In May 2015, the ‘wild woman of the harp,’ Deborah Henson-Conant, returns to the “Museum of Making Music” in Carlsbad, CA for a concert Fri. May 15th and live hands-on workshop Thu. May 14th for all other other wild harpists in the San Diego area.
The concert is part of MOMM’s 15th Anniversary All Star Concert Series, a year of celebration in which they’re inviting their favorite performers of the past 15 years back for a series of encores.
“I’m so proud to be part of this series” says Deborah Henson-Conant, “because I LOVE the Museum of Making Music and their mission of education and inspiration – and I love feeling like I’m a part of these wonderful exhibits.”
THE WORKSHOP … brings the Sound of a Thousand Strings
On Thursday, the night before DHC’s concert, the museum will open its doors to the greater San Diego harp community for a hands-on harp workshop in one of the most exciting, empowering and FUN skills you could ever learn: the art of impromptu arrangement!
So imagine 30 harps rockin’ the halls of the Museum of Making Music – and you’ve got over a THOUSAND harp strings all vibrating together!
(If you play the harp, check the HipHarp.com Tour page for details about registering for this workshop)
THE SHOW ….is Looped!
On Friday night, the visiting artist, Deborah Henson-Conant, will stride onto stage with her custom-built carbon-fibre harp for her second show at the Museum of Making Music.
She’s a Grammy-nominated electric harp virtuoso with a wicked sense of humor, a gutsy set of vocal chords and a theatrical flair
Inventive. Spontaneous. She pulls sounds from the strings you’d never expect to hear from the instrument St. Peter hands out at the Pearly Gates: Blues. Jazz. Flamenco. Distortion.
And then there’s the looper pedal — a double-jacked foot-pedal that lets her record music on the fly, building rhythmic layers that over and over until she’s created an almost symphonic bed of sound she improvises over.
Poetic dissonance, movement, story and song — all pulled from the 32 strings of an instrument she wear like a massive bronze bow-and-arrow, the electric harp that’s named after her, the “DHC-Light.”
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THE INSTRUMENT …. is her own Invention!
Once upon a time DHC played a hulking 6-foot-tall concert harp, like you see at the back of the orchestra. But she really wanted the freedom to move around the stage – and the freedom to be able to travel with her instrument.
She had a vision of an electric harp she could strap on like an electric guitar, and put in the luggage hold of a plane. She created a prototype and took it to Europe’s most visionary harp builder, Joel Garnier.
For the next 20 years Joel’s company, CAMAC harps, worked with DHC to create the harp of her dreams. The result is the world’s leading electric harp, named after Deborah, the “DHC-Light,” an 11-pound carbon-fibre instrument that can soar over an orchestra – and that she even took on tour with legendary Rock guitarist Steve Vai for a world tour in 2012.
Take a harp. Shrink it down. Strap it on. Plug it in. Deborah Henson-Conant 5/15/15 Carslbad, CA Click To TweetTHE THEATER … Is a Museum!
Do you LOVE music? Do you love to get your hands on the instruments? Do you love to know how it feels to play them? How they work? What they sound like?
Then this museum is for YOU!!
Both the concert and the workshop are hosted by the Museum of Making Music – a wonderful hands-on interactive museum where you are supposed to touch the exhibits. In fact you’re supposed to PLAY all the exhibits!
This museum is all about the art and history and experience of making music! And when you come to the concert, the museum visit is part of that experience!
Museum of Making Music: Where you PLAY the exhibits! Click To TweetEVENT DETAILS:
WORKSHOP – THU. MAY 14
WHAT: “Arrange Yourself” Hands-on Harp Workshop with Deborah Henson-Conant
WHEN: Thu. May 14, 2015 • 7:00-8:30pm
WHERE: Museum of Making Music – Carlsbad, CA
REGISTER: at HipHarp TourPage
CONCERT – FRI. MAY 15
WHAT: Solo Concert with Deborah Henson-Conant
WHEN: Fri. May 15, 2015 • 7:00 pm
WHERE: Museum of Making Music – Carlsbad, CA
TIX: at Museum of Making Music
Looking forward to your concert at the Museum of Making Music in May!
So glad you ‘ll be there, Nancy!