Harpers
Hall
makes its home in the San Francisco South Bay Area and
Central California Coast. Our purpose is to promote an
appreciation of the folk harp, to cultivate its living
musical tradition, and to preserve the fun and magic
of the harp for members and for the general public. To
that end, we hold numerous events throughout the year,
from harp jams to house concerts, festival
performances to yearly weekend retreats. Journey
through Harpers Hall to discover an enchanting world
of harpers and learn their songs and their stories.
Here you will meet many of the revelers, see
the various lands they travel to, and find out how to
join.
Renowned
Scottish harpist Rachel Hair is stopping by on
her West Coast US tour to teach us some Scottish
tunes. She has a knack for choosing tunes that
are super satisfying to learn and fit just
perfectly on the harp. Teaching will be by
ear/description but she'll have sheet music with
her too for those that prefer to learn that way.
She'll be joined by Ron Jappy for the evening
concert.
“A superb Highland Harper” (BBC Radio 2) Rachel
Hair is “One of the UK's finest contemporary
Celtic harpists and tunesmiths” (Songlines). A
prominent performer in the Scottish Traditional
Music scene, she first came across the Scottish
harp, the Clarsach (it’s Gaelic name) through
the work of the renowned Gaelic arts
organization Feis Rois in her Highland home
village of Ullapool.
Now based in Glasgow, a city renowned for it’s
melting pot of musical and cultural style, she
has toured extensively throughout Europe, the US
and beyond. She has released 7 critically
acclaimed albums and performs regularly in duos
with Scottish guitarist Ron Jappy and Manx
Gaelic singer Ruth Keggin.
A much sought-after soloist and teacher Rachel
has taught and performed at Celtic harp
festivals throughout European the UK and further
afield including in the US, New Zealand, Japan
and Australia. She has published 5 books of harp
arrangements and compositions, and is a three
times nominated Tutor of the Year at the MG Alba
Scots Trad Music Awards.
Rachel is the visiting resident Celtic harp
tutor at Europe’s biggest harp shop in Rhenen,
in the Netherlands and also journeys once a
month to the Isle of Man where she teaches Manx
Celtic harp and directs the Manx harp ensemble
Claasagh.
Rachel and Ron twin Scotland’s oldest
instrument, the clarsach, with and one of it’s
newest instruments, the acoustic guitar.
Performing an exquisite mix of Scottish
traditional music they balance virtuosity with
emotion, with captivating results. Together they
are a “brilliantly simpactico duo” (Roots
magazine) performing as one and as they tailor
each performance to the needs of their audience,
no corner will go untouched by their rootsy
charm.
In December
2023, The Harpers Hall Ensemble performed another
Christmas Concert at Bethel Lutheran Church in
Cupertino!
Here are a few photos from the concert in 2022 at Bethel
Lutheran Church:
You can also join us for any of our virtual monthly
gatherings! During the COVID-19 shelter-in-place
orders through 2020 and half of 2021, we had been
doing our gatherings and workshops on Zoom. We were
able to meet in person for the last half of 2021, and
through 2022 and 2023, and have continued offering a
Zoom option, but we're needing to determine month by
month whether to return to Zoom only for our
gatherings. Check our Calendar
to see if we'll be meeting in person or on Zoom, and join us in
order to get the details through our online email
group, and our quarterly newsletters!
Our
three
CD's and our Ensemble books are available to order --
click here!
Need a harper(s) for your
wedding, holiday celebration, or special occasions? Drop
us a line with your requirements and we'll pass the
information to our revelers for reply. For additional
information concerning Harpers Hall gatherings, events,
CD's, etc., contact Kevin or Carol Holsinger, (650)
326-3146 (9am - 8pm Pacific Time) or e-mail: kevin@holsingermusic.com
Site maintained by
Verlene Schermer
email: info@verlene.com