Become a harpist for a day!

The harp is one of the world’s oldest and most diverse instruments appearing, in Greek mythology through to Harry Potter. In Celtic tales harps often have magical powers of enchantment and this queen of instruments is deep rooted in our musical and cultural history. It is amazing that despite this, many of us have never played a harp or even been up close to one!

On 3 October Harpist Shelley Fairplay will change that for twelve adventurous first time harp students on a momentous one-day learning journey, from plucking their very first note in the morning right through to performing in the evening as part of her new concert “The Three Strands; Passion, Sorrow and Joy”. Whilst the harp might look complicated, Shelley will show these students how to create a beautiful sound in a very easy and accessible way.

Participants in the ‘Harpist for a Day’ experience will:

• Learn the basics of harp playing in a ‘Hands on Harps’ Workshop exclusively for the 12 participants.
• Attend an ‘Open Rehearsal’ to watch regular harp students practicing.
• Rehearse in a ‘1st Performance Rehearsal’ with harp tutor and ‘helping hands’ from students on hand to assist.
• Perform in Shelley Fairplay’s evening concert ‘Three Strands; Passion, Sorrow and Joy Concert’ alongside their personal harpist-mentor.
• Celebrate their experience of having been ‘A Harpist for a day’!

 Shelley, who describes herself as “obsessed with all things harp”, says “I created 'Harpist for a Day' because I believe everyone should get to have an opportunity to get up close and experience this incredibly diverse and beautiful instrument. I have structured it so that even if you've never played a harp before and have no previous experience of music reading or performing, you can truly participate and have the full experience of learning, rehearsing and performing along with an ensemble - so it's not just a learning experience but a wonderful day of fun and harp-playing together!”

Anyone that has always secretly wanted to try the harp can book a place to become ‘A Harpist for a Day!’ for £40 on Saturday 3rd October 2015 as part of the  Camac Exeter Harp Weekend at Exeter School. For further information and details visit www.harpistforaday.co.uk.

The Camac harp weekend taking place on the 3rd/4th October and also includes a harp exhibition, workshops and concerts for harpists and non-harpists of all ages and abilities. Full details of the harp weekend are available via www.camacharps.co.uk