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FROM HIPHARP.COM: This was an even cooler article with the full-page
pics they had - we'll try to put those on later!
There
was a time when harpist Deborah Henson-Conant bought into that
image of a traditional symphony player: stoic posture in an
ebony gown seated before a serious conductor.
“I
remember the first time I was playing with a symphony orchestra,
and I was so impressed with myself because I was dressed like
everyone else...I was in a black dress and I had my little case,
and was like, ‘I was a real musician,’” she
said in a recent phone interview.
“I
was so excited about that for about two or three months, until
I realized that that was as far as that was going to go for
me. I thought, ‘I’m in the back of the orchestra...I
want to be in the front of the orchestra, and I want to play
in everything.’”
Shedding
conventional confines for extraordinary showmanship, Henson-Conant
brings her raucous stage show to Sarasota on Saturday when she
performs “Hip Harps Pops!” with the Florida West
Coast Symphony at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall.
With
a career rooted in tradition, Henson-Conant has transformed
herself into a harpist known for her musical versatility and
explosive stage presence that includes storytelling and energetic
vocals. That combination is borne out of her constant desire
to smash any conformity in her music and life.
“Part
of what my life is about is breaking stereotypes,” she
said. “It’s important to me to find the truth of
anything, and the way you find the truth of anything is to break
apart the stereotypes that you have about it, whatever it is.
That’s just who I am; therefore, it’s going to be
inherent in everything I do.”
Henson-Conant’s
love for musical performance started with her mother, who sang
opera. But it was the orchestra that resonated with her.
“I
love the fact that the orchestra is both...this beautiful sea
of sound, but it’s also individuals — each of whom
is a virtuoso,” she said.
Before
long, she was taking music lessons — at first piano, then
guitar. She liked neither, but enjoyed writing. “I was
a composer,” she said. “I just wanted to write stories
with music.”
Henson-Conant
was playing piano and harp in her early teens, and by time she
reached the College of Marin in Northern California, she was
committed to the harp.
She
was not, however, connected to it.
“At
that point, I had a teacher that really changed my life,”
she said. “She was someone who knew how to challenge me
as a musician until I had made a relationship with the instrument.”
After
an early start with traditional symphonies, Henson-Conant followed
her love of improvisation and began playing jazz in 1982.
Five
years later, she released her CD debut, “‘Round
the Corner.” Since then, she has released 15 albums; the
2006 DVD “Invention & Alchemy” was nominated
for a Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover.
During
her musical journey, Henson-Conant transformed her performance
style, her appearance, and eventually her instrument.
It started with a vision.
“I
had this dream of a custom-built harp that I could strap on
so that I could walk around the stage, in a sense like the troubadours
of old, but it’s an electric harp,” she said.
“I
was finally able to convince somebody to build me one, and so
now I have this incredible instrument that is sort of breathtaking,
because nobody has seen anything like it.”
The
electric harp has contributed to Henson-Conant’s reputation
as performing like a rock star on stage.
“The
other reason I love this instrument is that it can go from that
raucous rock thing to absolutely tender,” she said. “I
love being able to inhabit both of those sides of music.”
Henson-Conant
performs with an eye toward both symphony veterans and novices.
“If
you’ve never been to a symphony performance, this is a
really great one to start with, because it’s got humor
and stories and a lot of different styles of music,” she
said.
“But
if you’ve been to the symphony a lot, it’s also
a great one to come to, because you will get to see the soloist
and the orchestra and the harp in ways you’ve just never
seen them before.”
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