From May 15-18, Denise and Michael Grupp-Verbon will host the seventh annual Harp Gathering at the Sauder Heritage Inn. The event will include three concerts, 18 workshops and several vendors selling instruments/accessories.
“We have people who’ve been to the festival a few times and others who come every year. A lot of people sign up for next year before they even leave, which is a testament to how much they love it,” Denise said.
The couple will be performing, along with a roster of national artists. Performers and presenters include Maeve Gilchrist (Boston, Massachusetts), Cynthia Shelhart (Chesterton, Indiana), Frank Voltz (Winston-Salem, North Carolina), Aryeh Frankfurter (San Francisco, California) and Lisa Lynne (San Francisco, California).
“The Harp Gathering is a great way to go forth with an instrument that should really be around for all time,” said Lynne, a Celtic harpist who’s played at the event four times and has sold a million CDs worldwide.
“They really do a nice job of putting together the classes. Some conferences are so big you have a lot of trouble deciding what you want to do,” she added. “Here it’s a little more manageable, and you have time to absorb what you just learned and get to know everybody.”
“We also have different categories of workshops each year. This year we even have a workshop on how to play the ukulele,” Denise said. “Lisa’s also doing a workshop about going onstage and not being nervous, called ‘Playing Live and Butterflies.’”
Other workshops include The Organized Harpist and Intro to Improvisation.
One registrant will win a model HG-30 harp by Lewis Creek Instruments in the annual “Harp Hunt and Gathering” drawing.
Denise said she started playing harp in fifth grade when she had a choice between joining choir or band, and she’s been passionate about it ever since. Her inspiration for the Harp Gathering comes from the joy of meeting other harpists and providing an environment for shared creativity.
“The biggest challenge is finding new ways to get the word out to harpists and to communicate with people who might want to come to the concerts,” she said. “There’s a lot of camaraderie among artists hanging out together and sharing ideas. I like the idea of it being more of a retreat than a convention.”
The Sauder Village Inn is located at 22611 State Route 2 in Archbold.
The concerts are open to the public, and tickets are available in advance or at the door for $15. For more information, call (419) 478-4177.
