Harping Tools - Almost everything you need to play the harp

As a harpist with minor OCD, I tend to take everything I need in my bags, in which my colleagues always tell me I am taking too much stuff! Though there are certain tools that I found really useful when I have orchestra rehearsals and performances.

First of all, you need a HARP (of course!). I also like to bring my spare strings and tuning key with me wherever the harp is. Then there are electronics which include the electric tuner with pickup clip, electric metronome, and a Zoom recorder. Pencils (always more than 1), erasers and markers are necessities — I like to use markers to mark the harmonic spots, and use nail remover to remove the ink after the concert.

Here comes the special/weird tools that I found really useful in orchestras!

• K&M music and instrument tray (in photo), perfect place for putting tuning key, tuner, pencils and erasers for rehearsals!

• Professional musicians’ earplugs do a great job in protecting my hearing for loud passages

• Nail cutter (also use to cut strings) and nail file for my fingers

• Petite Pig felt harp picks for glissandi (usually for loud passages)

• A lot of string ends in case the string end of the broken string disappears

• 3M Micropore Tapes for attaching scores and sticking everything else

• Cleaning cloth for wood instruments

And that reminds me of some special occasions for harp playing:

• Silver spoons for 2nd harp part in Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra

• Credit Cards for bass string glissandi in Andy Akiho’s Ping-Pong Concerto

What else have you got that you find it (them) really useful or special? Feel free to share!

Pops!

Normally when musicians talk about a “music season” of an orchestra, we usually start counting from the orchestra’s opening concert (usually in late August or early September) to their closing concert (the following year in July), which lasts about 11 months. Sounds like having a school year, right? Yes, orchestral musicians do take a summer break off!

All different kinds of concerts that you could think of are scheduled in one music season. Let me take the 2018/2019 music season of the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra (GSO), as an example of how China orchestras normally make their music season plans.

After calculation, the number of concerts of GSO for the music season 2018/2019 are as follows:

1. Subscription Concerts: 17

2. Pops Concerts: 6

3. Special Productions: 2

4. Festival Concerts: 3

5. Special Projects: 2

6. Tour: 3 (concerts)

7. Music Happy Hour (Ensemble concerts): 4

That adds up to 37 concerts. Doesn’t sound like a lot? Well there are also a lot of other concerts that are not counted as the music season concerts! We will leave this for next time :)

This time, let us talk about the Pops concert series. What are Pops concerts? As a similar imitation of Pops Orchestras in the western culture, Pops concerts normally consist of “popular music (generally traditional pop) and show tunes as well as well-known classical works,” with short descriptions and speeches of each piece from the conductors. In general, Pops concerts work as friendly invitations to new music audience — through the conductors’ speeches, they enjoy the music and get to know about the musical background of each piece. We always have a full house for the Pops series, and the audience enjoyed the Sunday afternoon with laughters and smiles!

On this Sunday, we will be performing our first Pops Concert of the season, “The Wonderful World of Dance,” conducted by Maestra Jing Huan, with the following repertoire:

• Selections from Adolphe Adam’s Giselle

• Selections from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake

• Selections from Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring

• Selections from Wu Zuqiang, Du Mingxin’s The Red Detachment of Women

• Selections from Du Mingxin’s The Fish Beauty

• Selections from Du Ming’s The Past of Shawan

I would say it is a huge repertoire! I am always excited each time when I get to play a lot of music in one concert. And even more special for harpists: There goes the enormous Swan Lake harp cadenza!

Looking forward to play more unique harp pieces this season! Now I should get back to practise :)

Blogging about music, harp, and life as a working mom in Guangzhou China

The desire of building up this blog first began when a lot of my friends at CCM (University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music) were curious about life in Asia, particularly China. A lot of Chinese orchestra position offerings were posted on audition websites, but musicians seldom apply for these positions due to the unsolved mystery of living and working in China -- so there you go!

Personally, working in China is super fun. As a harpist (and a working mom) who has just begun my third season with the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra in Guangzhou China, I will be more than delighted to post blogs, stories and updates of my daily life here on this page. STAY TUNED!