"1812 Overture" meets "Hip Harp!"
Here come the cannons ...and the Harp! 
Missouri Symphony July 23 & 25 and Utah Symphony Aug. 1
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Dear Friends and Fans ...

Quick! Name the top US Symphonies! 

Did you include Utah Symphony? Did you know that, rising from the great salt plains of Utah is one of the nation's greatest orchestras?  And I'm headed out there to play with them in a show that mixes my original pieces with Tchaikovsky's classic "1812 Overture."

UTAH SYMPHONY
Sat. Aug. 1 - 7:30 pm
"1812 Overture" meets "Hip Harp"
Deer Valley Resort, Park City, UT
Just as in Tchaikovsky's thrilling masterwork, played every July 4th around the USA, WE'VE GOT THE CANNONS!  And we'll crank up the energy on the harp to match!  You GOTTA know that's going to be fun!  And I'm thrilled to be onstage again wth my great friend, conductor David Lockington -- the first time we've performed together since our Grammy-Nominated "Invention & Alchemy" project. So join us 8,000 feet above the sea at Deer Valley Snow Park Amphitheater on August 1st for a show that you KNOW is going to end with a bang! ( For Tickets and Info: 801-355-ARTS, www.DeerValleyMusicFestival.org )

Thu. July 30 - 2:00 pm
"Strings of Passion"
An Interactive Lecture "from the harp"!
Do you ever wish you could get behind the scenes and find out what really sparks the creativity of performers you see on stage? On July 30, two days before my August 1st show with the Utah Symphony, I'll "tell all" at the intimate Utah Opera Production Studios in Salt Lake City. Using the harp as a metaphor, "Strings of Passion" combines performance and audience interaction as, together we explore the strings that cannect us to a life of artistic passion, whether we're artists or not!.  More than a "behnd the scenes" experience, "Strings of Passion" is like getting a Backstage Pass into an artist's MIND!   And guess what? This event is nearly free!  Unless I'm reading the posters wrong, admission is only $2! For more information call 801-869-9090.

For a sneak peak at the three entries I wrote for the Utah Symhony blog, click here (pdf).

MISSOURI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Columbia, MO -  July 23 & 25
As this email hits cyberspace, I'll be enroute to MISSOURI to close out the Missouri Symphony's popular eight-week "Hot Summer Nights" music festival in one of the most beautiful pre-Depression era vaudeville houses in the U.S! (Tickets and Info for both shows at 573-875-0600, and www.motheathre.org )  I'll be performing two very different programs with the MSO:

Thu. Jul. 23 - 7:30 pm - "ClassiVibe"
"ClassiVibe" has quickly become a tradition at the "Hot Summer Nights Festival" -- a concert that combines the classical orchestra with unusual and edgy artists, musicians who push their instruments far beyond the standard repertoire, like last year's guest, rock-n-roll cellist Matt Haimovitz   - or like ... me!

Sat. July 25 - 7:30 pm - "Soñando en Español" ("Dreaming in Spanish")
A World Premiere at the "Hot Summer Nights" Series Finale
Forty years ago this week, a man first stepped on the moon, and took our collective consciousness to a place far out of this world. That's exactly what music should do, in it's own way.  And while, of course I love playing ALL the pieces I've written, I have to say that the new concerto I'm premiering, "Soñando en Español," takes me completely to another world!.  It takes three pieces I've developed over many years ("My Mother's Mexican Hat", "Merceditas" and "Baroque Flamcneo") and combines them into a single whole, connected by intimate solo harp interludes.  While I love each of these pieces individually, connecting them in this way, as a concerto*, creates a completely new experience!  It's as if, after years of breaking the ideas down and putting then back together suddenly, they've found their shape. To share my experience of playing "Soñando en Español," watch a clip of the final movement - "Baroque Flamenco," at left.

* (For folks unsure of what a "concerto" is, it's an orchestral piece, usually with several movements, in which there is a solo instrument accompanied by an entire orchestra.)

SPREAD THE WORD! If you can't make it to a show yourself, tell your friends and family. YOU are the word-of-mouth they always say is the best advertisement!

Check out my Tour Schedule for these August Events!

NEW HAMPSHIRE:
Great Waters Festival - Wolfeboro
Sat. Aug. 15 at 7pm
I'll be playing with a trio at this great venue in New Hampshire.  Tix are on sale now at the Great Waters ticket site , where you can buy tix for the show alone, or you can sign up for a picnic dinner along with the show!

MAINE:
Summer Camp for Musicians!!!
5-Day Workshop: Aug. 24 - 29
Shows: Fri. Aug. 28 & Sat. Aug. 29
If you're a performer and want to enrich your onstage experience, DO NOT MISS this 5-day workshop I co-teach with mime-dancer Karen Montanaro at the "Celebration Barn" in South Paris, Maine. The class size is very small, the work is intense and the experience is spectacular.  You can read my memories of being a student at the Barn, an article I wrote about the workshop for the Folk Harp Journal, or my workshop information page.  If you're interested in the workshop , but not sure if it's right for see, see the FAQs on the workshop page, or email me at info@HipHarp.com with your questions.  And if you're interested in attending either the Friday Night "DHC and the Harpbreakers" student show or my solo show Saturday, Aug. 29th at the Celebration Barn, call 207-743-8452 or visit my tour page for more info.

p.s. the photo above was taken last month when I went to perform at the gorgeous Tjibaou Cultural Center in New Caledonia.(in the South Pacific).