The 37th Annual Island Mountain Harp and Cello School will be in person in Wells this year!

Thanks so much for your patience as we finalized our details around the Harp and Cello School for 2023.
We are looking forward to welcoming you back to Wells in-person this year!

Save The Dates: Monday, August 14 – Friday, August 18, 2023 (Opening Reception Sunday, August 13th)

Who are the Instructors? 

Sharlene Wallace: Intermediate Harp
Stephanie Claussen: Advanced Harp

Your weekly schedule will include a Welcome Reception / BBQ on the evening of August 13th. You’ll have morning classes every day with your chosen instructor, afternoon special interest classes, and an ensemble class with Marilyn Rummel. Evenings include coffee houses, a Cèilidh, and instructors concerts! On your Wednesday, take the afternoon off and explore the wonderous world of the Wells/Barkerville Area!

Sharlene Wallace | Intermediate Class Description

Inspiration. Fluidity. Beauty. Technique. Repertoire. Harp-Joy!

Shar's Intermediate harp class will dive into new tunes, left hand accompaniments, exercises and arranging ideas while incorporating technical ease, pattern recognition, beauty tone, expressive playing, improvisation and... other joyful inspirations!

Sharlene’s Afternoon Special Topic:

Sharlene will present her project Trees.Listen as an exploration and inspiration of trees through playing the harp, photography, the ancient Celtic Ogham Script, the knowledge of botanist, medical biochemist, and author Diana Beresford-Kroeger and co-composing for harp and electronics with Frank Horvat.

Stephanie Claussen | Advanced Class Description

In the advanced class we’ll dig deep into technique with the goal of achieving a fluid sound and feeling more free in our movements at the harp. We’ll explore different ways to make melodies sing using dynamics, and discover how using rhythmic elements like muffles and syncopation can add zest to a piece. As we learn a number of traditional tunes, we will also learn how to solve problem spots and polish pieces for performance. Each day we’ll spend some time on how to physically warm up, how to stay relaxed while playing, and how to stretch and cool down after playing.

Stephanie’s Afternoon Special Topic:

Let’s talk about arranging! Using one or two simple tunes as our starting point, we’ll practice finding the perfect chords to match the mood you want, setting up patterns and then breaking them, the whole beautiful realm of textures as accompaniment, and how to apply “less is more” when it comes to crafting an accompaniment. We’ll also explore where to start with writing or improvising intros, outros, and interludes and vamps!