A Renaissance Wedding Ceremony

On April 10th, my new Laurel Leaf harp had its public debut.  I've had this harp for a little over a year, and have been using it for teaching and practicing.  Now it's broken in and ready to perform!

The wedding colors were black and gold, so it fit in perfectly.  The ceremony was held at Zion UCC Church in South Bend, Indiana, and the music chosen included Celtic and Renaissance tunes along with "Aria from Rinaldo" by G.F. Handel and "King William's March" by J. Clarke.  I'm looking forward to getting the new harp out more often!

Indiana Statehouse Wedding Ceremony

On March 13th, I had the pleasure of playing for a wedding in the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis.  It has amazing acoustics, and is a dramatic background for your wedding ceremony.  It gives your photographers a chance to shoot from above, giving your wedding pictures a unique perspective.

The bride opted to have her ceremony performed in the round, with guests seated in a circle, and the bride and groom in the center.  It gives more of your guests a front row seat!  She chose some non-traditional pieces for her ceremony music.  For the entrance of the wedding party, I played "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" from "The Wizard of Oz".  The bride entered to Canon in D by Pachelbel, and the recessional was "All I Ask of You" from "Phantom of the Opera".

February Events

February was a busier month than usual, and started off with an exciting evening on Valentine's Day.  We spent the night playing harp duets at Strongbow Inn in Valparaiso, Indiana.  It's not often that you get to see and hear two harps together, and it's even better when it is a husband and wife duet playing love songs!

We played a variety of romantic selections from many eras of popular music, including:

• The Anniversary Waltz
• Speak Softly Love from "The Godfather"
• Love Me Tender
• You Belong With Me
• Tammy
• The Nearness of You
• Misty
• I Swear

One of the benefits of hiring more than one musician for your event is the opportunity to alternate breaks.  We would take our breaks at different times, allowing the guests to enjoy continuous music.

On February 19th, I returned to Portofino's Grill in LaPorte to play for a church sweetheart dinner.  This was my second year working with them, and it is always such a wonderful group and a very appreciative audience!  

The weekend of February 26th through 28th I spent driving back and forth to Fort Wayne to play for the Fort Wayne Home & Garden Show.  I played in the lobby of the Allen County Memorial Coliseum while people arrived and for those waiting in line to purchase tickets or enter the exhibits.

The music of the harp is so soothing, it can help keep people in stressful situations calm!  Once the lines died down, I moved inside so that attendees could hear the music while going through the exhibits.

On Saturday the 27th, I played in Fort Wayne in the morning, and then headed to Granger to play for a wedding ceremony in the wine cellar at Villa Macri.

It was a warm and intimate setting - with a perfect light snow falling outside creating a winter wonderland!

Modern Music on the Harp

One of the things I enjoy most about the harp is surprising my audiences with the repertoire that can be played on the instrument.  Recently, The Harp Column, a national magazine for harpists, published an article on modernizing our performance repertoire.  I was interviewed for the article about the music I have adapted for the harp:

"Love Story" and "You Belong With Me", by country music sweetheart Taylor Swift, are recent additions by Devon Haupt.  "Every couple of months, I'll go over the Billboard charts and see what has had some staying power and has been on the top 10 for over a month or two," says the South Bend, IN, harpist.  "If a piece seems like it might work on the harp, I buy a piano arrangement from musicnotes.com, and just play from that with a few changes to make it work better on the harp."

In the last few months Haupt has also added "Clocks" by Coldplay, "Irreplaceable" by Beyonce, "So What" by Pink, "You Want to Make a Memory" by Bon Jovi, and "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz.  Most of the songs Haupt picked herself, rather than waiting for a client to ask for them, but has been happy to discover that "I'm Yours" (a 2009 Grammy Best Song nominee) is a popular request for Spring 2010 weddings.

In addition to the pieces listed in the article excerpt, other recent additions to my repertoire include:

• Already Gone by Kelly Clarkson
• Breakfast at Tiffany's by Deep Blue Something
• Teardrops on My Guitar by Taylor Swift

Check my website for a list of other popular and jazz songs I can perform for your event.  If you have a special request, I'm always happy to do my best to make it sound beautiful on the harp!

2010 Studio Recital

On Friday, March 19th, we held our annual formal studio recital.  Students of all ages from beginners to advanced performed on the piano and harp.  The program included:

• Merrily We Roll Along (Traditional)
• Down by the Station (Traditional)
• I'm a Little Teapot (Traditional)
• Grandfather's Clock (Noona)
• Pirate's Life (Leaf)
• Chanson de la petite gardeuse d'oies (Traditional)
• Wooly Mammoth (Leaf)
• Miniature Sonatina (Kuffner)
• Jazzy Saints (Faber)
• Concert Etude (McDonald)
• Blue-zy Blues (Mrozinski)
• Moonlight Sonata (Beethoven)
• Little Song & Polka (Kabalevsky)
• The Green Dog (Kingsley)
• The Syncopated Clock (Anderson)
• House of the Rising Sun (arr. Faber)
• Romance (Naderman)
• Ghost Waltz (McLean)
• Scherzetto (Hudelson)
• Gavotte from Petite Suite Classique (Grandjany)
• Clown Rag (Costley)
• Sonatina in C (Clementi)

 Congratulations to all of the students who performed an excellent recital!

Fort Wayne Home & Garden Show

This weekend, I will be playing harp in the Allen County Memorial Colisseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana, for the Fort Wayne Home & Garden Show.  I will be set up in the lobby to make your wait to get in more enjoyable!  Dates and times are:

Friday, February 26th, 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Saturday, February 27th, 9:30 - 11:30 AM
Sunday, February 28th, 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM

This is another great opportunity to see and hear the harp in person, and to get ready for Spring!  Visit the show's website at http://www.home-gardenshow.com/ for admission and ticket information.

Looking for a harpist in Fort Wayne?  Visit The Classic Harpist for more information!

Harp Duets for Valentine's Day

On Sunday, February 14th, we be playing love songs for harp duet at the Strongbow Inn in Valparaiso, Indiana.  This is the perfect opportunity to hear both harps together and get ideas for your wedding music!  We'll be playing from 4:30 - 8:30 PM, and they will be serving a turkey and prime rib buffet (menu, too).

Reservation are strongly recommended, so call Strongbow Inn to book your table today!  1-800-462-5121