A Welsh Harp in America
Gwenllian Llyr Studies at the Aspen Music Festival &
School
For nine weeks every summer the small
Colorado town of Aspen is taken over by the Aspen Music Festival
and School. There are more than 350 events, as many as 10 per day
including orchestral concerts, chamber music, opera, contemporary
music, master classes, lectures and children’s programmes. This
year RWCMD harpist, Gwenllian Llyr (BMus, 2010) was awarded a
scholarship to study at the Aspen Music School and perform in the
festival. She tells us about her experience.
Aspen,
Colorado
Arriving in Aspen, the scenery took my breath
away. The backdrop of mountains was just incredible. I soon settled
in to my accommodation at the Marolt Ranch where the chalets,
usually for skiers, were full of people who were part of the
festival. There was a great social atmosphere. Everyone was so
friendly and the Aspen locals were really welcoming.
Staying at the Ranch really felt like getting
back to nature; one day I looked out of my window and there was a
deer looking right back at me. There were rumours that bears
sometimes visited the campus too - but thankfully I didn’t have any
close encounters with one of those!
An Unexpected Language
Barrier
One thing that surprised me was the language
barrier. I expected a few alternatives, ‘popsicle’ for ‘lollypop’
and ‘chips’ for ‘crisps’ etc., but I found the music language was
quite different. I remember one rehearsal in particular when I
couldn’t work out if I was supposed to be playing - only the parts
with 'quarter notes' were needed! My brain was buzzing with the
maths!
The Festival and School
There were more than 750 students and 200
teachers at the school and all kinds of musicians; conductors,
composers, singers, pianists, guitarists and representatives of all
the orchestral instruments. The students and teaching faculty
formed several orchestras, and we as harpists spent time with each
of them.
I played with all sorts of ensembles and
enjoyed some quite unexpected experiences. I performed the music to
a chase scene for a film and later watched it on the big screen; I
entertained a hall full of toddlers in the ‘Peanut butter and Jam’
concert; and I had the opportunity to play with seven-time Grammy
Award winner Al Jarreau. I’ve never played symphonic pop and jazz
tunes before – it was great!
I’ve been lucky to see so many performances
this summer. I especially enjoyed Puccini’s La Bohème
- I only saw the dress rehearsal but it was amazing!
What’s Next?
Over the summer I spent a lot of time
preparing for the Israel International Harp Contest 2009 which
takes place 6th-20th October 2009. I’ve had
to learn a huge programme including a concerto, two chamber works
and many solo pieces. I’ll play my best and see what happens!
Gwenllian recently competed at
the Israel International Harp Contest and amde it to the semi
finals. She was one of the last six out of 21
competitors, an absolutely fantastic achievement.
Find out more about harp
studies at the RWCMD.