. She’ll be playing a programme of French and Spanish music at, wait for it, the Impressionists Gallery at the National Museum. It’s guaranteed to be feast for all the senses.

Like many musicians, I spend a vast amount of time alone with my instrument, and I often crave inspiration. Tonight, there’ll be swathes and wafts of delicious pearly continental notes that will feed me for months to come. I know I can listen to CDs and watch videos, but there’s nothing like live music performance to grab you where it matters and carry you wherever your imagination cares to take you.

My harp in St David’s Day attire

So I have a very busy couple of days and, although I love performing, it’s quite nice to be going on a busman’s holiday. It’ll be interesting to find out what other harpists are up to and to catch up with news from the harp world. As well as having my heart strings plucked by some very fine musicians, I’m super excited to be mixing business with pleasure and meeting up with a school friend I haven’t seen for a few years. There’s a lot to fit in. And quite a lot of gear to fit into my car too. Not sure I’ll be taking my felt daffodil head though. (Let me explain about the photo - no, I haven’t lost the plot. It was a confidence boosting exercise I did with a Welsh friend from my swimming class for St David’s Day.)

“Check in soon for a blog post about this weekend’s harp adventures.”

Repertoire List

I’m often asked for a list of music I play for weddings and events. Below you will find a list of my main repertoire:

MUSIC FOR WEDDINGS, FUNCTIONS AND SPECIAL EVENTS

Classical Collection

Welsh Traditional – Llety’r Bugail                                                           (entrance/exit)

George and Ira Gershwin – Embraceable You                                                (entrance)

Wagner – Bridal Chorus from “Lohengrin”                                                   (entrance)

Pachelbel – Canon in D                                                                                      (entrance)

Delibes - Flower Duet from Lakmé                                                                  (entrance)

Mendelssohn – Wedding March                                                                                (exit)

Clarke – Prince of Denmark’s March (Trumpet Voluntary)                          (exit)

Handel – Allegro Maestoso (Hornpipe)                                                                    (exit)

Mozart – “Such Chiming Melodious” from “Magic Flute”                                    (exit)

Beethoven - Ode to Joy                                                                                               (exit)

(Titles in bold above are suggested processional and recessional pieces for your ceremony.  If you want pop music, that’s fine too)

J S Bach – French Suite No 6

Debussy – Arabesque No 1

Arne – Largo

Rousseau – Minuet

Mozart – Minuet in F

Galuppi – Sonata in D

Field – Nocturne in Bb major

Hasselmans – Rêverie

J S Bach/Grandjany – Etude No 6

Cras – 2 Impromptus

Arne – Gigue

J S Bach – Prelude in C major

Tournier – Quatre Preludes

Satie – Gymnopedie No 1

John Thomas – Bugeilio’r Gwenith Gwyn

John Thomas – “Summer” and “Autumn”

Clarke - Chaconne

Haydn – Gavotte Gracieuse

Challoner – Allegretto

Bochsa – Etudes

Calon Lân – Welsh Hymn

Traditional Welsh Melodies

(The above are all suitable for the arrival of guests and the signing of the register, as are some of the following)

Timeless Collection

André/Schwandt - Dream a Little Dream of Me

Arlen/Coates – Over the Rainbow

Armstrong - Portuguese Love Theme (Love Actually)

Aznavour - She (Notting Hill)

Bernstein – Somewhere (West Side Story)

Bloom – Fools Rush In

Elton John - Can You Feel the Love Tonight (Lion King)

Des'ree - Kissing You (Romeo+Juliet)

Fain – Secret Love

Garner – Misty

Garner – Dreamy

Gershwin – Love Walked In

Gershwin – S’Wonderful

Gershwin – But Not For Me

Gershwin – Somebody Loves Me

Gershwin – Bidin’ My Time

Gershwin - Summertime

Gershwin – Embraceable You

Gordon – Unforgettable

Horner - For the Love of a Princess (Braveheart)

Jones - Come Away With Me

Kern – Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

Lai - Theme from Love Story

Lane – Everybody Loves Somebody

Lanjean – Forbidden Games

Lynn - White Cliffs of Dover

Mancini – Days of Wine and Roses

Maxwell – Ebb Tide 

Mercer – Dream

Mercer/Mancini – Moon River

Porter – Night and Day

Previn – You’re Gonna Hear From Me

Rodgers - Bewitched

Rodgers – My Funny Valentine

Romberg – Lover Come Back to Me

Sondheim – Send in the Clowns

Suessdorf – Moonlight in Vermont

Weiss/Shearing – Lullaby of Birdland

Young – When I fall in Love

Can't Help Falling in Love (Elvis - Blue Hawaii)

City of Stars and Mia and Sebastian’s Theme (LaLa Land)

Modern Collection

Abba - Fernando

City of Stars and Mia and Sebastian’s Theme (LaLa Land)

Christina Perri - A Thousand Years

Cyndi Lauper - True Colours

Duran Duran - Save a Prayer

Ella Henderson - Yours

Eric Clapton - Wonderful Tonight

George Michael - Careless Whisper

Sam Smith - Stay With Me

Stevie Wonder - Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours

- If it’s Magic

Vanessa Carlton - A Thousand Miles

These are some of my favourite pieces which work really well for the harp.  I learn new music for weddings and events all the time.  If there are any pieces you’d like me to play which are of special significance to you, please feel free to ask.  Just remember, I need 6 weeks notice to learn your special requests!

Listen to my Ha-ha-ha-harp!

Me, Rhian Evans Harpist, having a laugh

I’m just a bit excited at having been invited to play at Sainsbury’s Local in Holmfirth for their Comic Relief event. It takes place on the 15th March, times to be confirmed. The main reason for my excitement is that it’s a charity event and I’m really looking forward to playing for an audience that might never have heard a harp or seen one up close before. I’m going to decide on the delicious harp music I’m going to play this weekend, and it will be music on the lighter side which I love, played from the heart as always. As for what to wear, well that’s easy. If you follow me on social media, you’ll have seen that I’m not shy about fancy dress and neither am I ashamed to admit I’ve got a wig collection (2 to date, watch this space…) I’m also willing to accessorise my harp. Anything could happen!

This little Sainsbury’s in the heart of Holmfirth is lovely and I started working there part time in January. The managers and other staff have been so kind and patient with me as I’ve been learning the ropes of a job in which I have no skills or experience other than those I’ve gained from being a musician. They’ve not been much use for working tills or taking a delivery (or doing the blasted lottery) but slowly and surely I’m improving and gaining confidence. The shop has saved my sanity in many ways as I try to keep my harp work closer to home in order to avoid too many motorway journeys. I don’t mind driving but I’m trying reduce my mileage as I approach the big five-0.

Next week, I’m going to contact the local press to see if they’d be interested in featuring the store’s endeavours for Comic Relief. They’ve planned it really well with all sorts of activities going on to raise money for this important charity and I’m really touched they’ve asked me to take part. The red noses, banners and all things Comic Relief are already by the tills. I wonder if they’ll be getting those red noses for cars so that I can put one on my harp. Or maybe my head. Hmmm.

If you’re in Holmfirth on Friday 15th, do pop into Sainsbury’s and donate some money to Comic Relief. And come and say hello and listen to my ha-ha-ha-harp beat!

Wortley Hall Wedding Showcase

“Playing at promotional events is key to the success of any freelance musician. Read on to find out about my latest experience at Wortley Hall near Sheffield”

Chandelier

My harp beneath

I was invited to play for the Wortley Hall wedding showcase last Thursday evening. My relationship with this warm soulful place goes back quite a few years by now and I jump at any chance to play there. The staff are brilliant! They’re helpful and friendly in an unforced natural way and they go to great lengths to ensure that each wedding runs smoothly.

My excitement escalates when I approach the quietly spectacular structure of weathered golden stone. Pulling up outside the main building, the views over the grounds and the adjacent sprawling countryside are breathtaking. This truly is a fine example of Yorkshire at its best.

My heart leapt when I spotted my welcoming committee in the dappled shade of the yew trees:

Walking my harp through the hotel’s Ruddy Duck restaurant, I spied a pair of brass duck head bookends. Wortley Hall is a sanctuary for these feathered friends. They in turn lend an element of playfulness to their stately home.

If you read last week’s blog post, you might have detected a hint of ennui at the whole rigmarole of much of the wedding fayre business. Not so at Wortley Hall. I consistently get bookings from playing at their fayres. The harp is definitely right at home here.

I’ve played for lots of ceremonies in this unique hotel, and live harp music always goes down a treat, whether it’s for the civil ceremony and drinks reception, or the wedding breakfast afterwards in the glorious wooden splendour of the Foundry Dining Room with its ornate ceiling and gigantic chandelier. There’s a relaxed homely grandeur about Wortley Hall which I love. At the most recent Fayre in January, I had a quick look at the refurbished rooms upstairs in the heavens. They’re like little romantic nests tucked away in the antiquated eaves. Wortley Hall is the perfect place for a secret escape from it all.

Just like that - the atmospheric splendour of the Foundry Dining Room

The atmosphere at the wedding evening was peaceful and intimate. There was none of the hustle and bustle of dozens of suppliers promoting their wares to customers hungry to discover the latest wedding trends. I was one of only three suppliers. The others were Keith Woods Entertainment, who provided the floral arrangements, transforming the ceremony room into an exotic garden of paradise with the bountifully laden boughs of their blossom trees. Creative photographer Eternal Photography was the man behind the lens, or rather beside his photos. He definitely takes better photos than I do, but hopefully you get a feel for this beautiful location from my snaps.

For this event, I decided to take a slightly different approach from what I usually do at commercial fayres. I played what I wanted to play. A risky strategy? Maybe, but if I’m enjoying myself, there’s more chance my audience will enjoy themselves too. Don’t get me wrong! I love my wedding harp repertoire and I could play Mendelssohn and Wagner for a Thousand Years, or at least ‘til the ducks come home, but I was in the mood for something different that evening. And so were my audience from the feedback I got. Doing it my way could be the way forward…

Atmospheric

The gardens at dusk

Night time statue

“I’ll be recording some short sound clips (and maybe more) from March onwards. Keep checking in to listen to my harp beat!”

FAYRE ENOUGH

You cannot be serious!

Last night/this morning, I’ve had about 3 hours sleep. I’m in the throes of a creative phase and I have a billion ideas burgeoning busily and noisily in my head. I’ve had quite a frustrating time trying to get involved in more and more wedding fayres so that I can meet all you lovely brides and grooms who would like to book my wedding services but can’t find me for one reason or another. I’ve pushed beyond my comfort zone and contacted and reconnected with local venues within West Yorkshire without success. Despite several efforts I’m greeted with the reply that makes my heart sink - “We’ve already got a musician”, or a hefty charge in excess of £200 to go and work at a fayre. Anyone who knows me will know I’m not work shy and I’m happy to invest in something that will reap rewards, but after enquiring on a forum for harpists and, most importantly, within myself, wedding fayres these days aren’t the viable investment they used to be for harpists. The return simply isn’t high enough. There’s always someone who will do the work for less money in what is a niche market, relatively speaking. Understandably, everyone wants a bite of the apple. When you book me, you do get a highly personalised professional service. I have skill, experience, knowledge and expertise (I trained intensively for 11 years) - it isn’t just me rocking up with my harp and playing your favourite music. Most importantly, I genuinely care and I love my job!

I’ve experienced a fair (!) bit of interest at fayres but unless I take a deposit on the day, there’s only a small percentage of clients who actually pursue their initial enquiry to eventually end up booking. It would seem that the way forward is focusing on developing my online presence. A search engine ad? A social media advertising boost? Signing up with agencies? A sleek slick shiny brochure for clients to take home and show their nearest and dearest? New publicity photos and videos? Which one of these risky time consuming costly endeavours should I choose? If there’s something you would like more of, please don’t hesitate to get in touch - all suggestions welcomed! And if you know someone who would benefit from me playing at an event, do pass on my details!

I think my plan of action will become clear as I move through my year, and seeing as I’m quite an old fashioned girl at heart, word of mouth will play a major role. For now I’m focusing my energy on doing my new part time job. Did I tell you I’ve got a job? I started in January and it’s been one of the toughest learning curves of my life but I really am loving the stability and security it offers me and I can only see positives. It definitely beats almost falling asleep on the motorway round midnight after 2 or 3 days of orchestral work. The reality is that, financially, I’m probably better off doing my part time job. Don’t get me wrong - I’m not saying no to orchestral playing, which I miss very very much, but I haven’t found a way for it work for me yet this season. My focus now is on developing my presence locally. That and getting a few hours practice in. This week, I’ve managed a deliciously giddy hour. I thrive on four hours a day which is unrealistic nowadays, but I’m very optimistic there’ll be a quieter week in the near future when I get on top of learning and digesting so much new information.

“What’s your new job Rhian?” I hear you all ask? Check in during the next month to find out more. There are some exciting events coming up which I would never have imagined and which I can’t wait to share with you…

Behind the scenes - getting creative. All images - John Steel Photography. With heartfelt thanks to Wortley Hall for their generous support in allowing me use of their spectacular hotel

The Fun of the Fayres

Rhian Evans Harpist having fun. Image courtesy of John Steel Photography

The atmospheric ceremony room at the Manor House

I’ve had great fun playing at three separate wedding fayres recently and I’ve met some really lovely people. The first fayre was at the Manor House in Lindley, a beautiful bijou boutique hotel on the outskirts of Huddersfield. It was extremely well attended and I was provided a prime position in the ceremony room so that potential clients could see the impact the harp could have as they walked through the main doors and so they could visualise their ceremony. I was really pleased that the level of interest was very good. Wedding fayres can be tough, tiring and unrewarding if there’s no engagement and this hasn’t been the case at all in either of the fayres I’ve exhibited at so far this year. My music isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and the services I offer could be considered niche, but I know there’s a demand for wedding harp music and 2020 is already looking healthy. It’s a question of finding my clients, and my clients finding me.

The Foundry Dining Room at Wortley Hall

It can take months for clients to contact me again as they sort all the other wedding details out. Occasionally, I can get bookings on the day. This was the case at the last fayre I did at my beloved Wortley Hall. I just can’t get enough of that venue. There was a warm relaxed atmosphere and I was in a great position next to two other gorgeous suppliers who made it a fun fayre. Check out Lara Croft Photography and Posh Petals Flower Preservation. I took advantage of the mid afternoon lull and went for a stroll upstairs. The rooms are lovely and there’s just such a gorgeous feel to the place. If I got married, I would do it there. Except I probably wouldn’t as I wouldn’t want any fuss, so it would have to be Vegas (I’d settle for somewhere nearer too) with a small ice cream party and a virgin Bloody Mary to celebrate the tying of the proverbial knot. This is my blog and I’m allowed to be as imaginative as I like! I met a gorgeous quirky couple who found each other online. They’ve thrown down the gauntlet with a weird and wonderful request for their exit music. Game on!

I would like to clarify that I’m unbiased. I love all the venues I work at! It’s a question of finding a venue that ticks your boxes and you’ve usually done that way before you meet me anyway. Live music is so important though. I felt a bit intimidated when I found out the Manor House had an Ibiza saxophonist exhibiting. She had wonderful exotic publicity photos and some amazing video clips. She’s called Ellie Sax and she’s a really lovely girl. She does what she does brilliantly with such enthusiasm. I have no idea how she can coordinate playing, dancing and maintaining such a genuinely radiant smile all at the same time. I’ve tried (not the dancing obviously) and it isn’t a look that works for the wedding service I offer. She’s also a DJ! Between us we agreed on how we could make our music work within adjacent rooms. When she blasts that sax, boy is it memorable! I asked her if she spends much time in Ibiza, and she goes there regularly. Ibiza harpist anyone? In any case, I had nothing to worry about as we both provide totally different services within the same sector of the industry. It was interesting to discover that we trained at the same establishment, the RNCM in Manchester.

Never far from a chandelier (and a dance floor) if I can help it

The other fayre I played at was Bertie’s, another local venue between Huddersfield and Halifax. It was meticulously organised by those lovely people at Wedding Fayres Yorkshire. I’ve played at a couple of weddings and a private function here and it’s another great venue. It was fairly quiet (Football? Weather?) but I had some interesting conversations with couples, some of whom were researching suppliers for their weddings in 2020 and even 2021. I like that level of preparation! I met a lovely Irish lady and her fiancé. She was quite overwhelmed when she heard my music. I think it touched something inside her and she started crying when I played a particular piece of music. I don’t like making people cry but these were good tears. I’m reassured when my playing moves people because it means I’m doing my job, that I’ve played music that resonates for them. At each fayre, I made one woman cry. That emotion is what it’s all about and it’s what keeps me doing what I do. I get a buzz when my music touches someone and I really don’t think that’s something that can happen by watching a video or listening to sound clips. It has to be a live experience. It must be visceral, otherwise the impact isn’t the same.

My stand in the Foundry Dining Room at Wortley Hall

If you’re thinking about having harp music at your wedding, please do follow my Facebook and Instagram pages (you can find links on my homepage) to keep informed about the fayres I‘m playing at, and come and say Hello and find out more about what I can offer you on your wedding day. Oh, and do ask me about your favourite music - you never know…!

The Lowry - a Photo blog post for readers that aren’t on Facebook

I saw some spectacular sights before work last night:

Imperial War Museum

from the Lowry

Those dark eyes

watching over me one last time

Imperial War Museum

with a flood of poppies

Those dark eyes again

Gotta take the rough with the smooth

My BRITTEN Lesson

23 October

The pedalling passage

11 November

I feel a bit embarrassed about putting this messy picture up but I’m suspicious of people with pristine sheet music! Here is the page above with added creative process. Given another couple of days I could have easily played from this score but I ran out of time. People say my parts are unreadable. To me they make perfect sense - by that stage of learning, the reflexes and muscle memory have been programmed. The notes would have become part of me and I could have played it with my eyes shut

I realise that by writing with utter honesty here, if a fixer or colleague reads this it may jeopardise my chances of being offered orchestral work but I’m willing to take that risk. I see images and reports of perfect performances online (let’s face it, nobody wants to admit to a performance that’s below par) and I wonder how perfect these are. What about the f**k ups? What about dealing with difficult situations? I always aim to play all the notes and forget this isn’t always possible, especially when rehearsal time is brief. Sometimes a plan B is called for and as a tenacious perfectionist, I’m not always great at resorting to plan B.

Hindsight is a beautiful thing and there’s an opportunity to learn and not beat myself up. I thought I’d share some of my experience learning Britten’s War Requiem and what I gained from it. If I was doing work like this all the time and not trying to reboot my life it would have been easier - I haven’t had to learn a particularly challenging new piece this year so my process isn’t as well honed as it used to be.

I have a very specific sound in mind when I learn a new piece. Take Tosca for example - it demands a Puccini sound that’s often full and lush. If I approached Britten’s music with that style it would sound wrong. This makes life harder but I’ve never been one for just playing the notes, occasionally to my detriment.

My biggest enemy these days is time. If I’d had time I would have taken a clean photocopy of the original page and marked it up again without all my workings out leaving the bare minimum of markings. Ideally I would have enlarged this page and maybe put it on Sibelius if I had it and knew how to use it. Again I realise the majority of my work is last minute which has a knock on effect on everything else. I’ve never been a strong sight-reader so now, with my increasingly poor eyesight, I need to learn difficult pieces thoroughly to feel confident about playing, watching the conductor and listening to my colleagues.

This short and relatively simple section needed to be memorised

I’m glad I’ve had the opportunity to learn and perform War Requiem and it puts me in good stead if it comes round again or if I’m asked to teach or coach it.

This week is busy again with two big programmes over the weekend, including a couple of works I’ve never played. Everything else is familiar which is reassuring and the new pieces aren’t particularly challenging. There’s even a piece which brings a smile to my face! I commit to practicing slowly and calmly with curiosity and doing 4 hours on my quieter days, and making more time to listen to recordings of the pieces I’m working on. I also commit to finding a way of recording myself at home, mainly to log my own process and progress and to get used to recording. I commit to getting my eyes tested next week. Oh and I commit to believing in myself again, and in my love for music and my passion for sharing it.

Another tricky passage

Plan B

Dusting off the Autumn cobwebs

Remembrance Day walk

The makings of a nest

Blue sky

Stony layers

Stream bank and autumn leaves

Upstream

A glimmer

Texture

Landscape

Ripon Cathedral

Pride of place - my lovely position beneath the poppies in the cathedral

I recently got back from tonight’s concert and a long day rehearsing in Ripon. The piece was Britten’s War Requiem which I mentioned a few posts back. I didn’t play very well. I feel out of sync with everything and I’m sure that’s how my playing sounded. I hate feeling like that. There was one pedalling section I was dreading which seemed to have worsened since the rehearsal. I got out with the others and got back on track a few bars later. I think what I need to focus on is right there in that sentence. I managed to recover and play most of the piece to a decent standard for a first attempt. Those who know me will know I have very high standards for myself. I pride myself on being super prepared especially for a concert of this nature, but I seem to have spent this season chasing my tail. I had to resort to playing quite loud music in the car on the way home to try and drown out the negativity. I do keep saying it though - my orchestral days are numbered. I’m just not enjoying it anymore, and I’m tired. So exhausted. That’s difficult to write - my passion for a very long time has been orchestral playing, and I almost felt that passion again once this season. Almost. Once.

Ripon looked poignantly beautiful festooned with poppies in all guises. Ceramic, fabric, paper, plastic, you name it. Walking up the path from the changing facilities, the cathedral was bathed in red light which gave it an eerie blooded quality. Seeing the crowds of people from far and wide congregated in silence to pay their respects outside the cathedral was breathtaking and humbling and there were some amazing installations in and around the building. I caught a glimpse of the thought provoking Fields of Mud, Seeds of Hope earth sculpture. At the end of the day what I need to remember is the reason I was in Ripon tonight. Remembrance. Would all those who made such unthinkable agonising sacrifices a hundred years ago have minded my pedal mishap? I doubt it. Maybe even conscientious objector Britten would have been having a laugh about it.

Festooned

The street opposite Ripon Cathedral

Life on Tour - week 2, Hull

I had a fantastic time in Hull and it certainly wasn’t dull. I love combining pleasure with business, even more so when it involves being near water. After a cold rainy start on Thursday and a smooth drive past Goole towers, Friday was glorious. Waking a bit later than usual meant rescheduling my intended trip to Withernsea beach. I settled instead for a bright brisk jolly welly yomp around Humber Bridge Country Park to dust off the cobwebs from travelling and quite an intense performance of Tosca on Thursday evening.

Park art

Smile with your eyes

I always arrive early for a performance, especially at a new venue. I haven’t played at Hull New Theatre for at least fifteen years so I didn’t know what to expect. I couldn’t even find where to unload my harp so I called for assistance. Chris Ladds deserves a medal and is one of the many unsung heroes of Opera North. He’s the orchestral operations manager. I know he’s only a quick call away when I need to get my harp in, and he invariably has useful advice about parking and other inside information. Chris has quite a challenging job in that he has to satisfy the rehearsal and performance needs of sixty or so musicians, no mean feat when we want to do our jobs to the best of our ability.

Olde and new

The pub near the theatre. The modern building is Hull History Centre

Each pit presents a different set of problems and as I learnt, the Hull pit is no exception. The only position available for me was in front of the doors, at the business end of four horns. With a half hour seating rehearsal, a tentative panoply of options and scarcely enough time to settle in, I didn’t realise how loud it would get. I had earplugs and fingers for the louder moments and I was provided a screen. However, my main problems were my distance from refreshingly passionate and expressive Dutch conductor Antony Hermus, and having a much reduced sightline to him as I was on a lower level than the bulk of the orchestra. I played two short sections in the rehearsal, insufficient time to work out that it would be a difficult position and do something about it. It was an edgy performance and I was glad to have my Pilates mat with me and a bathtub to iron out the creases. I felt no guilt whatsoever at indulging in my hotel room pop up spa the following morning.

Room with a view

These days I tend choose quiet hotels with a bit of greenery whenever possible and Hull was no exception. Hessle is a hassle free fifteen minute drive from the city centre and a generous stone’s throw from the iconic Humber Bridge and its Country Park. I was in room 101 with bridge and tree views as well as wildlife.

Unexpected avians

Peacock plethora in the hotel gardens

Golden gateway

San Francisco? Nope, Hessle

Using my time wisely on tour can be tricky. Playing isn’t an option as my instrument can’t easily be moved from the pit and I feel uncomfortable about practising when there are technical rehearsals in the theatre. My harping wouldn’t be a welcome accompaniment. For this part of the tour I decided to get physical in the morning, so I got a brisk walk under my belt on Friday and a long Pilates session on Saturday. It seemed to work as I felt quite calm. Meditation is daily and non negotiable and helps with learning to manage anxiety.

Precarious

Sliding tree

On Saturday I met up with Patti from the wardrobe department. One of a set of triplets with an older sister, she’s a beautiful bohemian Basque woman from Bilbao and she lights up the corridor as she breezes by. She’s very passionate about her work and I could sense that after a year of living on the road without a base, she’s ready to settle down to pursue a stable job. She says touring and freelancing is very exciting but difficult and tiring at the same time.

Patti

Creative, quirky and funny

We met at Trinity Market over coffee and cannoli and chewed the fat freely. Quite literally in my case after Patti returned to her digs to do her own laundry. I brought enough healthy home cooked food for the first two days meaning I’d earned a bit of a Saturday splurge. I don’t often eat out and when I do I try to choose something I wouldn’t make at home. I went the whole hog, plumping for meltingly tender pork belly, black pudding, smoked egg yolk and sauerkraut coleslaw on flatbread with a side of chips. I didn’t eat the bread - double carbs?!! Within twenty minutes the somniferous food took effect and I headed to my car for my siesta.

Filthy

Saturday special treat

I love that warm open expressive freedom innate to many Mediterraneans and southern Europeans and I miss it from the time I spent in France. I feel uncomfortable around people with stiff upper lips and Patti and I were in agreement that we Brits can be difficult to decipher. Why can’t we just say what we mean? Why do we feel the need to sugar coat everything?

Running out of time and steam from our express conversation, I earmarked the Maritime Museum and the docks for my next visit to Hull. I love ports - the atmosphere and aromas there are intoxicating, a sweet vivid reminder of unforgettable childhood trips with my Dad when he worked on the ships.

The beauty of the beach

without having to get in my car and drive

After an emotional performance of Tosca, my get out was swift and smooth thanks again to Chris’s willingness to protect my harp from the sudden strong gusts of wind. Llwyd welcomed me home with open paws, well, open packets of food strewn across the doormat actually. It’s her favourite expression of protest at being left home alone other than getting herself temporarily rehomed.

Next week is Nottingham and it often snows on this leg of the tour at this time of year, so I’m having my winter tyres put on next week just to be on the safe side. I’m braced for what the season heralds. And I still haven’t met elusive Welsh truck driver Huw - is he hiding from me? Maybe next week at the Lowry…

Structure

Looks like a sci-fi elephant

Life "on tour" - first stop, the North East and Newcastle

Natural beauty

I had a lovely drive up to Newcastle last week. The weather was glorious and blustery and the wind billowing through the streets of Newcastle buffeted me towards the Theatre Royal where I was working. My raptor sightings kept me alert along the way - four kestrels and no less than three red kites. I have an affinity with kites, they must be amongst my favourite birds. The patchwork fields lining the A1 were bathed in Autumnal sunshine and the pungent aromas of freshly cut late crops were intoxicating through my window, ajar. I knew I was nearly there, saluting the bronzy Angel of the North as she waved me by.

There’s a good vibe to the theatre green rooms and I like a quick catch up with the technical staff and listening to and laughing at the banter. We’re all in the same boat and hanging around truly is an art form. After the seating call, I went to rest in my car with my darkest sunglasses on to shade my weary eyes from the dazzling glare of the street lights. Driving 255 miles for my minute fix of Puccini didn’t bear thinking about and justified a short sharp head banging session. I was back in the theatre before the top of the show and did some work in the green room. I caught up with Tom, deputy head of stage. He’s a great guy with a seriously dry sense of humour. He told me he’s on nights this week, so the show comes down for him at around 6am. In Nottingham and Salford he gets his life back a bit.

After a quiet Wednesday I headed back up North on Thursday. As far as raptor sightings go, this was a much richer day with a whopping count of eight red kites, four kestrels, three buzzards and a single heron making it quite a dramatic journey accompanied by my whoops of excitement. I was in the pit for Tosca that evening and so began the ritual of unloading, parking, eating my soup in the car and giving myself a pep talk before playtime.

Toffeeeeeeee

the endearingly anthropomorphised spaniel just chillin’ in his new-to-him onesie after playing in the sea

I was staying with friends out in Whitley Bay for two nights, a departure from the usual budget hotels I frequent when I’m working. What a welcome, especially from Toffee, the sweet quirky waggy spaniel. I think Helen and Sarah were pleased to see me too, though not quite as waggy. It was luxurious to feel I had a home from home and the freedom to come and go as I pleased. Within reason obviously.

Me and Helen

at my fancy dress housewarming in Wales in 2004. Funnily enough, Helen was dressed as a dog. A brilliant impersonator, she does a mean Mick Jagger, not to mention her Victoria Wood. Give her a guitar and she’s off. My wig has done the rounds too I can tell you

I had a gorgeous walk on Friday morning - their beautiful beach home is less than a 5 minute walk from the sea. My 8am walk on Saturday was quite different. My jeans were sopping wet within two minutes. Determined, I soldiered on. Nothing gets between me and the sea. It was an invigorating exciting march through wintry weather, and the sound of the crashing waves and the sight of the seabirds harvesting the freshly hurled up marine bounty signalled business as usual.

Rough

and rugged

After an hour I felt I’d earned my treat and headed for Cullercoats Coffee, a hidden gem tucked away on a back street which I’d discovered to my delight on Friday. My relief must have been tangible when friendly owner Matt said they did in fact serve wet people and I felt no guilt whatsoever about hogging the fireplace for over an hour, clutching my coffee cup close for cosy comfort. I had my eye on the cakes the day before but settled for a sausage sandwich which didn’t disappoint, and subsequently had no room for cake. An excuse for a return visit next time I’m up I reckon.

Wet humour

Loved this Cullercoats sign

Replenishing the stock of logs to stoke the flames, Matt’s relaxed style soon had me telling him I was working at the theatre and that I played the harp. A couple came in and Matt pointed me in their direction before I left - they’d been to Merry Widow the night before. It’s a small world. I had a good chat with Isla and Steve and it turns out Isla had sung many of the roles in Widow as a member of an operatic society. She’d been singing along and she shared conspiratorially that she was a little disappointed that the libretto had been adapted and her words no longer matched. I empathised with her dissatisfaction and she told me she and Steve had thoroughly enjoyed the show apart from the words being wrong. I asked if they’d be going to Tosca that night. No. Steve was still new to the world of opera and Isla thought it would be a bit much this time. She said maybe one of Puccini’s other operas first, or Die Fledermaus or Carmen.

Hear me roar

Theatre Royal architecture

On Friday I basked in the luxury of taking the metro to and from town, and on the way in enjoyed a delightful conversation with a lady and her 2 year old son Thomas. They had abandoned an attempt to go to a party at the coast. He was fascinated by my wearing two pairs of glasses, one pair on my head to shield my eyes against the welcome glare from the intermittent sunshine, the other for reading. Thomas was gently vocal and curious and his eyes glazed over as he recounted his stories to me by means of his mum. Public transport can be surprisingly pleasant and time flies when it is.

The beauty

of the East Coast

After a lazy Saturday morning back at HQ, I took to the wheel again, my car jam packed with home comforts. It was back up to my offstage position meaning an early finish. There was a strange vibe in the theatre with quite a few unexpected onstage absences due to illness. It was get out day too which is always stressful with the impending mass exodus of all the equipment required to put on two operas being tightly packed into the trailers. I had a quiet meal and went in search of coffee and a little sweet something to be washed down by it. I decided on a big department store with an impressive food hall and sniffed out some good looking individual macaroons in my favourite flavour, pistachio. I tried to engage with the waitress who was having none of my pre-treat exhilaration. Hedging my bets, I tried the other lady who was busy serving a couple, and cringed inside as the till system baffled her. Two elegant smartly dressed ladies came to stand beside me and were instantly seen to by the initial waitress. Appalled, I abandoned my efforts, cursing under my breath as I stormed out, thinking at least I’d be able to buy a coffee from the bar in my take out mug. Alas the barista had called last orders. I won’t be going back there in a hurry.

Consoling myself and telling myself that I wasn’t invisible, I went to Tyneside cinema and was immediately served by a waiter dressed as one of the characters in Clockwork Orange, giant eyelashes and all. Well, it is Hallowe’en next week and they’d really gone to town with their costumes. I had a delicious piping hot flat white with a cheeky miniature lemon meringue pie that zinged around my mouth like a citric sucker punch, beautifully countering the smooth kick of the coffee.

Impromptu

Quite a lot of coffee can be consumed on tour. I bumped into violinist Michael Ardron in the Tyneside Cinema café. He happened to have his camera at the ready at just the right moment

Tosca came and went, the get out has been and gone and I got my harp out safely just in the nick of time before they closed the road in front of the theatre. Phew! The thought of wheeling my harp to the car through cold rainy windy streets on a busy Saturday night wasn’t that appealing. I briefly met Huw! Huw is one of the truck drivers I hadn’t met before AND he’s a first language Welsh speaker. I can’t wait to find out more.

Tune in next week for my musical adventures in Hull…

Random

Is it just a fence?

Zoom

Kestrel

Interpretation and expression

Familiar

One of Britten’s characteristic markings. It made me laugh when I once found a Britten harp part where the bracketed Italian words had been replaced with the words “Aren’t they all?!”

At the beginning of this week I received the harp part for a work I’m performing next month, Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem. It’s a renowned choral orchestral piece and I’ve never learnt it. It’s completely unfamiliar. I’ve never even heard it performed. It got me thinking that this would be the ideal opportunity to share some insights from my learning process.

After leaving the music to ripen further in the envelope for 2 days as I didn’t have time to start looking at it, out came those notes enshrined in mystery yesterday morning. I’ve worked on quite a few of Britten’s harp parts and they are at times fiendishly difficult. His harp writing was strongly influenced by his friendship with male Welsh harpist Osian Ellis who was I suppose Britten’s harp muse. Ellis was a technical whizz in his heyday and this is obvious when you study Britten’s often complex writing.

I scanned through the music yesterday morning and was relieved to find that nothing made me wish I’d received the part sooner. Time will tell. This evening I started looking in more detail and seeing patterns in his writing. I recognised the meticulously precise indications and articulations specific to his style.

My next step will be to go through the part very slowly exploring each element and making sense of them. Much of my work will be done away from the harp with little playing. If I do play sections, they won’t sound great, much like a first draft or a sketch. I rarely like to listen to a new piece before I investigate it myself, mainly out of curiosity to see how near or far from the mark I get to the general interpretation. I will then research the piece and work out the roles of the harp within the orchestral texture. After I become quite familiar with it I’ll start listening to it, both with and without the printed music. With 3 busy weeks to learn it, time is of the essence and I’m trying to cut myself a little slack. It probably won’t be perfect this time. Marking up is a long and vital part of the process, and I’m often adjusting and making corrections a few days before a performance and, best of all, afterwards if there’s a repeat performance. Then I can go to a deeper level. There is only one performance this time, so hopefully I will have the opportunity to do it again. It’s a lot of work, which I enjoy immensely.

There’s an arid coldness to some of Britten’s writing and I often find his music can seem quite angular, stark and impenetrable at first, and by the same token there is so much beauty, such warmth and spine tingling emotion. His violin concerto is a scorcher, his operas masterpieces. One of my all time favourite Britten works is the Lute Song from Gloriana, so simply stunning I’ve added this sound clip.

The fact he almost always writes for the harp in his works means Britten is a force to be reckoned with and the challenge of learning one of his pieces is an opportunity for enrichment.

Draft pedalling

This will need work to make it work

I digress. Great pedalling is an art form and it’s very important to find a system that works. If you’re a non musician or lever harpist, the harp has 7 pedals, one for each note, with 3 positions - flats are at the top, naturals in the middle, and pressing the pedal right down sharpens the note. Accidentals (flats, naturals and sharps) basically make the note sound higher or lower. Looking at my feet, the pedals are in this order: D, C, B / E, F, G, A. I’m a left foot over right foot kind of girl. This means I write my pedals with D, C, B on top. There’s no right or wrong here but consistency is key.

Brownie points

if you can tell me why I need to edit this page

Choosing a good fingering can only really be done at the harp so that you can hear the results. To some extent, you can do this away from the instrument but you have to hear and feel the result and like pedalling, the fingering I choose might not work for another harpist. I think it’s down to morphology and how my brain functions as well as technical ability. I know some harpists would laugh at my imaginative fingerings but if they work for me and the music, it doesn’t matter. I try to choose my fingering according to the articulation and the musical intention and Britten is very precise in his demands. The small arrows in the passage above mean staccatissimo, very very short, and ppp means pianississimo - very very quiet, so this can be quite tricky especially if it’s fast. Articulation is like talking. Imagine someone talking in a monotone way, you soon stop listening. It’s the same with music.

Analysis is essential in understanding the piece, so this means working on key signatures, time signatures, harmonic progressions, basic structure and so on. It’s like baking a cake - knowing and understanding the ingredients you’re putting in. It’s way less boring than it sounds - it can be a vividly colourful discovery.

Visual memory is so important. I feel reassured if I can see the pages in my mind away from the harp and the more detail the better. Learning a new piece is like putting information into a computer. Input it any old how and any old how is what you get out. This doesn’t stop me from making it a fun, indulgent, imaginative and creative learning experience. This may seem silly but listening is important! Sometimes I’m so busy with one particular aspect of the music that I feel daft when I realise I’ve stopped listening. I pay attention to the various voicings in each hand. Germaine, my teacher in France taught me this, to define each line within a chordal left hand part for example, to connect the notes and hear and SING the individual lines. I can still play many of the pieces I learnt with her mostly from memory. This brings me to muscle memory, a vital element in practice and performance. What I mean is feeling the gaps between the fingers (inversions), the jumps, left and right hand coordination, how to remember the music by encouraging the body to FEEL it. It is physical and emotional work. And it’s as much fun as I make it.

The metronome soon becomes my close ally again and sets me on the right track. Slowly but surely I will get there and my aim is to feel as though the music belongs to me, that I know it intimately. I often get discouraged during the learning process - this is normal and I know I just have to keep going, or take a break and let the music in. When I feel like this, I remind myself to focus on how I want to feel in the rehearsal and concert, to focus on the music and the performance. Visualisation and meditation are really useful here. I’ve suffered from performance anxiety in the past, and sometimes I still do. It passes as soon as I get into the music. I’ve learnt to manage it and it isn’t destructive anymore. It helps if I have practiced well and offered myself plenty of anchors in my preparation to keep me from going adrift.

Time for some practice. Not on the piano.

Bruno Catalano - Les Voyageurs

Speed Blog

Shades of Blue - offstage position

I haven’t blogged for some time. It’s been busy and I’ve started three blog posts but haven’t had time to finish them. So this morning I thought I’d try something new - speed blogging! Sounds like some kind of dodgy online challenge doesn’t it? My longer blog posts don’t take too much time to write and they can be spread out over a few days, or weeks as is the case at the moment. What does take time is the photos and editing, which can go on for a few days after publishing a post.

Blogging can be a great way to attract traffic to a website and to please that search engine, and I love written expression. It feels like a safer way for me to communicate as a lot of the time I can’t articulate my thoughts into sentences fast enough. I used to avoid saying what was on my mind but blogging has taught me to better express myself.

This week is one of the busiest so far this year and is the polar opposite of how my life was a year ago. Tonight I’m playing offstage harp for Opera North’s Tosca in Leeds, so I leave at 4pm, play around 2 minutes worth of music and I get home just before 10. It seems crazy that that minute moment of music involves so much time and effort. Tomorrow is a lunchtime chamber music recital at St Paul’s at Huddersfield University followed by a Q&A session around being an orchestral musician, chamber musician and freelancer. It will be an interesting challenge to push myself out of my comfort zone. I’m not a natural public speaker (see above) and I’ve even volunteered to introduce our last piece, Pastorales de Noël by Jolivet. Then I can come home and be ill for an hour as I’ve got a cold, and we get into preparation for Friday, which is the really big one this week - playing the pit part in Tosca.

Debut

In the pit this Friday night

As I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve always wanted to play Tosca and I set an intention not so long ago to do that. Here we are, the moment has finally come. Saturday and Sunday I get to cover Merry Widow by Lehár, that’s less stressful as I did it when I was in Cape Town and had a decent amount of rehearsal on it. I was hoping for a quiet day off Monday but I might have a rehearsal now. That’s as far as I can go in my head without it imploding.

Warming up

Enjoying a few precious moments with my harp before the shoot

It’s great to be busy. If I could change one thing, it would be the amount of practice time - I would like to quadruple that! My phone stopwatch is ticking and I need to add photos and edit this. I’ve also vowed not to revisit this post and tweak it - my next challenge is learning to let go.

Selling Myself - Good Things Happen in Threes

The first thing you’ll notice about the photos in this post is the quality. That’s because I didn’t take them! Like most introverts, self promotion doesn’t come easily. I love playing the harp and most things about my amazing instrument fascinate me, but the business aspect of my job is not one of my strongest points. It’s Monday morning and as I sat looking through my lists and checking my website and my social media, well, the only social medium I use, I realised that I’ve got about an hour most mornings this week to catch up on one of my favourite things, a bit of writing. It’s been a full on hectic fortnight interspersed with bouts of sporadic sleep and there’s been a delicious abundance of notes on my music stand and, thankfully, there still is.

The main project was my video and photo shoot. I had my trusted creative team on board, photographer John Steel and the indefinable Gareth Boot. John is a fabulous photographer who I first met at a wedding fayre at Durker Roods Hotel in our village in 2015. He asked if he could take my photo and despite thinking he was a bit odd, I was delighted with the artistic result he came up with of me playing in the hotel reception area. His work stood out. There was something special about it, and I loved how he made my harp look. There’s definitely something about me and chandeliers.

Just over a year ago, I received some social media training with Esther Orridge at Social Progress in Honley. She put me back in touch with John and he made my publicity shots on top of the local moor an experience that was fun and occasionally too exciting. I found out that he isn’t odd, he’s just quirky and introverted, a bit like me. Picture John with all his photography gear, and me in a 1960’s Berketex heavy velvet dress (£25 from the local antiques shop), winter coat and walking boots trying to find even ground where it was safe to balance my harp in the August evening chill. My harp trolley was useless. He lost his shoe in a peaty bog trying to find the ideal purple heathery ground. We both agreed to try somewhere else, which resulted in some unique breathtaking shots with my harp and a paradisiac sunset.

Magical Moorland

August evening shoot just up the road. Passers by slowed down and turned their heads at the sight of spotlights and a harp

Compromise doesn’t sit well with John - he questioned my sense of adventure when I suggested doing the shoot from the safety of the car park. I’m glad he did.

I could feel his disappointment when I refused to take my harp outside at Wortley Hall on the 10th of the 9th, 2018 - the sky was ideal for outdoor photography but it was a cool damp day and I had nightmarish visions of it being engulfed in the murky water of the fountain or the two of us slowly sinking to the sombre depths of the nearby pond. Maybe next time if it’s warmer. Not the water shots, obviously. I think the results of our shoot for my website and social medium are pretty cool to say the least. It took place in the appropriately named National Association of Women room, a calming tranquil room tucked away at the back of the hotel, as well as the stunning Foundry Dining Room. I’m a huge fan of John’s work - his creative imaginative style and his attention to detail are outstanding and his editing is seamless. There’s a vivid realness to his images and they ooze life and emotion. When he’s not behind his camera or at his computer, or even on his skateboard, he’s devoted to his two daughters and I love emailing him and getting his out of office reply telling me he’s spending time with his little ones. My one disappointment is that I can’t show you every single one of his fabulous shots here.

Straight on Insta?

My expression reflects exactly how I feel about social media

First came the bit I was really dreading - the video shoot starting at 9am with three hand claps (see photos below). I’d experimented with video at Easter with my close friend Sali and came to the conclusion that the only way to do video was with friends and people I felt comfortable with. Cue another close friend, Gareth Boot, a man with a fervent sense of curiosity and a mind blowing interest in everything, especially technology. I met Gareth thanks to John when I was in quite a dark despondent place in my life a year ago. I was trying to find someone to help breathe life into my old website which I’d never had updated, and after meeting a few website designers, I had a brief phone conversation with Mr Boot. Maybe it’s his background in sales or perhaps his reassuringly broad Yorkshire accent, but I knew immediately he was the right person to help me get my website and my business up to date. After his initial design and the addition of John’s striking photos, I had a website I was proud of which reflected my personality and showcased the services I provided, with the additional bonus of being able to update it myself.

Wisdom and learning

The initial discomfort of seeing myself in action

When I met Gareth, nothing seemed to be going well in my life and with very little work, I was struggling to find any motivation to just get up in the morning. With his firm but fair support and using his CARE system (he’s written a book called TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF - The Four Non-negotiables of Achievement, described as “a personal development book for people who don’t read personal development books”), I started to turn my life around, stopping smoking last December and subsequently giving booze the finger a month later. I haven’t smoked or had a drink since and I’m exercising regularly for the first time in my life so he’s doing something right. Even though things aren’t quite bouncing yet, my outlook on life is significantly rosier than it was 12 months ago. Armed with his knack and penchant for technology, his dogged perfectionism and his creative passion, I knew GB would be the right man for the task.

I had some sound clips recorded a year ago which helped with the process of planning the videoclips. I limited myself to 3 non stop takes of each selected excerpt, a good way of managing my niggling perfectionism. I chose 3 outfits reflecting different aspects of my performance work as well as the styles of the music I played and my personality. I asked if I could use the NAW room at Wortley Hall as I once spent a long break during a wedding in there and spent an hour in utter peace and quiet, so I was almost certain there would be no noise pollution and that we could work undisturbed. Being in a room that represented the suffragette movement also felt significant in this process of finding and owning my voice again and expressing it, both behind my harp and without the comforting reassurance of its towering protection. It was a very positive experience and as you can see, there was quite a lot of laughter to accompany the serious professionalism.

You can check out John Steel’s fabulous images on this website and at johnsteelphotography.com The results of my video shoot with Gareth Boot are on the See Hear page, and you can find out more about Gareth at garethboot.com I have a YouTube channel - Rhian Evans Harpist. I also have a Facebook page, imaginatively called Rhian Evans Harpist. I am incredibly grateful to Laurie and all the staff at Wortley Hall for their assistance and support and for being willing to open up such a stunning weighty venue for my project. Sincere thanks to the couple at the hotel who were curious about what John and I were up to in the dining room with my huge harp. They happily engaged in conversation with me, resulting in some relaxed looking natural shots. The posed ones looked, well, posed.

Clapping

There was this thing where he had to clap three times to sync the sound - obviously nobody else could get a clap in edgeways

Like this?

The art of clapping

Showing us how it’s done

Opinionated

Gareth isn’t the only one who enjoys expressing himself

Exasperation

I think I won him round in the end

Don’t give up your day job GB

Like I said, he’s interested in everything