September 2006

THE CELTIC HARPERS OF DETROIT
by Lynne Reid, President

At the Celtic College in Goderich, Ontario this past August, we were lucky enough to have 2 first-class teachers. One was Janet Harbison who runs her own Harp Centre in Castleconnel, Limerick, Ireland and the other was Kathleen Graham from the Isle of Skye, Scotland. Both teach by ear, but, provide the written music for reference at home.

Janet, founder and director of the Belfast Harp Orchestra, now runs the Irish Harp Orchestra in the Republic. It is beautifully located in a small village along the Shannon River. Janet's students were kept very busy learning to play dance music and ornamenting Irish music. For more information about her and her centre, check out her website: www.irishharpcentre.com.

Kathleen Graham taught Scottish tunes on the harp in one class,beginner pieces in another, and Gaelic songs in a third one. She is a member of a 7-member band called Brolum where she sings and plays beautifully.

Goderich is a small, quaint town that is southwest of Toronto and north of Sarnia in Ontario, Canada. There are 4 days of classes from Monday to Thursday. Participants have many activities to choose, from harp, tin whistle, piano, accordian, fiddle, art, dance, concertina, etc. There is something for everyone. At the Festival on the weekend, even more performers are added.

This year, Maura O'Connell and Garnet Rogers were added to the rostrum. There is one large stage and 4 smaller, more intimate ones. In a lot of ways, the smaller stages are even better. Musicians are put together with other ones. For instance, Janet performed with Kathleen and a harper from Toronto by the name of Sahra Featherstone on Sunday afternoon.

On another day and stage, she performed with a world-class piper and whistler, Micheal OhAlmhain from Inisheer, Co. Galway in Ireland. For more information on the Celtic College and Festival, check out their websites: www.CelticCollege.ca and www.CelticFestival.ca.