2015/16 Winter News: November-January

This winter I will be performing in Chapel Hill, Durham, Raleigh, Greensboro and Newton, NC with the NC Harp Duo, NC Harp Ensemble and my first full performance of the Nutcracker. Check out the schedule below and I hope to see you at a performance or two!

Starting in January, I will be expanding my studio to Cary, NC where I will teach harp lessons from Leechford Music Studios near downtown Cary.  Contact me today to reserve your spot at the Cary Studio! Leigh is accepting new students of all ages.

NC Harp Ensemble’sHoliday Concert 

Nov 22, 2015, 3pm at NC Art Museum | Free Admission!

13 Harpists will gather at the NC Museum of Art to play your holiday favorites. Founded in 2010, the NC Harp Ensemble provides professional ensemble instruction for harpists of all ages and skill levels – beginning, intermediate, advanced and professional. Conducted by Jacquelyn Bartlett, Professor of Harp and Chamber Music at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, the ensemble rehearses from September through April at UNCSA in Winston-Salem, NC. 

The Nutcracker

presented by Triangle Youth Ballet & Nutrcracker Virtuosi

Dec 5-12 at Chapel Hill High School and Carolina Theater | Tickets $10-$27

This will be my first full run of the Nutcracker Ballet. Tchaikovsky wrote a fabulous harp part complete with one of the best known harp cadenza’s in the Waltz of the Flowers. This performance is a collaboration between the Triangle Youth Ballet and the Nutcracker Virtuosi conducted by Andrew McAfee. 

NC Harp Ensemble on Tour

Dec 13, 2015, Greensboro, NC | Free Admission

After special requests from the Greensboro community, The NC Harp Ensemble will return to Greensboro this winter for it’s annual holiday concert and will feature harp quartet, violin and piano! Stay tuned for more details!

NC Harp Duo & Friends

Bach’s Lunch N’ Listen, Newton-Conover Auditorium, Newton, NC

Dec 18, 12pm-1pm | Tickets $12

The NC Harp Duo with special guests, will return to Newton, NC for a second appearance on the Bach’s Lunch N’ Listen program for an intimate showcase of your favorite Christmas music. Tickets will be available soon. 

Symphony Mice

Last weekend I played with the Durham Symphony Orchestra for the first time. It’s a semi-professional group lead by Maestro William Curry using the combined talents of volunteer and professional musicians. An interesting group, that I was delighted to join for their May 17 pops concert, a tribute to Paul Roberson.  

They rehearse Tuesday nights in the basement of the Durham Arts Council. I arrived about an hour before the rehearsal, unpacked my harp and introduced myself to the librarian and personnel manager (both players in the group as well!). The librarian kindly told me that she was going to slide my case to the side, because she had just spotted a mouse running along the baseboard nearby.

A mouse? Oh dear.

Musicians trickled in at first, and one of them, an expert violinist emptied a nearby box, trapped the mouse and re-homed the baby rodent in the parking lot outside.

Whew! The mouse has left the building.

The rehearsal begins, I start counting, listening and playing my part. Everyone’s grooving to an arrangement made for Charlie Parker, “Just Friends.” When suddenly, someone gets too excited, gasps and stands up. 

What happened I wondered, did they play a wrong note? Did their string break?

Nay, nay. A second and bigger mouse ran through the cello section and directly into the instrument closet. Probably looking for his quarter-sized violin. The maestro locked the mice in the instrument closet for the duration of the rehearsal and we continued.

Joplin rags sound great played by an orchestra. I think the mice agreed. A third creature made an appearance. His presence formally announced by gasps, shrieks, and a well-executed wave in the string section. (Baseball fans would be in awe).

Without an instrument closet to find refuge, the expert violinist again grabbed her box, and relocated the mouse to his new home in the outdoor parking lot.

Rehearsal went on uninterrupted, and the following week, the baseboards were lined with mousetraps.