When it comes to making beautiful holiday music, one of the SCC’s secret
weapons is harpist Bethany Man. In this month’s SCC Spotlight, we asked the
talented Kirkland native to share her favorite music, memorable onstage
moments, and the most challenging thing about playing the harp. You’ll also
hear about the exotic place she and her husband met—and about her very first
(and very long) performance of “Here Comes the Bride.” When did you start playing with the Seattle Choral Company? I have been playing with SCC for about seven years. I think my first concert was a spring concert at Saint Mark's Cathedral that featured Roxanna Panufnik’s Westminster Mass for choir and two harps.
What have been your favorite SCC performances so far? The Christmas concerts have definitely become a favorite tradition of mine. Freddie Coleman puts together such beautiful concerts. Every year my family asks me to tell them which of my many concerts they should come to during the holiday season, and I always tell them that the SCC’s A Cathedral Christmas concert should not be missed. One of the most memorable was in 2009. The choir sang an a cappella version of Biebl’s “Ave Maria.” In every performance, you could have heard a pin drop in the cathedral; it was mesmerizing. Another favorite was the SCC’s collaboration with the Bells of the Sound handbell ensemble.
What is your favorite piece in this year’s A Cathedral Christmas
concert? The Frank Ferko work, A
Festival of Carols. I loved playing it with SCC in 2005, and I'm so excited
that Freddie decided to do it again. It’s beautiful for its harp/choral
combination. From the harp perspective, it's challenging as well. The
communication between choir and harp must be exactly precise. It's beyond
playing/singing notes on a page; we really have to feel the music or it doesn't
work. Specifically, Ferko's “Go, Tell It on The Mountain.” Keeps us on our
toes!
Where did you study music? I studied privately for many years with Lynne Wainwright Palmer, and I attended university at Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana. During college, I discovered I had a passion for classic literature and writing, so I actually majored in English literature with a music minor.
What is the first harp solo you remember playing? I think I was about nine years old when I did my first “professional gig.” I was so nervous. No one had told me to cut the music when the bride reached the altar, so her “Here Comes the Bride” was about five minutes long. I remember thinking that I must have been doing a great job, because people kept looking over at me while I was playing. I still look back and laugh at that.
You must have played for a lot of weddings. Any idea how many? Quite a few :) To guess, a couple hundred.
Where did you study music? I studied privately for many years with Lynne Wainwright Palmer, and I attended university at Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana. During college, I discovered I had a passion for classic literature and writing, so I actually majored in English literature with a music minor.
What is the first harp solo you remember playing? I think I was about nine years old when I did my first “professional gig.” I was so nervous. No one had told me to cut the music when the bride reached the altar, so her “Here Comes the Bride” was about five minutes long. I remember thinking that I must have been doing a great job, because people kept looking over at me while I was playing. I still look back and laugh at that.
You must have played for a lot of weddings. Any idea how many? Quite a few :) To guess, a couple hundred.
What is the ideal age to start taking harp lessons? I teach harp
and piano lessons. For young children, it very much depends on the child. It is
up to the parent and teacher to determine if a child is ready. I require at
least two years of piano lessons before accepting harp students. The piano is
the only instrument that you can literally see everything laid out in front of
you. It is a great stepping stone for moving to other instruments. When adults
come to me for harp or piano lessons, it's a completely different approach. It's
something they are really making effort to pursue; it's not like their parents
are “making them take lessons.” But for kids and adults, I try to meet them
where they are and help them get as much as possible out of their desire to
integrate music into their lives.
How hard is it to learn to play the harp? So often people ask me if the harp is the hardest instrument. I respond that every instrument has its individual challenges. For the harp, you have both treble and bass clef, which is similar to the piano and the organ. The seven pedals on the bottom that change the key are an added challenge. Also, the classical harp has a very intricate hand position that feels very unnatural to the novice. All of those combined do make the harp quite the undertaking. It is not the instrument you can just “try out”; you must be committed to investing a considerable amount of time before you may see tangible results. And. of course, you don't find harps lying around as much as you would a piano, for example. You're on your own for your instrument, so that furthers the commitment.
What is the most challenging thing about being a harpist? The best thing? The most challenging thing—and the best thing—is being THE harpist. When you're in a symphony, there is a violin section, or a wind section. There is no harp section. On the rare occasion, there may be two harps on stage, but most of the time you're on your own. When the conductor is talking about the harp, you're it, you are the section. There is no way to blend in; you are completely exposed. It's a lot of pressure, but then again, you are THE harpist; you get all the credit for a job well done!
What kind of harp do you have, and how do you get it from place to place? I have two; I call them my first children. I have a Lyon & Healy 17 Gold and a Lyon & Healy 23 Gold. When my husband met me, he asked why I didn't want to play the flute. To transport it, I just put it in the back of my SUV and off I go. It is, of course, a process to haul it around, but I'm certainly used to it by now.
Other than harp and piano, do you play any other instruments? In my next life I will play the cello, the French horn, and the clarinet.
What are your favorite choral works? Holst’s Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, Rutter’s “Dancing Day,” “Carol of the Bells,” and my alma mater, “The Bells of Saint Mary's,” which gives me goose bumps every time I hear it.
What is your favorite harp music? I love the big, showy performance pieces. Fauré’s Impromptu and Handel’s Harp Concerto in B-flat Major (in its entirety, with the Grandjany cadenza) jump to mind first. I also like anything Christmas, and I love playing the classic pieces that make people stop and take notice. Every time I play Rachmaninov's 18th Variation, or “Danny Boy,” or “Ave Maria,” heads always turn and I hear, “Oh, I love that song!”
What other music do you like? I love the fusion of orchestra and pop. I just wrapped recording The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Special Orchestra CD. That music was so fun to play because it speaks to people who might not seek out classical music, but attracts symphony lovers as well.
How hard is it to learn to play the harp? So often people ask me if the harp is the hardest instrument. I respond that every instrument has its individual challenges. For the harp, you have both treble and bass clef, which is similar to the piano and the organ. The seven pedals on the bottom that change the key are an added challenge. Also, the classical harp has a very intricate hand position that feels very unnatural to the novice. All of those combined do make the harp quite the undertaking. It is not the instrument you can just “try out”; you must be committed to investing a considerable amount of time before you may see tangible results. And. of course, you don't find harps lying around as much as you would a piano, for example. You're on your own for your instrument, so that furthers the commitment.
What is the most challenging thing about being a harpist? The best thing? The most challenging thing—and the best thing—is being THE harpist. When you're in a symphony, there is a violin section, or a wind section. There is no harp section. On the rare occasion, there may be two harps on stage, but most of the time you're on your own. When the conductor is talking about the harp, you're it, you are the section. There is no way to blend in; you are completely exposed. It's a lot of pressure, but then again, you are THE harpist; you get all the credit for a job well done!
What kind of harp do you have, and how do you get it from place to place? I have two; I call them my first children. I have a Lyon & Healy 17 Gold and a Lyon & Healy 23 Gold. When my husband met me, he asked why I didn't want to play the flute. To transport it, I just put it in the back of my SUV and off I go. It is, of course, a process to haul it around, but I'm certainly used to it by now.
Other than harp and piano, do you play any other instruments? In my next life I will play the cello, the French horn, and the clarinet.
What are your favorite choral works? Holst’s Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, Rutter’s “Dancing Day,” “Carol of the Bells,” and my alma mater, “The Bells of Saint Mary's,” which gives me goose bumps every time I hear it.
What is your favorite harp music? I love the big, showy performance pieces. Fauré’s Impromptu and Handel’s Harp Concerto in B-flat Major (in its entirety, with the Grandjany cadenza) jump to mind first. I also like anything Christmas, and I love playing the classic pieces that make people stop and take notice. Every time I play Rachmaninov's 18th Variation, or “Danny Boy,” or “Ave Maria,” heads always turn and I hear, “Oh, I love that song!”
What other music do you like? I love the fusion of orchestra and pop. I just wrapped recording The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Special Orchestra CD. That music was so fun to play because it speaks to people who might not seek out classical music, but attracts symphony lovers as well.
What you do when you’re not playing/teaching the harp? I'm a wife and a mom. My three-year-old daughter keeps me very busy. Between being a stay-at-home mom, teaching 20+ students, and performing on a regular basis, I'm quite busy. So, whenever there is any free time, I make spending time with my family a priority.
What is something we might be surprised to learn about you? I used to work on the Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) cruise liner. I was the harpist, sailing the globe for three years. I met my husband on board; he was a bartender. :) We just celebrated our five-year anniversary! It's very special for us that we share the same memories of our adventures around the world.
Other than playing on the QE2, what is your most unusual onstage experience? I performed with Josh Groban at Key Arena, Portland, and Vancouver. For his stage, the harp had to be hoisted up on a pulley through a very narrow opening. It was set so the orchestra was sort of “funneling” around the band on stage. It was pretty precarious, but a very fun gig.
Any memorable moments from the SCC’s A Cathedral Christmas concert last year? I really had to work on keeping myself focused on my part. I kept finding myself watching the sitar player, Josh Feinberg. That haunting sound was unlike I had ever heard. I can say this now—I almost missed a couple of entrances because I was watching him play. Hopefully, Freddie didn't notice!
What do you like most about the Seattle Choral Company? I know that when I walk in to rehearsal I will be welcomed. It always feels nice to come back. And I can count on the fact that the concerts will be not only beautiful, but solid. The caliber of quality is second to none. As I've worked with SCC over the years, the standards of performance have only gone up. The group supports each other, onstage and off. The obvious respect that the choir has for their director, and he for them, is a key point. Everybody wants to give their best for each other, and that is what makes SCC so consistently excellent. It's hard to say in words, but even when I'm not playing, I love watching the group work together—going through the process of shaping pieces, adding color, bringing their individual perspectives to create the end product.
Do you have any solo performances coming up? I will be all over Seattle and the Eastside during the holidays, performing at various company venues, as well as symphony and church concerts. One of these days, I would love to put together a solo concert of my favorite harp performance pieces. Stay tuned!
