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2007 Harp Students & Instructors
Scottish Harp Course Information
Be aware that class size is limited and some classes fill BEFORE the stated deadline for registration.
All Students are expected to bring their own instruments.
 The Scottish Harp classes will focus on:
• Basic harp technique for beginners and intermediates.
• Repertoire at all levels, including tunes for competition sets.
• Scottish style, including ornaments, lilt, and dance types.
Evening jam sessions offer students the chance to develop accompaniment patterns and learn more
tunes.
The nylon/gut harp classes will study Scottish dance music, airs,  and songs, focusing on ornamentation,
Scottish style, accompaniment, and learning by ear. Afternoons will include lectures, practice time,
and playing in sessions. Classes will be available for beginners who have played for a few months,
intermediates, and advanced players.
Ann's class will focus on fingernail and damping techniques for the wire-strung clarsach~but any
harp is welcome since such techniques were also standard fare for gut harp. Repertoire will range from
beginning pieces to ports, strathspeys and reels. The creation of two level-appropriate groups will allow
for individualized instruction and practice opportunity as well. Afternoon lectures will include an
overview of fingernail technique, the “coupled hands” technique, and a discussion of symbolism in
harps.
2008 Instructors
 Sharon Knowles emigrated from Scotland to the US in 1997, and has quickly become a popular teacher around the US from Georgia to Alaska. She likes to teach adults who believe they have no musical talent, and prove them wrong!
Another of her favourite activities is accompanying traditional music in an exciting and inventive way. Sharon has taught and performed at many noted summer schools in the United States including Ohio Scottish Arts School, the Big Sky Harp Festival in Montana, the Somerset Folk Harp Festival and Common Ground on the Hill. Sharon is currently working on her first solo album, "The Raven's Wing". She plays in the band Fynesound and with Sue Richards in the Celtic harp duo HEN. Sharon was the first harp player to perform with both a Highland dancer and an Irish dancer, another example of her innovative attitude towards the Celtic traditions. In addition, she has played her harp for large theatre productions and organises concerts and workshops for adults and children at her home near Gettysburg, PA. 
“A range of expression and depth of technical assurance… dazzlingly nimble finger work and liberal deployment of the instrument’s big bass end”. Nominated Instrumentalist of the Year 2004 at the Scottish Traditional Music Awards, Corrina Hewat has toured through Europe, the Far East, Israel, Canada and parts of the USA taking the Small Harp to a new level of excellence, combining traditional style music with contemporary attitude. She is also blessed with a stunningly individual voice, which resonates with years of soaking up Scotland’s musical tradition, while exploring contemporary elements and jazz. She directs a 22 piece Scottish Folk big band with her husband called the UNUSUAL SUSPECTS, while also touring with Kathryn Tickell (Northumbrian piper) and a vocal trio with Karine Polwart & Annie Grace. A versatile and exciting musician, performer and teacher at Newcastle University BA in Traditional Music, she has recorded over 30 albums in the last twelve years with BACHUE, SHINE, The Unusual Suspects, CHANTAN, and Kathryn Tickell among others. She is also part of the Edinburgh International Harp Festival committee. Corrina has one book of tunes and arrangements with accompanying CD, called ‘Scottish Harp’ with Taigh Na Teud music publishers. She also has six 30 minute videos available for download on for post beginner/intermediate players. (www.ayepod.net) www.corrinahewat.com Photo by Louis De Carlo.
Ann Heymann is the premier performer and teacher of wire-strung harp and a SHSA Distinguished Judge. Through study of surviving documents, Ann has recreated techniques once used by Gaelic harpers in Ireland and Scotland, and uses them to enhance the expression of both traditional and historical repertoire. Ann has toured throughout the U.S., Europe and Australia, with appearances at such notable venues as the Edinburgh Harp Festival, the Edinburgh International Festival and Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. An engaging lecturer and author of the instrument's first instructional, Secrets of the Gaelic Harp, Ann's more recent Coupled Hands for Harpers features progressive arrangements that introduce an exciting idiomatic approach to harp playing. Both her new CD release Cruit go nÓr * Harp of Gold and the previous Queen of Harps have been labeled as "definitive" cláirseach recordings. In addition to recording and performing with her husband Charlie, Ann has collaborated with Scottish harper Alison Kinnaird, Highland pipers Alan MacDonald and Barnaby Brown, and Gaelic singer's Alasdair Codona and Margaret Stewart.
"One of America's brightest stars.." -Dirty Linen Magazine Sue Richards studied harp in Ohio with Lucy Lewis and Jean Harriman, and then turned to the Irish and Scottish traditional music of her heritage. She won the American National Scottish Harp Championship four times and is a Scottish Harp Society of America (SHSA) Distinguished Judge. She has served as president of SHSA and the Washington, D.C., Folk Harp Society. She is a popular teacher, adjudicator, composer and arranger, and has taught from Alaska to Maine. She appeared at the Edinburgh International Harp Festival and Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow, toured Norway and Sweden with the "Harpa"ensemble, played for President Bill Clinton, and sat in with the Chieftains. Sue can be heard on dozens of recordings, both solo and with ENSEMBLE GALILEI, a group of five women specializing in Celtic, Early, and original music. As a member of EG she has written music and performed in two multi-media shows, “A Universe of Dreams”, and “First Person: Letters from the Edge of the World”, the latter sponsored by the National Geographic Society and having its debut in April of 2007.
Kelly Stewart has extensive backgrounds in classical, historical, and traditional music alike. Her teaching and performing encompasses all aspects of harps, harp playing and instruction.
Kelly holds a Bachelor’s degree in Classical Performance from the University of Georgia and a Master’s Diploma in Traditional Musicology and Triple Harp Performance from the University of North Wales. Her performances have included Classical programs, Scottish, Irish and Welsh traditional music, and medieval bray harp. Kelly carries a full studio of students who study a wide range of musical styles. Students study music history, theory, ensemble playing, and arranging in addition to harp technique and repertoire.
In addition to her teaching and performing, Kelly serves as a judge and chairman of several committees within the Scottish Harp Society of America. She spends her time recording, teaching at workshops and conferences, arranging for the harp, and preparing students for competition and performance. She has recorded two solo albums and is a guest artist on many more. Kelly is currently recording her latest CD, and is also writing a book of arrangements designed for students looking to compete in traditional Scottish music competitions.
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