Especially instrumental
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By Katie Vaughn | Saturday, September 08, 2007 |
From a young age, Lillian Lau was intrigued by the harp.
Growing up in Hong Kong, she was frequently exposed to the instrument when her parents took her to symphony concerts. She liked the way it sounded and the fact it could be played alone or alongside other instruments.
Lau had already studied piano and percussion when she began taking harp lessons at the age of 9.
“I always liked playing something unusual,” she said.
Now an adult living in Chicago, Lau has made a career out of her love for the harp. She has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Opera Theater and National Repertory Orchestra, among many other symphony groups, and she serves as the principal harpist with the Quad-City Symphony Orchestra, or QCSO.
“I’ve always loved playing in orchestras,” she said. “That’s probably my favorite thing.”
Lau said she’s found a great fit with the QCSO and its musicians. Today, she will perform a special concert with symphony flutist Ellen Huntington at Trinity Lutheran Church in Davenport.
The musicians will perform some works together, and Lau also will offer several harp solos. Music selections will range from pieces by Bach and Mozart to “Song of the Lark” by Charles Rochester Young and “Histoire du Tango” by Astor Piazzolla.
Lau said the concert will provide a rare opportunity for people to see the harp up-close and in a setting other than a symphony. She hopes audiences will feel inspired by the instrument the way she did as a child.
Like Lau, Sarah Jarvaux was drawn to the harp at an early age. She saw it first at the age of 5 during a park concert in a small Minnesota town and for a second time a year later.
“I thought, ‘Man, I really want to do that,’ ” she recalled.
The 17-year-old, who is home-schooled in Silvis, Ill., has been playing the harp for eight years. But she rarely encountered other harpists in the Quad-City area until recently.
“I always thought I was the only harpist here,” she added.
Jarvaux said it would be nice if she knew of other harpists to whom she could pass along performance jobs she cannot take or consult with on which books to buy and songs to try. She also would like to find out about harp concerts she could attend as an audience member.
She estimates that there are about 20 harpists in the area and would like to bring them together to form a group. After Lau’s concert today, Quad-City harpists are invited to meet and discuss the formation of a local chapter of the American Harp Society.
As Jarvaux envisions it, the group could meet to discuss harp music, pass jobs onto one another and periodically offer recitals such as a Christmas concert in December.
“This will be a really good way for us to connect,” she said.
Katie Vaughn can be contacted at (563) 383-2282 or kvaughn@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.
If you go
What: Harp and flute concert by Lillian Lau and Ellen Huntington of the Quad-City Symphony Orchestra
When: 3 p.m. today
Where: Trinity Lutheran Church, 1122 W. Central Park Ave., Davenport
How much: Donations will be accepted at the door
Information: (309) 792-2035
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