Featured Performer: Ronja Ehrbar

NAME & WEBSITE:
Ronja Ehrbar
www.ronja-ehrbar.de

BRIEF BIO or DESCRIPTION OF WHAT YOU DO:
My name is Ronja, I´m 9 years old and I’ve play harp since I was 6.  When I was 5 years old I saw a picture of an angel with an harp in a book of my grandma’s and I was really fascinated!  I bugged my parents until they agreed to search for a harp teacher.

Because I´m a very passionately harpist, the Baroque Flamenco is one of my favourite songs to play on my harp.  After I first learned version 1, I learned version 2 last year.  My listeners love this song!  This year my teacher, Sonja Jahn, wants to show me version 3! I´m very excited, because  this version is my favorite song for harps at all!!!

DESCRIBE THE FOLLOWING PERFORMANCE OF ‘BAROQUE FLAMENCO’ INCLUDING WHERE & WHEN IT WAS:    Ronja at the Young Musicians Award Ceremony in Borken on 9 March 2014, with the Baroque Flamenco Version 2 by Deborah Henson-Conant.

Q & A

1.  If you had to describe the experience of playing “Baroque Flamenco”  in 5 words or less, what would they be?

Explosive, passionate, wonderful!

2.  What do people say when you play this piece? Do you have favorite memories of people’s reactions to it?

The listeners are always amazed because they did not expect such a music of a harp. Often they even have tears in their eyes and speak to me after shows.

3.  What drew you to this piece – why did you choose to learn it??

I like to play fast harp pieces. The rhythmic pounding on the harp was just very difficult for me, but now I think it’s totally great.  It’s just such a diverse and emotional piece that has fascinated me from the beginning.

4.  What does this piece add to your repertoire (and/or your life) that you didn’t have before?

It’s just a very special harp piece. I think it will accompany me all my life

5.  What would you tell someone else who’s thinking of learning this piece that you wish you’d known before you learned it?

You Dare! You will not regret it. Your audience will be delighted. But also pass on some passages good care of your fingertips! I sometimes rubbed me at the beginning of the fingertips.

6.  What do you think you can get from working directly with the composer of the piece that you can’t get from the sheet music?

It would be a huge honor for me to be working with Deborah Henson-Conant! She is a great role model for me. She is just cool and not so stuffy like some harpist. I think she could give me even better, what feelings she has when writing the pieces and when playing them. She could certainly give me quite a lot of improvement tips.