Deborah Henson-Conant - Performance Description
Tel: (781) 483-3556 - Fax: (781) 483-3987 - Email: info@HipHarp.com

What can I expect at a performance?
Deborah plays the harp, tells stories and sings. Her pieces range from the haunting, Celtic-influenced “Nightingale” to a raucous musical science project called “The Danger Zone” inspired by the 1956 research paper, “Stress Analysis of a Strapless Evening Gown.” She also loves the Blues and Latin music, so when she plays with an orchestra, you’ll hear big-band style Blues with a full orchestra and powerful Latin-influenced pieces like her “Baroque Flamenco,” a tale of time-traveling Flamenco dancers run amok in Marie Antoinette’s boudoir. When she plays solo, you'll hear harp playing that often sounds like a Blues guitar, or a Flamenco band - and a voice that has been compared to Carley Simon.  Her one-woman shows mix music, humor and a more theatrical presentation including show-length stories like "The Frog Princess" (for Family audiences) or "What the Hell are you doing in the Waiting Room for Heaven??" (for general audiences down to teens).

Henson-Conant is known for her on-stage humor and an ability to interact with an audience of thousands as though they were sitting together in her living room. A “triple-threat” composer, arranger and performer, Henson-Conant likes to lead unlikely members of the orchestra into unconventional solo forays – so if you see her with an orchestra don’t be surprised if she invites the orchestral harpist and the snare drummer to join her in a Celtic Jig and Reel, or plays a duet with the timpanist – or the Tuba!

A typical description of one of Deborah's one-woman shows (from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe):
(for more quotes and reviews, see the Publicity page link on our menu)

“Few have blown the cobwebs off harp music quite so comprehensively … Wielding a bright blue, custom-designed electric harp, fitted with a pick-up on every string and an array of digital effects, she wears it strapped on a la Stratocaster… thus replacing the sedentary stillness enforced on most harpists with plenty of dynamic movement. Her appearance, too, goes head-to-head with convention - miniskirt, cowboy boots, colourfully beribboned dreadlocks - but it’s her dazzling range and depth of technique, combined with a warmly energetic stage manner, that ultimately makes this such a memorable show … Effortlessly traversing genre boundaries from blues to folk, jazz to world music, she’s conjuring entire sound of a traditional Mexican street band one minute, laying into a ferocious Hendrix-inspired rock workout the next, all with equally unerring flair and finesse, while her bright-toned muscular singing proves equally adept at switching between styles. As she weaves one number into the next via whimsical takes of her childhood and snippets of ancient harp lore, you soon see why the Boston Globe couldn’t decide whether to send a drama or a music critic to review her show - they ended up sending both.” (SW - METRO)

See for yourself!
Visit YouTube where you'll find lots of videos of Deborah both solo and with ensembles.  There's a link right on our homepage.