Kela Walton
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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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Rules for Relocating - Harp Column Article

1/1/2019

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I'm pleased to share another article I've written for the Harp Column! 
Rules for Relocating: A harpist’s guide to setting up shop in a new city
Transitions in life, like transitions in music, can be tough. Whether you are just out of college and building your harp business, or a new job takes you away from your established harp life, relocating is not easy. I know! I’ve moved twice in the past five years, and have some ideas that may help your next transition go more smoothly.

​Harp Column Subscribers can read the full article here: https://harpcolumn.com
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Built for Buffalo 2 - Recording Released

12/6/2018

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During my brief but action packed tenure as the acting principal harpist with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra in 2018, the orchestra recorded a brand new trumpet concerto which is included in the latest recording released today from the Beau Fleuve label. Jaakko Kuusisto's Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra was composed for BPO principal trumpet (and my dear friend) Alex Jokipii. Alex spent a year studying at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki where he became acquainted with fellow student Jaakko Kuusisto. In 2015 the pair reconnected when Kuusisto came to the BPO for the American premiere of his violin concerto, and the idea for the trumpet concerto was born. I had the pleasure of meeting Kuusisto and recording the trumpet concerto live with Alex and the BPO in May of 2018.
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I was not performing with the BPO when the other two concertos were recorded, but I'm a big fan of both of the other soloists featured: Feng Hew and Anna Mattix. Composer Rob Deemer and I were in school at UT Austin together, and he is now the director of the Institute for Composer Diversity at SUNY Fredonia which is doing amazing work promoting music created by composers from historically underrepresented groups. I also enjoyed working with composer Caroline Mallonee during my time in Buffalo on one of her chamber music pieces, Curtains of Light, which coincidentally cellist Feng Hew and I premiered along with our fellow musicians from the Buffalo Chamber Players in 2017.

​The recording is available from the Kleinhans Music Hall box office or the BPO online store.
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What Makes a Musical Role Model - Harp Column Article

11/1/2018

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I'm pleased to share another article I've written for the Harp Column! 
I asked harpists of all ages and career paths about their musical role models, and the impact these important people have on their lives today.
“An idol may have a desirable, glamorous life that we eye appreciatively but never actually emulate. A hero may blaze the way forward, teaching and encouraging. But a role model is a person who offers, often unwittingly, an accessible pattern of living,” writes Faith Durand, editor-in-chief at The Kitchn food blog. With that definition in mind, who is your musical role model? What qualities do they inspire you to emulate in your daily life?
​
​Harp Column Subscribers can read the full article here: https://harpcolumn.com/blog/what-makes-a-musical-role-model/
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