DHS Senior Discovers Lost Art of the Harp
NEIRAD enilno edition
Senior Katie Critelli is entering her busiest season. This harp player is in high demand to perform at holiday house parties and church functions. Her favorite Christmas carol is “The Christmas Song “made famous by Nat King Cole. The talent of playing the harp can come in handy especially in the future; a lot of people want a harpist at weddings or special occasions.
A harp is in demand because of its beautiful sound and it breaks the norm. We all know the regular orchestra instruments, violin, viola, cello and bass. What about the largest and arguably most difficult, the harp. Katie is the only harp player in orchestra, and the only one in the state. Katie has been playing since age 7. She fell in love with the instrument when she saw a television commercial featuring an angel playing a harp in heaven. “I wanted to be like an angel,” Katie said.
Before finding this talent Katie used to play piano but her hands were too small. She also found the harp to be more versatile. “You can do so much with a harp, do harmonics like a guitar, and pluck it- so many relative things - no matter how bad you are, you always sound good - always sounds beautiful.” Katie said. After hearing her play at a Tri-M music honor society concert, the room was silent; she didn’t miss a note and it sounded beautiful.
“The second the first note is played the listener has an out of body experience or something, it is unexplainable- she is really talented and always gives spot-on performances” said senior Zach Heyde, who was a spectator at the Tri-M concert. She has gone to international conferences in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and met top harp players, one of thousands who flocked to a European convention for this rarely recognized instrument. The world harp congress was there and you could buy music. “Amsterdam is an amazing city,” remembers Katie.
The most exciting part for Katie though, was the chance to meet one of the best harpists in the world: Susann McDonald, one of the directors of the conference. “It was really clear that she was the best and she was the nicest woman I had ever met - she can play everything with one hand and is really dedicated.” Unfortunately, Katie was unable to play at the conference because of the hassle of flying over her huge harp. Katie is a member of the Norwalk Youth Symphony. She has also gone to All-States and been a member of the annual Western Regional festival.
Katie has her own harp at home- lugging it around can be hard but she has a really big car for it and a harp dolly to roll it around. She also uses her orchestra instructor Jane Minnis’s harp at school. Miss Minnis just happens to also play the huge instrument. “Katie is an amazing performer on a very challenging instrument. She is one of, if not THE, best high school harpist in Connecticut. It is an honor to have her as a member of the orchestra at DHS,” Miss Minnis said.
Being the one of the only student harpists in Connecticut does have some disadvantages. Katie says the only thing that is irritating is the people who stand by and just say “ah I bet you wish you took up flute huh” without offering to help. Like she hasn’t heard that before.
Fast Harp facts:
- The modern harp design originated in Ireland and Scotland and is still played more predominantly in Europe.
- The earliest evidence of a harp-like instrument dates back to ancient Egypt in 4000 BC.
- The instrument has 27-48 strings (Katie's harp has 48 strings)
- A harp changes key by petals - sharps and flats
- Use the same music as a piano (left and right hand or treble clef and bass clef)- with few differences
- Basically a piano upright with a softer sound.
