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HOME IS WHERE
THE HARP IS
MUSICIAN HEIDI KRUTZEN HITS
NOTES OF CASUAL SIMPLICITY
BY JESSICA WERB / WILLIAM TING PHOTO
Principal harpist with the Vancouver Opera Orchestra
and the CBC Radio Orchestra, Heidi
Krutzen is also a member of Trio Verlaine, the
Krutzen/McGhee Duo, and the Turning Point
Ensemble. This month she’s joining the Vancouver Symphony
Orchestra on its Asia-Pacific tour. We caught up
with her and her harps in her Kitsilano apartment, which
doubles as her teaching studio and private oasis.
Where do you practise?
I have two bedrooms, and the harps get the smaller
one. I kind of use that as a little mini studio.
Do your neighbours ever comment on your playing?
I’ve been really fortunate. One of the reasons I picked
this building is that it’s concrete.…I’ve only ever had
one comment and that was from one of my neighbours,
and she said, “I wish you played more often.”
How would you describe your home style?
Most of my furniture is European and it’s casual but
elegant, comfortable, simple. I like simplicity a lot.
Where do you entertain?
My place has got a really open layout and the kitchen
and the living room are all one space. If I’m cooking,
I have a little bar area and people tend to hang out
right there. If not, we’re usually in the living room.
What’s your favourite place to cocoon?
My living room. It’s got circular windows. I love the light
that comes through here. It’s always different in the different
seasons but also during different times of day.
What’s your most treasured possession?
My grandmother grew up in Africa, and I have two of her
wood carvings from there, which I love. She grew up in
Abyssinia, which is Ethiopia, and Tanzania, and later in
her life lived in Senegal and French Somalia as well. Two
of her pieces have been given to me, and I love those.
But I should probably say my harps, too, right?
| FALL 2008 | | GEORGIA STRAIGHT LIVING |
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What’s on your walls?
I’ve got some African baskets and I have some African
batiks, and I have a painting by one of my aunts that
I love. I also have a painting by my friend Janine and
a couple of Monets from when I lived in Paris—just
prints!
Who are your favourite artists?
I’m a huge fan of Charles Forsberg and of course Tiko
Kerr, and my friend Janine Johnston.
What’s always in your fridge?
Cheese and wine. I’m a cheese-aholic. Les Amis du
Fromage is much too close to where I live.
Flowers or potted plants?
I love fl owers. I don’t have them all that often but I
have some on my decks that I plant and I get cut fl owers
when I can. -