Composer’s Spotlight: Lisa Tarabbia perfroms ‘Baroque Flamenco’

Composer’s Spotlight Series: Lisa Tarabbia plays ‘Baroque Flamenco’

Lisa Tarabbia is passionate about harmonizing tech and music. She has a bachelor’s degree in Electronic Engineering and a master’s degree in harp studies. She fell in love with Baroque Flamenco so she bought and learned to play it. Her advice to others who want to know more about Baroque Flamenco is to learn how the piece feels and keep on practicing.

Lisa Tarabbia

Lisa Tarabbia is a multitasking girl. She has a bachelor’s degree in Electronic Engineering and a master’s degree in harp studies She has taught music at a public school and harp at a private one. She performs in concerts and events as a soloist or in different ensemble.  Music is not only her passion, music is her everything and playing the harp is her way of expressing it.

Continue reading below for the full interview with Chiara Evangelista

Lisa Tarabbia plays “Baroque Flamenco” during the concert of the “Trio Sette Note” at the manifestation “L’…incanto di Lesa”. The Trio consists of two clarinets and one harp. The concert took place in Villa Lesa, a fraction of Lesa (in the province of Novara), near the Lake Maggiore in Italy on Tuesday 11 august 2015.  The event was organized by the municipality of Lesa.

A Mini-Interview with Lisa

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

Happy. Passion. Liberating. Dreamy. Energy!

2.  What do people say when you play this piece?

“I did not think that the harp could do this!”
“Until recently I thought that the harp was a ‘boring tool’ – Now I’m quiet! I will not say anymore!”
“Just wow!”
“It’s a beautiful piece! How do you find it?”
“It must be really difficult to play”

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

I was looking on YouTube for the new (at time, not anymore) Rainbow Harp by Salvi and I found Eleanor Turner playing this piece on the harp. I fell in love. So I searched for it and bought it.

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

I reinforced my fingers with all those glissando!  My calluses are stronger than ever! 🙂
I think I’ve learned to play not just with my fingers but with all my body.

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

I think I would say that this song should be felt – you cannot play the notes as they are written, you must put something extra.  Also, I would tell them not to lose heart because at first it may seem impossible, but every day that you study it improves.

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?

I think talking to the composer is the greatest help possible.  At the end of the day it is she who wrote and imagined it, and who better than her can tell me what to improve.  The sheet music is a help, but in songs like this, someone listening to you is much more useful.

Please follow this artist on social media and let them know what has opened up for your own self-expression in seeing and hearing their performance, and please share in the comments below.

Instagram: @lisarpa
Youtube: Lisa Tarabbia
Facebook: Lisa Tarabbia
Twitter: @Lisa_93

Stay tuned for more artists soon and check out my Composer’s Spotlight blog series, featuring other talented musicians who played my song!

This post was previously published on May 18, 2016, as part of a blog series featuring performances of my harp showpiece “Baroque Flamenco” by other musicians. Click HERE to link to the overview blog Baroque Flamenco Around the World.