Composer’s Spotlight: Erika Lieberman plays ‘Baroque Flamenco’

Composer’s Spotlight Series: Erika Lieberman plays ‘Baroque Flamenco’

In this interview, Erika shares her experience playing Baroque Flamenco. She likes Baroque Flamenco because it pushes her out of her comfort zone. She also encourages others who want to play the piece to learn it in “chunks” as it is an effective method of learning music.

Erika Lieberman

Erika has worked as a musician and composer for over twenty-five years. Her experience as a solo harpist, a member of various ensembles and folk bands, and her graduate studies in Film Scoring and Music Technology at New York University give her a diverse and rich musical background. Erika has worked as a music director for various theatre companies and festivals in NY and NJ, and is a seasoned renaissance faire and folk festival performer. While she loves to explore a variety of musical styles, Erika specializes in Celtic folk music, renaissance and early music, and film and video game scores. Her original compositions pull from all these styles, along with her own unique touch that has been described as “otherworldly.”

Continue reading below for the full interview with Erika Lieberman

Watch Erika Lieberman’s performance of “Baroque Flamenco” (Intermediate Version).

A Mini-Interview with Erika

How would you describe your experience of playing the piece?

Fun, challenging, adventurous, fluid, satisfying.

What do people say when you play this piece? Do you have favorite memories of people’s reactions to it?

“Wow! I didn’t know the harp could do all that!”

What drew you to this piece – why did you choose to learn it?

I chose this piece for the Harp Column 30-Day Practice Challenge in January 2022, because it really pushed me out of my comfort zone with some unfamiliar techniques, bold styles, challenging rhythms and varying character.

What does this piece add to your repertoire (and/or your life) that you didn’t have before?

At the time, it pushed me to familiarize myself with different techniques, and reminded me that I’m capable of playing with passion and creativity. It showed me that music can be fluid and give the player room to shine her unique, personal light onto the piece.

What would you tell someone else who’s thinking of learning this piece that you wish you’d known before you learned it?

Trust the method of learning this piece in “chunks.” It will ultimately change the way you think about learning new music moving forward!

What do you think you can get from working directly with the composer of the piece that you can’t get from the sheet music?

Getting the perspective of the composer is always valuable – you can get performance ideas, encouragement, and help through the more difficult bits that might make more sense for you depending on your experience level.

Anything else you want to say?

This is a truly gorgeous piece at any level. I played the “Intermediate” level in this video from 2022, which was what I was comfortable doing at the time, but hope to revisit it soon to add some more advanced parts. I love that it’s built to do that – you can continue to improve on it as you grow and change as a harpist.

Please follow this artist on social media and let them know what has opened up for your own self-expression in seeing and hearing their performance, and please share in the comments below.

Website: erikatheharpist.com
YouTube: Erika the Harpist
Instagram: @celticharplady
Facebook: Celtic Harp Lady Wong
Tiktok: @erikatheharpist
Stay tuned for more artists soon and check out my Composer’s Spotlight blog series, featuring other talented musicians who played my song!