Help for harps!!

IN THE BEGINNING: 18 years ago, the Vankleek Hill Music Festival introduced harp as one of the instruments offered in the Music & Arts Summer Camp. At first, we rented the harps -- but that cost way too much so we applied to, and received, a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. And off we went.

OVER THE YEARS: The harps have been used for:

~ 18 Music & Art Summer Camp
~ In music classes in area schools
~ Courses in therapeutic harp at Algonquin College
~ Harp circles in seniors’ residences
~ Work with children with special needs.

They have been used at
~ School Christmas concerts
~ Spring Art Festivals
~ Music Monday events
~ Summer Camp final concerts and
~ Music Festival concerts.

Harps have been crowded into vans, thrown into trunks. They have fallen like dominoes in classrooms and, in one memorable case, fallen right off the stage.

AND NOW: Many of these well-used harps have reached the end of the line and need to be replaced. You wouldn’t think it to look at them, but harps are under great stress.
First, there is the downward string tension on the neck, then this fights against the upward tension on the soundboard. The result – a harp civil war: soundboards that look like a frightening earthquake zone and necks that are holding together only out of habit.

TO CARRY ON: We need your help to replace 10 of the 15 harps.
To this end, we have worked with a harp-maker Mark Rogers in Ottawa
to design a harp that a) sounds great; b) is very strong; c) is light-weight and d) doesn’t cost a fortune.

WITH YOUR HELP: We will meet the $6200 amount needed to replace 10 harps. We are extremely fortunate and pleased to announce that the Vankleek Hill & District Lions Club has already given us $2,000
toward our goal. That leaves just $4200 to go!!!

Every donation is appreciated!

Note: The Vankleek Hill Music Festival is a not-for-profit organization! Please be sure to include your name and address with your donation if you want to receive a charitable donation receipt for tax purposes!