Summer Festival Performers

July 10- 13, 2008

Performers and workshop presenters - for 2008

updated May 5, 2008

Here are the perfomers and workshop presenters who will appear at Somerset on the Potomac in 2008

Angi Bemiss
Lisa Boggess
Barbra Bailey Bradley
Jerry Brown
Pamela Bruner
Nicolas Carter
Cynthia Cathcart
Melissa Collins
Kathy De Angelo
Edie Elkan
Gloria Galante
Melinda Gardner and Mona Peck
Martha Gallagher
Robbin Gordon-Cartier
Corrina Hewat
Nancy Hurrell
Cynthy Johnson
Sharon Knowles
Joanna Mell
John Metras
Ray Pool
Sue Richards
Port Righ - Jo and Wayne Morrison
Barbara Seidman
John Sheridan
Sunita Staneslow
Harper Tasche
Louise Trotter
Frank Voltz

Angi Bemiss

Angi Bemiss is one of the most prolific arrangers and publishers of music for the lever harp. Her publications cover many genres of music: classical, contemplative, worship, popular, and movie themes. She has also published KISS Weddings , a complete guide for a wedding harpist (including arrangements of many wedding favorites), and Lead Sheet Basics , a series of books with a “soup to nuts” approach to mastering the use of lead sheets/fake books for developing your own arrangements.

Angi is a popular work shop presenter, known for her logical approach and excellent handouts. Topics include copyrights/recording/publishing, using music notation software, the role of a wedding harpist, and developing your own arrangements. As a harpist, Angi is a CMP who graduated from MHTP in 1/98. She has played at Northside Hospital , in Atlanta , for 10 years. She also plays at a hospice and for weddings and church services. She has recorded four CDs titled "Simply the Harp": I – Peaceful Songs, II – Lullabies & Tranquil Songs, III – Contemplative Songs of Faith, and IV – Christmas Serenity.

Lisa Boggess - Winner of the 2007 New Century Harp Competition, Lisa Boggess is a freelance performer and teacher with over 20 years of experience on the harp, piano, and organ. She holds degrees from Indiana University and Valparaiso University. In addition to playing at numerous church, corporate, and private events, Ms. Boggess has appeared with the Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra, West Suburban Symphony, Oak Park/River Forest Children's Chorus, and the Downer's Grove Choral Society. She is the founder/director of Harpe Diem and Glissando, performing harp ensembles that make several local appearances including Chicago's Celtic Fest. In 2004 and 2006, Ms. Boggess released two CDs of original harp and piano compositions entitled Lakeshore Escape and Full Circle.

Barbra Bailey Bradley began piano instruction at age 5, and has been a professional musician forever - touring as a supporting artist for various singers and instrumentalists,adjudicating music festivals, concertizing, and teaching.

She studied harp in Graduate School at IU, and then had a long hiatus before coming back to it full force seven years ago. Now she freelances on both harp and piano in DC, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia - including playing harp as one of the regulars at Ireland's Four Courts in Arlington, Virginia, and teaching piano and harp at the National Cathedral School in Washington, DC.

Barbra will present a No-Stress Workshop for Beginners - a great intro for the shy , inexperienced or beginning harp player.

Jerry Brown is owner and founder of Musicmaker’s Kits, Inc., in Minnesota, and author of Folk Harp Design and Construction, a 150-page manual on harp making. An admitted kit-monger, plywood soundboard pusher, and incurable do-it-yourselfer, he has spent the past 27 years learning about harp-making and teaching others how to build their own musical instruments. Jerry will present a workshop about designing and building harps.

Pamela Bruner
Pamela Bruner is known around the country for her dynamic harp & voice performances, powerful workshops, and gentle, encouraging teaching. She is also a professional life coach, working with people in all walks of life to empower them in living life joyfully. Her workshop 'Creating Music with Love, not Fear' has been called 'life-changing'. Pamela has released numerous albums, and several books for harp, including 'Harp Accompaniment for Vocals'. With her husband Dave Woodworth of Heartland Harps, she also helps design harps, and creates and paints soundboard artwork for harps.

Nicolas Carter was raised in Asuncion, Pararguay where he learned to play the Paraguayan harp., His teacher Isidro Caballero (Father to Paraguay's harp genius Nicolasito) taught in the traditional folk style of learning by ear and developing memory and improvisation skills. Nicolas says "it was the ideal way for me to learn, every note I have to hear and feel it. Music becomes special when it comes from the heart, you can feel it reaching out. That's why I love to play."

Nicolas has been playing professionally since 1988 and has participated various ensembles: Lizza Bogado y los del Sur (Paraguayan music), Son del Sur (traditional Latin American folk music) Los Amigos (traditional Mexican music) and Nube (New World Fusion). He collaborates frequently with various Minnesotan musicians and plays in a wide range of venues from concert halls to outdoor weddings. His repertoire includes a wide range of Latin American music as well as original compositions that blend music styles from various parts of the world. As a solo harpist Nicolas has had concerts in Europe, the United States and Latin America.

Nicolas combines his passion for music with various educational workshops and theatrical performances. He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Theatre Direction from the University of Minnesota and was a Fullbright Scholar in Paris, France. He currently resides in Crystal, Minnesota with his wife and three children.

Cynthia Cathcart is a master harper, twice U.S. National Scottish Harp Champion, and one of the world’s foremost experts on the wire-strung harp – the Clarsach – of Ireland and the islands and highlands of Scotland. Cynthia is a knowledgeable and highly-regarded performer, educator, and author. Her books are regarded as essential for the brilliant revival of this ancient instrument. Strung with brass and silver wire, Cynthia's clarsach produces a unique and enchanting soundunlike any other harp. Dirty Linen Magazine describes Cynthia’s playing as “Clear, pure and glistening…bell like, and resonating with rich layers of harmonics – her playing is nothing short of stunning and uplifting.” An endorsed Ardival Harps Artist who manages her time between the States and the village of Strathpeffer in Scotland where her harps are manufactured, Cynthia will present three workshops for us: her ever-popular “Goal Setting at the Harp,” as well as an introduction to wire technique and a workshop on Crossing Fingers.

Singer/harpist Melissa Collins has spent over 30 years in the music education field working as an elementary music teacher and instructor and teaching consultant for the International Yamaha Music School. Now days she takes her small harps to schools, churches, healing centers and anyplace that will have her to teach introductory harp classes. She is also a certified Therapeutic Harp Practitioner with the International Harp Therapy Program and uses music for healing and restoration in area nursing homes, hospitals and private settings. She is also the creator of the Music Vigil, a palliative care program for the dying.

Hand in hand with her musical endeavors, Melissa is on the faculty at Binghamton University as a yoga instructor. She has public classes in yoga and meditation and does yoga presentations and workshops for businesses and other organizations in addition to individual sessions for Yoga Therapy.

Kathy De AngeloThis is Kathy's 7th year as concert manager for Somerset and 7th year as a workshop presenter. She and her husband Dennis Gormley have been performing traditional Irish music as McDermott's Handy since 1979. She plays mainly harp and fiddle and sings in English and Irish. When she's not performing, she's teaching harp and fiddle (since 1985) or producing harp concerts and workshops in the Philadelphia area. She runs the annual Harpers Escape Weekend, now in its 14th year. She recently started her own company, You Gotta Have Harp Productions, to promote harping musicians.

Edie Eileen Elkan began studying piano at the age of 7 and fell in love with the harp at 14, taking lessons throughout high school with Mary Ann Castaldo. Winning a Board of Education music scholarship upon her graduation, she pursued advanced harp studies at the Philadelphia Musical Academy with the late Marilyn Costello. Two and half years later Edie was forced to give up her beloved instrument because of financial reasons, and for the ensuing 28 years, taught piano and music in the United States and abroad. In 1993, three persons close to Edie died within eight months of each other. As she worked through her grief, she realized she needed to return to the instrument of her dreams and used her inheritance to buy a brand new Salzedo model concert grand-even though she hadn't touched the instrument for nearly three decades! From 1996 to 2002 Edie studied with virtuoso principal harpist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Elizabeth Hainen. Her return to the instrument came full circle when she learned how the harp was being used in medical environments. She became a certified harp practitioner in August of 2000 and two years later, in February 2002, founded the first New Jersey hospital-based harp therapy program, BEDSIDE HARP. The program is presently running in four hospitals: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Hamilton, NJ, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Rahway, NJ, and The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, NJ; and at one college: Bucks County Community College in Newtown, Pennsylvania, where certification students can receive continuing education credits for their work.

Martha Gallagher On Celtic harp, bold and beautiful, with vocals, from powerful to poignant to hilarious, with delightful stories weaving the songs together, her concerts are mature, yet playful, with an appeal that spans many generations.

Inspired by the mountains, lakes, valleys, and rivers that are her Adirondack home, her music transcends regional definition to appeal to many generations of people in many walks of life in many parts of the world.

She's been a member of a symphony orchestra, the lead singer in a rock band, and the lead singer in a jazz/blues band, as well as a presentor of educational programs on harps in elementary and secondary schools. Her tours have taken her around the USA and Canada, with several tours being sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Gloria Galante - Gloria Galante, CMP, MM, BS, has studied the harp with the  Philadelphia Orchestra's premiere harpist, Edna Phillips, winning  the  matinee musical award at age 18.

Gloria has toured internationally as a solo artist, chamber musician, 
member of ensembles and orchestras.

Gloria Galante is the professor and creator of the WCU harp program at  West Chester University College of Visual/Performing Arts. www.wcupa.edu/cvpa    She is also a composer of works, transcriptions and therapeutic  pieces for the harp.

Ms. Galante is the director of the WCU College of the Visual and 
Performing Arts Harp ensemble, WCU annual Harp Festival and  WCU Harp  Camp, Musicopia ensemble leader, and teaching artist on the 
prestigious Pennsylvania Council of the Arts.

Gloria has 30 recordings and produced 2 therapeutic harp CDS raising 
donations for Susan G. Komen for the Cure.  She is a CMP certified 
music practitioner and an advisor of the MHTP (Music for Healing and 
Transition Program).

Melinda Gardner, Melinda Gardiner is a harper, singer, liturgist, liturgical musician and retreat leader, a Registered Nurse and a Certified Music Practitioner, the Executive Director of the Music for Healing and Transition Program, Inc, and a teacher for MHTP. She has  40-year background in Complemetary Healing Modalities, and is a hospice worker, Reiki Practitioner, and a teacher of Therapeutic Touch.

Robbin Gordon-Cartier was graduated Magna Cum Laude from Montclair State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education. As a young harpist, she spent summers in Dublin, Ireland, studying at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. She was a gold medalist at the Granard Harp Festival in Ireland. She has been a recipient of numerous educational grants and awards.

Mrs. Gordon-Cartier maintains a private studio where she teaches
students of all ages. Robbin regularly freelances in the metropolitan
area. Performance credits include appearances at Carnegie Hall and
Alice Tully Hall in New York City; the New Jersey Performing Arts
Center; the Pablo Casals Music Festival in San Juan, Puerto Rico; and
the National Symphony Orchestra of Santo Domingo, Dominican
Republic. She has appeared on several television shows and
recordings and at events honoring Lord Guiness, Cicely Tyson and Sir
James Galway. Most recently she was a member of the orchestras for
the Three Irish Tenors concerts and Clay Aikens “Make a Joyful Noise” tour.
A teacher in the East Orange School District, Mrs. Gordon-Cartier
directs the harp program, which she originally created for the
Elizabeth School District. She is the president of the North Jersey
Chapter of the American Harp Society and is a sought-after presenter
of workshops across the country. Robbin is a Director at Large on
the Board of Directors of the American Harp Society

CORRINA HEWAT

Nominated Instrumentalist of the Year 2004 at the Scottish Traditional Music Awards, Corrina has toured through Europe, the Far East, Israel, Canada and parts of the USA taking the Small Harp to a new level of excellence, combining traditional style music with contemporary attitude. She is also blessed with a stunningly individual voice, which resonates with years of soaking up Scotland's musical tradition, while exploring contemporary elements and jazz. She co-directs a 22 piece Scottish Folk big band called the Unusual Suspects ( www.unusualsuspects.uk.com ) nominated for Best Live Act 2005, while also touring with Kathryn Tickell (Northumbrian piper) and a vocal trio with Karine Polwart & Annie Grace. A versatile and exciting musician, performer and teacher at the traditional BA degree courses Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and Newcastle University, she has recorded over 30 albums in the last twelve years with Bachue, Shine, The Unusual Suspects, Chantan and Kathryn Tickell among others. She has also been part of the Edinburgh International Harp Festival committee since 2002. Corrina has one book of tunes and arrangements with accompanying CD, called ‘Scottish Harp' ( www.scotlandsmusic.com ) with another to be released in 2008. She has six 30-minute videos available for download on for post beginner/intermediate players ( www.ayepod.net ) . A forthcoming solo album is to be released in June 2008. www.corrinahewat.com

Nancy Hurrell performs on historical harps, celtic and classical harps. In addition to solo concerts, Nancy performs and records with the Boston-based groups, RENAISSONICS , Musicians of the Old Post Road , and the O'Carolan Consort , playing a variety of harps including the Italian renaissance double row and the baroque Spanish cross-strung harp. Nancy is also a harp historian; she is the chairperson for the Historical Harp Society's Survey Project, creating a database of existing antique harps. She is a harp consultant for the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, presenting lecture-demonstrations and making recordings on harps in the collection. Nancy enjoys presenting workshops to groups across the US and Canada , and appearing at many festivals: Boston Early Music Festival , Amherst Early Music Festival , Somerset and HarpCon. She teaches at the New Hampshire School for Scottish Arts and the Boston Conservatory. On classical harp, Nancy has a M.M. degree in harp performance, and she was harpist for Tea at the Ritz in Boston for five years. Nancy has several recordings, and her books of harp ensemble arrangements are popular with players around the world. www.HurrellHarp.com

Cynthy Johnson is a Harpist and Certified Therapeutic Harp Practitioner (CTHP). The depth and breadth of her musical experience spans over 30 years encompassing Liturgical Organ, Piano, Flute, Acoustic Guitar, Voice, Native American Flute, and Harp. Cynthy studied pedal harp at The Academy of Music, where she was trained in the Salzedo Method, under the tutelage of accomplished harpist Lynnelle Ediger-Kordzaia. She pursued lever harp studies through several notable harpists and is currently under the tutelage of Frank Voltz. She is a member of the American Harp Society and a member of the International Society of Folkharpers and Craftsmen (ISFHC). She is also the founding member and President for a Chapter of the ISFHC, the Anam Cara Harp Circle.
Cynthy holds an undergraduate degree in Health Sciences and has an extensive background in Music, Healthcare and Business Management. Cynthy also holds Certifications in Hospice Care, Christian Spiritual Direction, Business Management and Leadership Development. Cynthy studied liturgical organ, music composition and theory at the University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport, CT. Currently, she serves the Richmond, VA and surrounding communities as a Professional Harpist, Harp Instructor and Coach, and a CTHP. She is a graduate of the International Harp Therapy Program in San Diego, CA. She mentors new harp therapy students and graduates in both music and the application of bedside music, as well as providing them with business consultation in starting and sustaining their own practice as therapeutic musicians. Cynthy has a dedicated chapter published in Christina Tourin’s book, “Harp Therapy Manual – Cradle of Sound”.

Cynthy has co-produced CDs in collaboration with Jeff Lewis, of Lewis Creek Instruments, for the benefit of hospitals, hospices and assisted living facilities. The CDs feature some of the pieces she uses while engaged in harp therapy for various clients.

Sharon Knowles emigrated from Scotland to the US in 1997, and has quickly become a popular teacher around the US from Georgia to Alaska. She likes to teach adults who believe they have no musical talent, and prove them wrong! Another of her favourite activities is accompanying traditional music in an exciting and inventive way. Sharon has taught and performed at many noted summer schools in the United States including Ohio Scottish Arts School, the Big Sky Harp Festival in Montana, and Common Ground on the Hill. Sharon is currently working on her first solo album, "The Raven's Wing". She plays in the band Fynesound and with Sue Richards in the Celtic harp duo HEN. Sharon was the first harp player to perform with both a Highland dancer and an Irish dancer, another example of her innovative attitude towards the Celtic traditions. In addition, she has played her harp for large theatre productions and organises concerts and workshops for adults and children at her home near Gettysburg, PA. 

Joanna Mell is an accomplished performer on both pedal and traditional
harps, adding her voice and storytelling to enhance her concerts. She is
also an experienced therapeutic harpist on staff at Grand View Hospital
Hospice, and is the founder and director of the Heart of God Harpers, and
the Heart of God Therapeutic Harp Music training program. Joanna and her
students work in hospitals, nursing homes and private homes, bringing their
healing music to those suffering in mind, body and spirit. Joanna is a full
member of the International Order of St. Luke the Physician and also holds a
B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in International Relations. She
has several CDs of Celtic music as well as music for meditation and healing,
as well as published arrangments of sacred and classical music. She lives
in Bucks County, PA with her husband, Ken Mark, a home care/hospice nurse.

John Metras

John has played a number of instruments professionally since the 1970s, including the guitar, piano, accordion and harp. As a graduate of Lone Mountain College as a guitar major, he proceeded to obtain a Masters degree in Music Education from Holy Names College in Oakland and a teaching credential at San Francisco State University.

John has been teaching music in Sonoma County schools for over 30 years, has mentored a number of new music teachers, and is certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. In 2004 he won 1st place in the prestigious Lyon & Healy International Jazz and Pop Harpfest in the nonpedal harp division, playing his set on the cross-strung harp. He has published a number of books for harp, including 3 books for cross-strung harp. He has also taught at a number of local and national harp conferences (including the 2006 AHS National Conference, the 2006 Somerset “West” Folk Harp Festival in San Jose, the 2007 Big Sky Harp Festival in Montana and the 2007 Lyon & Healy Pop & Jazz Harpfest in Salt Lake City). John has been a major promoter of the chromatic cross-strung harp due to the instrument's size, weight, cost, and versatility in playing any type of music without the use of levers or pedals. John started his own publishing company (Metrasound Music) in 1992 and has published a song flute method, and a band method, in addition to his numerous harp publications.

Mona Peck began harp lessons at age nine, at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in Milwaukee with teacher Phyllis Schlomovitz. Throughout her early years she won competitions sponsored by the Wisconsin Federation of Music Clubs, playing recitals and television shows. Mona was also the winner of the Tri-M Music Honor Society.

She made her formal orchestral debut, winning the Youth in Music Series, performing the Debussy “Danses” as soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Mona was a Harp performance Major at Eastman School of Music, studying with Eileen Malone.

Mona is a graduate of the Music for Healing and Transition Program, Inc. (MHTP) and is a Certified Music Practitioner. She has worked in nursing homes and hospitals in New York and Connecticut .

She is currently working for four hospices and one palliative care hospital in Westchester NY . Mona is Faculty for MHTP as well as the President of the Board of Directors and Advisor Administrator.

Mona teaches privately and also writes arrangements and original pieces and has a CD titled, “ Mona~ Music for the Body, Mind & Spirit” . She has also co-written a book, “ Shadows of the Living Light~ Songs of Saint Hildegard of Bingen ” with Melinda Gardiner.

Ray Pool -was the harpist at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City for 17 years! He is a teacher, recording artist, composer, arranger and clinician. A graduate of Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, as an organ major, Mr. Pool later studied harp privately with Dewey Owens and Lucile Lawrence.
He is the author of various writings on harmony for both lever and pedal harp available in book form and on video. Other publications include numerous collections of solos of both popular repertoire, traditional tunes and seasonal favorites for lever harp, pedal harp and multiple pedal harps. He is also a frequent contributor to The Harp Column with articles on harmony and arranging. And various works have been reviewed in that magazine by Jan Jennings.

Ray is thoroughly knowledgable, likeable, and helpful. He has traveled all over the United States with his workshops, and has gotten rave reviews. Ray is the foremost promoter for tuning lever harps in Eb.
Check out Ray's web site www.raypool.com for more info.

Sue Richards

"One of America's brightest stars.." -Dirty Linen Magazine  Sue Richards  studied harp in Ohio with Lucy Lewis  and Jean Harriman, and then turned to the Irish and Scottish traditional music of her heritage. She won the American National Scottish Harp Championship four times and is a Scottish Harp Society of America (SHSA) Distinguished Judge. She has served as president of SHSA and the Washington, D.C., Folk Harp Society. She is a popular teacher, adjudicator, composer and arranger, and has taught from Alaska to Maine.  She appeared at the Edinburgh International Harp Festival and Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow, toured Norway and Sweden with the "Harpa"ensemble, played for President Bill Clinton, and sat in with the Chieftains. Sue can be heard on dozens of recordings, both solo and with ENSEMBLE GALILEI, a group of five women specializing in Celtic, Early, and original music. As a member of EG she has written music and performed in two multi-media shows, “A Universe of Dreams”, and “First Person: Letters from the Edge of the World”, the latter sponsored by the National Geographic Society and having its debut in April of 2007.

Port Righ Featuring Celtic harp and bagpipes, the distinctive duo Port Righ also incorporates vocals and concertina into their passionate renditions of traditional Celtic and original music.   Harper Jo Morrison is known for her evocative arrangements and original tunes for the harp.  Having spent several months in 2005 writing music, teaching, and performing on the Isle of Lewis in
Scotland, her knowledge and understanding of the Celtic genre puts her in great demand as performer, adjudicator, and teacher across the country.  Green Man Review states: "Jo gets more out of the harp than should be possible." In addition to playing the Highland bagpipe, Wayne Morrison also performs on the shuttle pipes, the Highland pipes' quieter cousin.   Wayne also brings concertina and impassioned vocals to the duo's wide mixture of Celtic sounds.
The duo's first CD, Na Bi Gòrach – Don't Be Foolish, was released in April of 2007. The duo has performed concerts at locations such as the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, various Celtic Festivals around the United States and also in Scotland, Ireland, and Germany.

Barbara Seidman - TBA

John Sheridan is a classically-trained pianist and organist, who inexplicably found himself obsessed with the harp one day in January 2000. That eventually led to harp study with Ray Pool, with whom John has appeared at Somerset and elsewhere on numerous occasions. John is also very interested in his Cornish ancestry, and is pleased to be performing his arrangements of Cornish folk tunes in the New Century Harp Competition winners program at this festival.

Sunita Staneslow occupies a unique position in the world of Jewish music today. She is one of the few harpists to perform and record traditional Sephardic and Klezmer music. Sunita was the principal harpist for the Jerusalem Symphony during the 1986-87 season, and it was during this time that her love for traditional Jewish music was sparked. Since then she has spent several months a year in Israel, performing and recording with local musicians, and came on Aliyah (immigrated) with her family in the summer of 2000. Sunita's recordings have been distributed worldwide and she performs regularly in Israel, Europe and the United States. Sunita was named one of the top ten Jewish instrumentalists by Moment magazine and she was a recipient of a 1998 McKnight Foundation Fellowship in recognition of her work with Jewish music. She has released 12 CDs on several labels of Jewish, Celtic and classical music and published several books of her arrangements Jewish music for the harp. Sunita has also performed with the Minnesota Opera and Chicago Chamber Orchestra.

Sunita's music flows from her heart to her harp, expressing herself to her audience with passion and grace. Whether at an intimate reception or main stage performance, Sunita interprets and communicates the depth of her feeling for traditional music. Classically trained and an master of her instrument, she has immersed herself in the worlds of Jewish and Celtic music, performing and recording with some of the great musicians of Europe, Israel, and the United States. Her recordings are popular around the world, and her books of music for harp have become standards with both students and professional harpists.

HARPER TASCHE (sounds like "mackintosh") is an internationally recognized leader among folk harp and cross-strung harp performers, composers, and teachers. He is a sought-after concert artist and clinician at major folk harp festivals, and in performances throughout the United States and Canada; a soloist heard on internationally broadcast television, radio, and feature film; a prize winner, and adjudicator, at harp competitions; a music coach and instructor to award-winning performers, composers, and music teachers; and was recently named "Millennium Harper of WashingtonState" by the international Harping for Harmony Foundation.

HARPER TASCHE delivers outstanding performances in the tradition of ancient Nordic and Celtic masters, evoking laughter, deep poignancy, and profound relaxation. His musicianship is interwoven with superb contemporary storytelling, and does not merely entertain but stimulates the mind, calms the body, and deeply touches the heart. Audience members frequently report feeling transported out of the concert hall and into a place of great natural beauty and peace.

HARPER TASCHE has released six critically-acclaimed solo CDs of his own,and appears as a guest artist on numerous others. He has written three books of music for folk harp, and authored a ground-breaking tutorial for the contemporary cross-strung harp.

HARPER TASCHE's professional music career began at age 15 with a commission to compose and record a soundtrack for the United States Forest Service in Alaska. He continues to reflect the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, and the Norwegian immigrant culture of his childhood, in music which has been shaped by a classical music education as well as traditional and contemporary styles. His compositions for various instruments and voices have been performed by ensembles across the United States, in Canada, and recently at the Rachmaninov Academy in Russia.

HARPER TASCHE can be reached via www.harpcrossing.com. He currently lives in Seattle.

Louise Trotter Combining a love for music with performing, Texan Louise Trotter is a versatile entertainer. She is a nationally recognized harpist, as performer, workshop leader, and panleist at Harp conferences. These include American Harp Society, Canadian Folk Harp Society, World Harp Congress, Edinburgh Scotland Harp Festival, Somerset Folk Harp Festival, Harp Con, and the Lyon and Healy Pop and Jazz Summer Harpfests. She was recently the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society of Folk Harpers and Craftsmen for her promotion of the lever harp. Louise uses both pedal and lever harp in her concerts.

A native of Port Arthur, Texas, now living in Houston, Louise had classical training in piano and harp since early childhood. She was in the all-girl symphony at Texas Women's University, then had advanced study with Mildred Dilling in New York City. She played several years with the Beaumont and Baytown (Texas) Symphonies. Her interest in modern harmony led to studies with the leading pop and jazz harpists in the country.

Louise has given pop workshops all over the U S, Canada, and the Clarsach (lever harp) Society of London and Edinburgh. Her spirit of fun and sharing brings out the most hesitant class members. She published harp arrangements, compositions, and "how-to" manuals, and has recorded ten CD albums of classical, pop, sacred, American, folk and country western music.

Frank Voltz Frank Voltz is a multi-faceted, multi-talented musician whose love of bringing music into the hearts of all people is only surpassed by his love for his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. For over 20 years, Frank has pursued his music career as a performer, conductor, composer and arranger. As a concert performer on organ, piano, and harp, he has presented concerts and recitals in churches, theatres, and concert halls throughout America. He is an accomplished orchestral conductor as well as choral conductor. He has composed pieces for organ, piano, harp, and handbells and publishes many of his works through Chiera Music, his music publishing company. As an arranger, he continues to publish his gospel/jazz harp transcriptions. These arrangements introduce a fresh and exciting approach to traditional hymns and Christmas carols.