| Journal, American Harp Society conference, Day 2 |
| Tuesday, 24 June 2008 | |
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The Harpists Hall of Fame exhibit highlighted many of Detroit’s most celebrated harpists including the late Harvi Griffin, his student Onita Sanders, and of course, the stellar Dorothy Ashby. One article from the December 25, 1960 issue of THIS WEEK magazine caught my eye. Entitled “Why Are Harpists So Beautiful?” the ridiculous article had photographs of what appeared to be models sitting at the instrument. Blond and brunette, their perfect hair, teeth and skin made them seem surreal like some Scarlet O’Hara wannabes. Inside the body of the text, father of the modern harp Carlos Salzedo is quoted as saying that the article is indeed ridiculous and he’d prefer if they’d stop doing that. He commented on the power of the media to dissuade males from the instrument... and that he was not part of such absurdity. While I loved reading that, I had to reflect on the how almost 50 years later those same issues exist in America. You know how I feel about gender and instrument selection. And come to find out my thoughts echo the progressive Salzedo? Well, that’s kinda cool.Anyway, I didn’t really do too much today. The workshops offered included discussions on breathing, practicing and some book club. Needless to say, after 20 some odd years of breathing, practicing and yes, reading, I didn’t quite find the smattering to be of interest. Now, when I was practicing 8 hours a day, I would definitely have participated in the breathing exercises. How often did I have to remind myself, or be reminded, to breathe? It’s like, you get to that difficult passage, the one that you kept practicing over and over and you don’t know what’s going to happen so you take a leap! ………… And then you land. Was it on your feet or your face? Breathing right there in that instance is so important. But alas, I haven’t practiced for 8 hours since college. So, instead I worked on the MHS eNewsletter. (Not too much happening during the summer months besides festivals, camps et al, so it’s going to be light. That’s just FYI.) Then, I decided not to spend the entire day indoors. A short distance from Dearborn is Detroit proper. Although never fully recovered from the 1960s riots, there is much improvement and a recent investment. Within the next 20 years, Detroit will again be a hotspot. Rounding the corner of Jeffrey Highway, I entered the Renaissance Center parking garage and wandered through the labyrinth of a building over too 400. Upstairs, I said hello to Jada Wright-Greene, Tania McGee and Founder/President Aaron Dworkin of the Sphinx Organization. All surprised to see me and me happy to see them, we talked for a few minutes about the goings-on of our respective jobs. Since I dropped in unexpectedly, I couldn’t stay long before someone had to get back to work. Good people. Back at the ranch, I bumped into Robbin Gordon-Cartier. She and I had the same teacher when first I started plucking at age 7. Robbin leads a growing and highly impressive harp department at the Cicely Tyson School of Performing and Fine Arts in East Orange, NJ. She is always thinking of creative ways to engage her students, many of whom have to figure out where they will sleep at night due to familial issues. To her students, she is mentor, mother, teacher and friend. Robbin is these things to many of the people with whom she comes into contact. They know this at the American Harp Society (AHS) where Robbin is instrumental in many of their newer, more forward, activities. (The Board, I hear, can be… um… well, they favor tradition. (Like I how I got out of that one?) She's my hero today for one reason in particular--she has her stuff together! As fate would have it, one of the day's performers broke her foot. Of course, as a harpist dealing with a pedal instrument, your feet are extremely important. This unfortunate one-footed soul was obviously in no shape to perform the next day. She asked Robbin to sit in and Robbin accepted. After practicing well into the night, Robbin performed flawlessly. Another person may not have rose to the occasion, but not Robbin. Seeing a challenge, she rises to the occasion. This is a lesson that I must learn. Anyway, as much as it appears that a lot happened with my day at AHS, I really did shun the conference for the opportunity to work on MHS. Many of you may think that MHS is what I do for a living, like my career. You are, I regret, mistaken. MHS is what happens on nights and weekends and the occasional moment like today. |
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