The American Harp Journal - Extras - Summer 2018

AHS 43 rd National Conference:
Back to Our Future, Redlands, California
by Leslie Shortlidge
T
HE American Harp Society Inc.’s 43 rd National
Conference, BACK TO OUR FUTURE, is now
one for the history books. If you were able to join us
in California at the beautiful University of Redlands,
we hope your experience was entertaining, educational,
and just plain fun!
The conference highlighted various aspects of
the California harp legacy, including Latin American
music and culture, jazz, Hollywood—and Bollywood!
Several panels focused on the entertainment industry.
And keeping with the future-focused aspect of
the conference, many panels took an in-depth look
at teaching, preparing young people for a career
with the harp, and navigating the world of grants
and funding.
The University of Redlands rolled out the welcome
mat to attendees, performers, vendors, students,
harp-haulers, family members, and presenters
of all stripes. The School of Music at Redlands is
internally known as a center for the interchange of
expertise, knowledge, and opinion, and was a very
supportive host. Redland also boasts the magnificent
Memorial Chapel, a high-vaulted and heavenly performance
space where our performers’ music could
not have been better served.
We were treated to three outstanding evenings in
that space, from featured performers Emmanuel Ceysson,
principal harpist for the Metropolitan Opera in
New York City; Lori Andrews, Motoshi Kosako, and
Carol Robbins and the Redlands Symphony Orchestra
with performances from Paul Baker, Ellie Choate,
Cristina Montes Mateo, and Julie Smith Phillips.
Our event also featured young award winner
Abigail Kent who was the first prize recipient in
the Young Professional Division of the AHS 2017
National Competition and AHS Concert Artist
for 2017-1019, and Anne Adams Awards winners,
Mana Azimi, Abigail Enssle, and Adam Phan. (See
article elsewhere in this issue regarding the Anne
Adams Awards.)
2018 AHS National Conference chair Mary
Dropkin and her team did an outstanding job of
organizing an event with the interests of many in
mind! The registration table was the “go-to” nerve
center, where everyone who needed anything from a
map to the grounds to just the right cable to set up a
laptop presentation felt welcome and cared for.
The pop-up Historical Harp Museum in the
Memorial Hall Narthex was great fun, as were the
performances by some of our youngest participants
in the same space. Those young musicians are the
future, and we hope they will look back on their national
conference experience as a pivotal moment.
As an extra special added feature, professional
recordings of all performances and workshops were
made by the team from Brigham Young University.
This rich archive of great sound and video is made
available via the AHS Archives on loan to AHS
members.
As always, we extend our sincere thanks to our
exhibitors who go to great effort and no little expense
to create a wonderful shopping and networking
experience during the conferences. We hope you
found your next harp or that special piece of music!
And we couldn’t put on a national event like this
one without the support of our sponsors Lyon &
Healy Harps and Salvi Harps, Harp Column and Anderson
Musical Instrument Insurance. As ever, they
make our world go around.
Make space on your calendar for the 44 th Annual
Conference in 2020, when we’ll all meet again in
Central Florida for “That’s Entertainment!” V
16 THE AMERICAN HARP JOURNAL – EXTRAS