DHC

I Invite You to Join Me to
Complete a Legacy of Music
for a New Generation of Performers.

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I’m Deborah Henson-Conant, known as “DHC” – and I’m  inviting you to be PART of a legacy of music that will change the careers of performers around the world.

After decades of performing my own original compositions on stages worldwide I know what it means to have music that unlocks and empowers an artist’s self-expression.

My compositions were the single most important factor in giving me access to the opportunities that unleashed an  international career. Without them I’d be stuck competing with others to fit in a pre-conceived creative box.

Now they’re now doing the same for others – not just harpists, like me – but others musicians. Yet only 3% of my work has been published.   

Partner with me in completing the other 97% –
to unlock a legacy of music for a new generation of performers. 

Meet Iryna Lytvynenko

In 2024 and 2025 in Kyiv, Ukraine, Bandura virtuoso Iryna Lytvynenko premiered her new adaptations of my concertos “Baroque Flamenco” and “Merceditas” in the midst of a war zone in near black-out conditions, no heat in the rehearsal room, only a generator to light the stage.

Yet she got so many flowers she could not take them off the stage. This music became what she called “an act of resistance against despair” – not just for her, but for each person in her audience. 

“I have long dreamed of having this kind of repertoire my instrument… and now this dream is a reality” she told me.

Yet these concerts would not have happened if donor Dan Beach had not jumped in to sponsor the licensing fee for her concerts through the DHC Legacy Bridge.  His one donation impacted the composer, the performer, the orchestra and every person in her audience.

This is just one of the ways people like you are helping to make music like this possible. 

Your music has become a space of inner freedom and courageous exploration for me, a source of energy that compels me to move forward… It inspires experimentation, an honest dialogue with the audience, and profound creative work that continues despite fatigue, circumstance, and time. 

Iryna Lytvynenko (Kyiv, Ukraine)

I was the Laboratory.  She is the Legacy.

Iryna wasn’t just playing my piece – she was using my piece to represent the passion and struggle of her life – and the life of her people –  to celebrate music, as an act of resistance and a triumph that says ‘we will not be silenced.’

Iryna’s groundbreaking, life-affirming concerts are part of a groundswell: performers around the world using this music for projects that celebrate self-expression, connection, and access to a new level of inspiration for both artists and audiences. 

Your support makes more and more concerts like this possible around the world because each new piece we release opens up new opportunities for self-expression, more opportunities for more artists to inspire more audiences.

And when the music connects, the world is changed.

Here are just some of the artists whose lives and careers are being impacted by the 3% of the music that has been published.

Supporters SEE the huge difference they’re making.

 “This has been one of the things in my 89 years that I treasure most.” wrote Dan Beach, the supporter of the Lytvynenko project. He continues to stress how meaningful it is to him to know he’s directly supporting the work of a composer, a performer and an act of resistance and resilience in a part of the world he would not have had any chance to impact in a personal way, without this project.

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GIVING LEVELS

    Our operating budget for 2026 is $50,000, and includes the publication of chamber works from the Grammy-Nominated project “Invention & Alchemy”, solo harp concert adaptations, the migration of at leat 10 orchestral works plus administration costs.  In addition donations fund performance licenses and scholarships for soloist to work directly with the composer. 

      The Bridge Builder ($25-$1,500)

      You bridge the worlds between sketch and stage, between hope and possibility. Your gift help us to sponsor an orchestral performance license and the administrative work to deliver music to performers, or the migration of a work from obsolete software to the new platform (including careful review to correct converions errors),  or provides a scholarship for coaching that will bring a performance alive.


      The Catalyst       ($1,500-$7,500)

      You power the transformation from sketch to score, from hidden to visible, from “maybe someday” to NOW.  This funds the complete publication process for one solo or chamber ensemble work from sketch to performance-ready score including migration, transcription and final preparation of scores and parts.


      The Legacy Partner ($7,500+)

      Your generosity ensures that this music endures long after we are gone, a living legacy of music that continues to inspire new generations. As a Legacy Partner, your gift directly supports the completion of major orchestral works, the preservation and digital migration of musical scores, and the realization of milestone projects. You help secure not only the future of this music, but also the creative spirit that gave it life.


      Monthly Giving

      Monthly giving provides sustained support for ongoing team operations and manuscript completion

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      Donation Details (for those who like details) - Click to Open

      Here are details of how to donate:

      The DHC Legacy Project is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non‐profit arts service organization. All donations made on Fundraising by Fractured Atlas (at the link above) will be processed by Fractured Atlas and are are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

      If you want to make a major donation and the tax deduction is NOT important to you, just send the check made out to Deborah Henson-Conant at Box 1039 – Arlington, MA 02474.  Otherwise read on:

      If all these details are tedious or confusing, then just connect with me here and we’ll do it together. If you’re good at details, read on!

      FOR TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATIONS:

      1. ONLINE: You can donate direct online at “DHC Legacy Project” Fractured Atlas giving page

      2. CHECKS: If you prefer to donate by check contributions for the charitable purposes of “DHC Legacy Project” must be made payable to “Fractured Atlas” and are tax‐deductible to the extent permitted by law.  For donations over $5,000, I have a form for you to fill out for tax deductible purposes and the link is below)

      Important Details for Donating via Check.  First of all – I am so grateful, delighted, excited that you’re supporting this project!  If you’re paying by check because you want to make a large donation and the tax-deduction isn’t important to you, that’s great!  Just make it out to me Deborah Henson-Conant at Box 1039 – Arlington, MA 02474

      IF YOU WANT YOUR DONATION to be TAX DEDUCTIBLE (in the USA only):

      If you’re paying by check to avoid me having to pay processing fee that Fractured Atlas charges, just know that they  will still charge that fee even with a check (and trust me, it’s small compensation for all the work they do to manage the tax deductions) – so if it’s easier for you, just donate thru the online link above.

      Now that you know that, if you want to make a TAX DEDUCTIBLE CONTRIBUTION by CHECK, here’s how:


      – Make Checks Out to “Fractured Atlas”
      – In the “notes” or “memo” or “for” section on the front of check, write “DHC Legacy Project”
      – Send the check to       Deborah Henson-Conant • Box 1039 • Arlington, MA 02474

      It is extremely important that all checks are made out to “Fractured Atlas” ONLY as they cannot accept checks that are made out to me (the artist), my company or my “project name/Fractured Atlas” — and they will return the checks to me if they receive them.

      C. Donations of $5,000 or more made by check:  Fractured Atlas (our fiscal sponsor) needs this letter on file for each gift of $5,000 or more for their annual accounting audit. The precise language used is important to ensure the tax-deductibility of the gift, so they ask that you use the form they provide specifically for my project ( https://fundraising.fracturedatlas.org/donations/major_gift_letter.pdf)

      If you’re sending a check, just include this completed, signed form with the check and when we get them we’ll forward them together to Fractured Atlas so they can process the donation correctly.

      If you’ve already sent the check or you’d prefer to send the form electronically, just get in touch to let me know, and we’ll work that out.

       

      If this is all tedious and confusing, just get in touch with me and we’ll do it together! 

       

      1. SPECIAL SKILLS, RESOURCES or CONTACTS:  Maybe you have a special skill (like team management, PR, photography, videography, or social media) – or you are connected to a theater or symphony that you’d like to introduce to my work. Or maybe you just love to connect people and you have friends who are passionate patrons of the arts. Let me know!

      There will be other ways to get involved down the line — don’t worry, you’ll be hearing a LOT about this from me going forward!  But for now the goal is to get funding for the projects so that we can complete them!

      The DHC LEGACY PROJECT TEAM

      Nothing could be completd until I discovered I cannot do it alone

      DHC Legacy Project “Inner Team”

      For years I worked alone – creating more and more music that only I could play – until I realized that was not the reason I was writing. As a composer, my music is meant for others to play – for other to breathe their own life into.  But I also could not complete it alone.

      I collected a team of  musicians from all over the world – mostly harp players from professional performers and teachers to impassioned amateurs – who have work together to bring my works to a larger public — and, for many of them, to play it themselves or with their students and ensembles.

      This is the innter team – the people I turn to regularly, and meet with weekly to move this project forward:   Gustavo Muños, Tim Maurice, Sally Walstrum, Tammy Halun, Heleen Vandeputte, Verena Jochum, Mary Robinson – and those who offer help as needed: Eleanor Turner, Evelyn Huber.

      “First Readers, Players & Adapters”

      In addition to the “inner” team we partner with musicians around the world as our “First Readers” and “First Players.”

      First Readers like soloist and teacher Robbin Gordon-Cartier who graciously play half-finished manuscripts for us, providing feedback and videos so we can see how the music works ‘in the field.’ 

      First Players like International Concert artist Josh Layne who first play the full, completed work, once the pre-publication edition has been released, providing additional feedback.

      Premiere Performers – like Verena Jochum who take the works into the public for the first time, and provide us another level of feedback – not just about their experience, but how the audience experiences it.

      Adapters and Innovators – Iryna Lytvynenko from Ukraine who adapted “Baroque Flamenco” and “Merceditas” for Bandura, and Verena Jochum who’s adapting the “Soñando en Español” trilogy suite as storytale music for both adults and children.

      What We're Building:

       Together with the DHC Legacy Project Team, we’re creating a complete musical ecosystem that:

      ✓ Completes manuscripts for publication
      ✓ Partners with performers, orchestras, and educators worldwide
      ✓ Empowers through training and coaching programs
      ✓ Supports performances through the Legacy Bridge
      ✓ Promotes works and performers globally

      Preparation of the works includes migrating each one from the obsolete “Finale” platform to the new “Dorico” system to avoid complete loss of the digital files. This is something every composer who built their work with Finale Software is facing since its discontinuation in 2024, but with hundreds of works representing 35 years of composition—from full orchestral scores to chamber works, musicals, song cycles, and educational materials—each requiring meticulous page-by-page conversion, the migration alone can easily take 2 years of detailed technical work.

      This needs to be done for each work, before the editing and completion of the sketched elements can begin.

      The Works Include:

       CHAMBER MUSIC & CONCERTOS for Harp & Orchestra  

      Including

      • Baroque Flamenco for harp & symphony orchestra (or chamber ensemble)
        • Status: Requires full migration to the Dorico platform to avoid obsolescence
      • Soñando en Espagnol for harp & symphony orchestra (or chamber ensemble)
        • Status: Requires full migration to the Dorico platform to avoid obsolescence
      • Stress Analysis of a Strapless Evening Gown for harp, narrator & symphony orchestra (with individual movement for chamber ensemble)
        • Status: Requires migration, completion of soloist’s part for 4 of the 5 movements & preparation for publication
      • Season of Celebration #1 & #2 for harp and string orchestra
        • Status; Requires migration, completion of all soloist’s parts & preparation for publication
      • 996 for harp & symphony orchestra (or chamber ensemble, or harp & cello)
        • Status: Requires migration and preparation for publication

      ART SONG & CHAMBER WORKS with VOICE

      Including

      • Persephone Lost (part of “Mythic Women” Series) a one-act solo opera for soprano, harp, cello & clarinet
        • Status: Requires migration & preparation for publication
      • Songs of the Pyre (part of “Mythic Women” Series) a dramatic suite for soprano, harp, cello & piano
        • Status: Requires migration & preparation for publication
      • Three Folk Songs for soprano, harp & cello
        • Status: Requires migration, editing & preparation for publication
      • The Letter a solo cabaret musical for soprano & piano
        • Status: Requires migration & preparation for publication

      MUSICAL THEATER & WORKS FOR NARRATOR & MUSIC

      Including

      WORKS FOR SOLO HARP or HARP & VOICE

      Including

      • Soñando en Español for Solo Harp: 3-Movement “Trilogy” Solo harp concert work
        • Status: 2 movements currently in publication, 3rd movement nearing completion
      • Solo Harp concert works like The Phoenix, Anna Bella, Brubecker, Quixota and many dozens more
        • Status: All require migration. Nataliana, Merceditas and New Blues are complete and in circulation – all others require completion of scores & preparation for publication
      • Voice & harp works like The Nightingale, Way You Are Blues, You Have a Voice, and many dozens more.
        • Status: All require migration. The Nightingale is complete and in circulation – all others require completion of scores & preparation for publication
      • The DHC Songbook – with or without harp
        • Status: All require migration. Songs included in “The Letter” are complete; the rest are in sketch form

      STORIES & BOOKS

      Including

      • Martha and the Little Aeroplane – a story of musical adventure to save the rhythm of time
        • Status: Requires editing and publication 
      • Big Bad Bug Bud – a book and song about a little bug who wanted to be big and bad
        • Status: Requires editing, recording and prepartion for publication 
      • Strings of Passion – the 7 principles of Creative Resonance that develop creative expression from Impulse to Lift-Off
        • Status: Requires editing & preparation for publiction
      • The Frog Princess – a Amphibious Allegory about Amphibia, the daughter of the Frog Prince and the girl who kissed him.
        • Status: Audiobook requires preparation for Audible. Graphic book requires completion of illustrations and preparation for publication.

      THE DHC METHOD & Additional Educational Materials

      • Complete Academy training materials – including audio, video and manuscripts 
        • Status: All materials require migration, organization and preparation for publication
      • Modulating Warmups – 3 books of Warmups created specifically to train a combination of classically-based technique and jazz-based harmonic relationships
        • Status: Set One Migrated, edited and published in 2025 
      • Fakebook Improv System – a series of simplified Fake Books in C Tuning to help harpists develop the ability to improvise from lead sheet with simplified folk and classical melodies as preparation for jazz studies
        • Status: “Holiday” Fake Book released in 2025 (Classical & Folk books scheduled for 2026)
      • The DHC Snippet Library – a series of improv prompts to help harpists (and others) develop the ability to expand the music they already play with improvisation, as preparation for more expanded improv studies.
        • Status: Scheduled for 2026
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