We’re approaching one of those dividing lines in the year. The season is changing, and in many ways it feels like a time we can make a fresh start. When I was young, I always looked forward to the new school year.  New clothes, new classes, new books - the possibilities seemed limitless and excit...

Congratulations - you finished your piece! Well done! It’s time to take a breather and relax before you get onto the next piece. But that’s the problem. What piece is your next piece? How can you choose one that you like, that is a challenge but not too hard, and one that you can finish in a reas...

I love to read. Maybe you’re like me, with several books in progress at once. I seem to have a book in every room that I can pick up when the fancy strikes. Plus, I always have at least one book on my Kindle and an audiobook going for when I’m in the car. I like to think I spend more time reading...

Ok - I talk about harp happiness a lot. Really a lot. That’s because playing the harp has always brought me happiness. Sure, playing the harp is hard work sometimes, and I’ve had my share of frustration too, but for me the challenges are outweighed by the joy every time. It’s the joy that keeps m...

I don’t know if you’ve ever had this experience, but there’s something that happens when you realize that you have to shift your understanding of someone. It’s a little unsettling, as if that person belonged in one little box in your mind and now you find out it’s been the wrong box all along, an...

There are plenty of things that make me feel old, for instance, when I remember that I used to have to go to the library to do research or that I didn’t know who was calling me before I answered the phone. Here’s another one that makes me feel positively ancient, and I promise you I’m not that ol...

Here’s the picture: it’s the most unusual shipwreck in history. Somehow or other you have ended up alone on a desert island with just your harp. It’s interesting to consider how this might have happened. Did you swim to shore after the shipwreck with your harp strapped to your back? Or maybe you ...

Spring is finally settling in where I live. You might be weeks ahead of me or behind me or in a totally different hemisphere, but in the spirit of sharing what’s on my mind and what’s happening in my world, I want to talk about spring cleaning today. Naturally, though, I’m not talking about clean...

I know it’s cliché, but when I was a young harpist, I wanted to be just like my teacher, the same way children want to be just like their parents. Specifically, that meant to me that I was going to play in a big orchestra someday. It was years later when I discovered that not only were there othe...

For me, and I think for many people, this last week of the year is a supremely hopeful one. The rush to get ready for Christmas is behind us and the promise of a new year is finally in focus. We’re faced with possibilities for a change, instead of pressure.

I realize, of course, that for many of...

It’s Christmas week, and for me, this is a week to finally settle into the holiday mood. This is the time we decorate our tree, get in touch with friends and family, and start reveling in the spirit of joy and peace that feels so elusive other times of the year.

So this is not the week I want to...

I’m kind of a Christmas carol geek, if there is such a thing. I’ve always enjoyed playing them and even as a young person, I was fascinated by where they came from: their origins, translations, composers, text sources, etc. For me, the stories behind the carols were a kind of history and geograph...