Kela Walton
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Online Service - First Presbyterian Church Spartanburg

12/13/2020

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I was honored to perform for the Third Sunday of Advent on December 13, 2020. I hope you enjoy this online worship service!
​
Pre-Service Music: 
Les Petits Pas no. 1 / O Come, O Come, Emmanuel by Bernard Andres & arranged by Megan Metheney
Les Petits Pas no. 12 / Still, Still, Still by Bernard Andres & arranged by Megan Metheney
Ribambelle no. 1 / The First Noel by Bernard Andres & arranged by Megan Metheney
Lessons and Carols:  
Quem Pastores arranged by Patrick Hawes (starts at 37:05)
Angel's Carol by John Rutter (starts at 42:05)
Jesus, Jesus, Rest your Head arranged by Bob Chilcott (starts at 50:05)
Away in a Manger arranged by Michael Higgins (starts at 54:45)
Performed by The Quarantine Quartet: Valerie MacPhail, Lisa Cunningham, Reel Robertson, & Paul MacPhail; Directed by Andrew Holt; accompanied by Kela Walton, Harpist; Marcia Andrews, Organist
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Online Service - Episcopal Church of the Advent Spartanburg

9/20/2020

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Three members of the Sparkle City Harp Ensemble: Anne Elizabeth, Sally Frick, and I joined a handful of other socially distanced musicians and clergy for this service live streamed from the Episcopal Church of the Advent in Spartanburg, SC on September 20, 2020. The other harpists and I hope you enjoy this online worship service!

Prelude Music
Prelude in C by J.S. Bach - Kela Walton, solo harp (starts at 1:20)
Dyades No. 5 by Bernard Andrès - Sparkle City Harp Ensemble (starts at 4:05)
Offertory Anthem
Be Thou My Vision Irish Hymn arranged by Laura Zaerr - Sparkle City Harp Ensemble (starts at 47:25)
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Harp Column Podcast

8/11/2020

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In Episode 67 of the Harp Column Podcast, host Kristina Finch and I chat about my articles Keeping the Beat and Fine Tuning in recent issues of Harp Column. For more practical harp news and information visit www.harpcolumn.com, and tune in for more podcasts taking you behind the stories in Harp Column.
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We Got the Beat! - Harp Column Articles

7/1/2020

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With the help of several experts, we take a deep dive into the world of pulse, rhythm, and metronomes, as well as review metronome apps in the July/August 2020 issue of the Harp Column.
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The metronome doesn’t have to be a torture device. Much like good friends help us grow to become better people, the metronome can be a true friend that helps us improve our inner pulse and play with rhythmic accuracy to become better musicians. Three expert harpists--Jennifer Ellis, June Han, and Delaine Leonard—give us advice on how to improve our skills as well as our relationship with the metronome.

​Read the full article here.

Our team of testers tried out eight metronome apps to determine which apps are both user friendly and useful to harpist.. The apps we tested range in price from free to $4.99, and all work on both Android and iOS operating systems.
Find out which apps our testers liked best here.

Special thanks to the my fellow metronome app testers: Kelly Evans, Nadia Pessoa  James Scully, and Phala Tracy!
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Online Service - First Presbyterian Church Spartanburg

6/7/2020

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I was so honored to be invited to perform for this livestream service on June 7, 2020, and it was my first time performing in person with other musicians since the pandemic began. I hope you enjoy this online worship service!

Opening Voluntary: Balm in Gilead - African American Spiritual arr. Rhett Barnwell (starts at 1:30)
Offertory:  Be Thou My Vision arranged by Alice Parker (starts at 41:40)
Performed by The Quarantine Quartet, Directed by Andrew Holt; accompanied by Kela Walton, Harpist; Marcia Andrews, Organist
Communion Music: 
My Shepherd Will Supply My Need - Appalachian hymn arr. Erin Hansen (starts at 52:50)
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Together SpARTanburg - Episode 39

5/18/2020

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This episode of Together SpARTanburg is all about harp! Principal Harpist Emily Waggoner and I discuss the harp's history, its place in the orchestra, and perform from our homes. Music featured includes a duet version of Jupiter from Gustav Holst's The Planets based on arrangement for two harps by Janet Witman, as well as the harp variation from The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra by Benjamin Britten, and the Waltz of the Flowers cadenza from Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker.

Thank you to the Spartanburg Philharmonic for including harps in this wonderful online series!
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All About Tuning - Harp Column Articles

5/1/2020

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With the help of several experts, I take an in-depth look at tuning as well as review tuning apps. We get into, "the nitty-gritty about the chore harpists love to hate." in this special stay at home May/June 2020 issue of the Harp Column. FREE for all harpists to download or read online here!
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Tuning is something we all spend time doing, and harpists face some unique challenges in this department. I talked to the experts to get their advice on how harpists can tune efficiently and effectively.
Read the full article here.

For more tuning tips, tricks, and terminology, check out the article extra in this issue.

Our team of testers tried out seven tuning apps to find out how well they worked for a harpist’s tuning needs. The apps we tested range in price from free to $9.99, and all work on both Android and iOS operating systems.
Find out which apps our testers liked best here.

Special thanks to the my fellow tuning app testers: Catherine Case, Kelly Evans, James Scully, and Jessica Zhou!
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Going Public - Harp Column Article

3/1/2019

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For the March/April issue of the Harp Column, editor Alison Reese asked me to take in in-depth look at six successful public school harp programs across the United States, "to find out what they do, how they do it, and why it's important to the larger harp community." I immensely enjoyed interviewing directors from:
  • Cass Technical High School - Detroit, MI
  • Cicely Tyson School of Performing and Fine Arts - East Orange, NJ
  • Ector County Independent School District - Odessa, TX
  • Frisco Independent School District - Frisco, TX
  • Mesa Public Schools - Mesa, AZ
  • Urban Youth Harp Ensemble - Atlanta, GA
The students in these programs, "are enrolled in public schools where a harp class is part of their daily curriculum. We took a peek inside some of these classrooms to see what goes into building and sustaining a public school harp program."
​

Harp Column Subscribers can read the full article here: harpcolumn.com/blog/going-public/
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Article Extras:
Get the quick stats and Public Record on the schools featured in this article, and find out how they get all those harps! Plus, read about some High Profile Alumni.
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Harp Column Podcast

2/10/2019

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In Episode 44 of the Harp Column Podcast, host Kristina Finch and I chat about my article What Makes A Musical Role Model in the November-December 2018 issue of Harp Column. We talk about how I researched this article, and my personal role models. This episode also includes Kristina's conversations with the 20th International Harp Contest in Israel first and second prize winners, Lenka Petrovic and Joel von Lerber. For more practical harp news and information visit www.harpcolumn.com, and tune in for more podcasts taking you behind the stories in Harp Column.
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BPO Respighi Recording Released!

2/8/2019

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Naxos released the Respighi: Roman Trilogy recording by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra today! In May and June of 2018 during my brief time as acting principal harpist with the BPO, the orchestra recorded Respighi's trilogy of tone-poems celebrating Rome. My sweet friend Catherine Case flew to Buffalo to play second harp for the concerts and the recording sessions. Catherine and I met in graduate school, and I've always been in awe of her amazing harp skills. Not surprisingly she is also supremely gifted at playing in a section, which is an art we harpists don't get to practice very often. Fontane di Roma (Fountains of Rome) tracks 5-8 and Pini di Roma (Pines of Rome) tracks 9-12 includes Catherine and I playing both my new and my old Salzedo model harps! Respighi did not include harp in Feste Roman (Roman Festivals). I suppose he didn't think the harp was raucous enough for the revelry at festivals, and perhaps he decided between the piano, organ, mandolin, strings, and three or more of every type of wind and brass instrument there just wasn't room for harp?

It is interesting how life moves in circles. My husband, conductor Stefan Sanders, and I spent most of our honeymoon in Rome. We rented a Vespa and spent a week scooting around looking at the very trees, roads, and fountains Respighi so eloquently captures. We even joked about hearing his music in our heads as we saw the sights, and sang the themes together while we ate gelato. When I first met Stefan he was a member of the BPO trombone section, and who would have thought that all these years, one honeymoon, and a few jobs later I would get to record Respighi with the same orchestra? I'm so grateful to Music Director JoAnn Falletta for inviting me to play with the BPO and be a part of this project.

​The recording is available on Amazon, iTunes, Spotify or your favorite music streaming service. 
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