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38th Annual Island Mountain Harp School - Online


  • Island Mountain Arts Box 65 Wells, BC, V0K 2R0 (map)

Friday, August 16th - Tuesday, August 20th, 2024

Workshop Rate (includes workshops, special topics and evening concerts): $399 + GST + Fees (Payment plans available)

Can’t attend the whole week? Sign up for a Sunday afternoon special topic for $30 + GST or all 3 special topics on Sunday for $75 + GST

Want to just attend the evening concerts? Attend an evening concert for $30 + GST or all 3 evening concerts and the open mic for $75 + GST




ONLINE SCHEDULE (All Times in PST)

August 16, 17, 19 and 20 (NO SUNDAY):

Morning Classes:

9:30am-12:00pm: Sharlene Wallace Morning Class (Intermediate +Advanced)

Afternoon Classes:

1:30pm-4:00pm: Amelia Romano Advanced Class OR Shoshanna Godber Intermediate Class

Sunday, August 18th:

1:00pm - 2:00pm: Sharlene Wallace Special Interest Class

2:00 - 2:15 - Coffee Break

2:15pm - 3:15pm: Shoshanna Godber Special Interest Class

3:15 - 3:30 - Coffee Break

3:30pm - 4:30pm: Amelia Romano Special Interest Class





Virtual Concerts:

Saturday, August 17:

5:00pm: Sharlene Wallace Evening Concert

Sunday, August 18:

6:00pm: Shoshanna Godber Evening Concert

Monday, August 19:

5:00pm: Open Mic

Tuesday, August 20:

5:00pm: Amelia Romano Evening Concert




Class Descriptions

SHARLENE WALLACE - Morning Class

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

Shar's morning 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!

About Sharlene: Canadian harpist and composer, Sharlene Wallace, is a musician flowing between and mingling Classical, folk and contemporary genres and performing, recording and teaching on both pedal and lever (Celtic) harps. Winner of two international competitions, Sharlene has toured internationally and performed in festivals and concert series across North America and in Europe. She has released seven albums featuring her compositions inspired by explorations with South American, Celtic, Classical and contemporary music. This year, Sharlene will be releasing a new album of Shar-compositions for acoustic and electric lever harps with electronics by Jean Martin.  She is also creating a co-composition recording-performance-environmental project, Trees.Listen, with composer Frank Horvat, also for Celtic harp and electronics. Sharlene teaches lever and pedal harp at Wilfrid Laurier University and York University.

www.sharlenewallace.com   



AMELIA ROMANO - Afternoon Class - Advanced Option

Amelia Romano joins us at IMA  for the first time! 

Participants in Amelia’s afternoon advanced session will take on syncopated music and tackle classical repertoire on the Harp. 


About Amelia: Amelia Romano (harp, voice) is a concertizing lever harpist, programming classical re-imaginations alongside original works. She received her master’s in classical lever harp performance at San Francisco State University under the tutelage of Karen Gottlieb, retired second harpist of the San Francisco Symphony. Her latest album, “Levers Engaged: Classical Works Re-imaged for Harp '' and sheet music collection “Classical Re-imaginations," present the instrument as a valid voice in classical music. A composer, arranger and trailblazer in the lever harp world, she is equally at home writing Latin America inspired works for solo harp as she is adapting classical pieces for chamber collaborations. www.ameliaromano.com




SHOSHANNA GODBER - Afternoon Class - Intermediate Option

Join Shoshanna's Intermediate Afternoon Harp Workshop for a holistic musical journey! Learn practical steps to take to minimize stage fright from a self-proclaimed “Nervous Nelly” with insights learned the hard way. Gain strategies for effective practice to help you learn pieces faster. Delve into warm-up routines tailored for technique enhancement and learn how to apply the technical exercises to jamming with fellow musicians and crafting your own unique arrangements.


About Shoshanna: Shoshanna Godber is a Canadian harpist, singer, pianist and banjo player. She began her musical education with classical violin, piano and voice but was always drawn to her mother's Celtic music records. She started playing the harp while completing her Bachelor of Music at the University of British Columbia, and it very quickly eclipsed all of her other musical interests. Her repertoire has expanded from Celtic to traditional folk from all over the world, classical and contemporary compositions. She is a diverse performer and enjoys giving concerts of traditional and contemporary music with her guitarist (and husband) Dave Godber. She also performs regularly with Alban Classical and with her colleagues for the Prince George Conservatory of Music's chamber concert series. Shoshanna has recorded three albums of children's folk music and has contributed to other artist's projects as a session musician. Her catalogue of sheet music on Harp Column and her website is steadily increasing with her arrangements for harp and voice, harp ensemble and solo harp. Since 2012 Shoshanna has taught harp and directed a harp ensemble at the Conservatory and loves empowering her students to achieve their harp dreams. https://www.shoshannagodber.com 




Sunday Aug 18 | Special Afternoon Classes

Sharlene Wallace Special Interest Afternoon Workshop: Learn a new Shar-Tune

Bring your harp and joy to learn a new tune written just for you! Sharlene will guide you through her piece musically, technically and compositionally. All levels are very welcome.

Shoshanna Godber Special Interest Afternoon Workshop: "Singing Strings - How to Accompany Yourself or Others on the Harp"

Do you wish you could sing while you play? Shoshanna will give you ideas on how to get started accompanying yourself. Not interested in singing? Fear not! The strategies presented can be applied to accompanying other instruments as well. Participants will learn hands-on how to craft a simple arrangement which will get them accompanying themselves and others right away. 

Amelia Romano Special Interest Afternoon Workshop: Writing for harp in chamber music


Friday, August 16th - Tuesday, August 20th, 2024 || Virtually

Workshop Rate (includes workshops, special topics and evening concerts): $399 + GST + Fees (Payment plans available)

Can’t attend the whole week? Sign up for an afternoon special topic for $30 + GST or all 3 special topics for $75 + GST

Want to just attend the evening concerts? Attend an evening concert for $30 + GST or all 3 evening concerts and the open mic for $75 + GST

Visit www.imarts.com/events/2024-harp-school for more information and to register!