other - Deborah Henson-Conant

DEBORAH HENSON-CONANTA BRIEF BIOGRAPHY ...She strides on stage with theenergy of a rock star and pulls asoulful, electrifying power-chordfrom ... her harp.If you think the harp isn’t “that”kind of instrument, it wasn’t. Notuntil Deborah Henson-Conantgot her hands on it - literally -and convinced European buildersto invent a harp she could strapon and play like an electricguitar.Now this Grammy-Nominatedartist takes center stage, hermulti-colored braids flying, andplays in styles from Flamencoto Blues, with a theatricalsinging voice and a narrative ofstorytelling and humor. But itwasn’t always like that...Deborah Henson-Conant startedimprovising stories with musicon her grandmother’s pianowhen she was three, but refusedpoint blank to take lessons. Herparents tried every instrumentthey could think of - even theharp - but it wasn’t until yearslater, when her college bandneeded a harpist that she agreedto give the 47-string monsteranother go.She paid her way through U.C.Berkeley’s music program byplaying in cocktail lounges, thenheaded to NYC with hopes oftaking her original musicals toBroadway. Still playing “for yourdining pleasure” to pay the bills,she got the courage one night todrag her harp from the diningroom to the jazz lounge, said“mind if I sit in?” -- and promptlyfell in love with jazz, blues andimprovisation.She swapped her cocktail dressesfor cowboy boots and boustiers,formed the Jazz Harp Trio, won aBoston Music Award, a NationalEndowment for the Arts grant tostudy jazz, and poured herselfinto jazz. Charlie Rose heardabout her, asked her on his show,and a week later the presidentof GRP records called offering arecording contract -- and within ayear she was the world’s foremostjazz-harp player, lugging her 75lbharp around the globe.An invitation to Edinburgh toteach the fundamentals of Bluesintroduced her to the concertharp’s smaller cousin: the Celticharp. Struck by its portability andexcited about its potential forBlues and Rock, she envisionedan electric, strap-on Celtic- harpas the crossover instrument of the21st century -- and in the mid-90’s she began a collaborationwith Europe’s top harp-builderthat led to the development ofthe first commercially-availablecarbon-fibre electric strap-onharp, now named for Henson-Conant: “DHC Blue-Lite.”Long considered the renegade ofthe harp world, Deborah discoveredthat once she strapped on herharp, she became part of one ofthe oldest musical traditions: thesinging, storytelling bard -- butwith an upbeat, electric twist.I n t h e l a t e 9 0 ’s , w h e n t h eBoston Pops asked for Deborahas a soloist, she agreed on thecondition that she get to writeand arrange the orchestral charts.Rave reviews of that debut ledto more orchestral appearances,and to Henson-Conant’s creationof the largest body of musicfor contemporary harp soloistand orchestra in the world,and culminated in the 3-year“Invention & Alchemy” project(2005-2007) which netted hera Grammy Nomination and PBSBroadcasts around the country.She’s now created nearly a dozendifferent orchestral shows.In 2008 Henson-Conant finallyfused her passion to write musicaltheater with her success as aperformer, in the debut of heroriginal One-Woman Musical“What the Hell are you doing inthe Waiting Room for Heaven??”(retitled “In the Wings” in2009) which debuted at thenew Central Square Theater inCambridge, MA.Throughout 2009 she updatedand expanded the show andit’s currently in developmentthrough Boston’s “New Operaand Musical Theater Initiative,”with an eye towards Broadway.2010 is an important year forDeborah as a composer. Asher solo and orchestral worksare becoming more widelyprogrammed by harpists inEurope, South America andAsia, 2010 marks the publicrelease date for a series of herChamber Ensemble works at theInternational Harp Festival inCaernarfon, Wales.S p o n s o r e d b y t h e C A M A CHarp company, this event isan important milestone in hergoal as a performing composer:to create a body of work thatexpands the world’s repertoire ofconcert works for electric harp.“When I began, over 30 yearsago - not only did my instrumentnot exist, but there were so fewexciting concert pieces availablefor any kind of harp. Thatmeant that, compared to otherinstrumentalists, the careers ofeven the world’s greatest harpistswere severely limited by the lackof repertoire! As a composer Iknew I could do something aboutthat. Since I first started writingfor harp in my early 20’s, I wasdetermined to create excitingmusic to expand the visibility ofthis widely misunderstood anddeeply expressive instrument.“And while I was at it, I figured Imight as well get out there andplay the music, too.”Deborah Henson-Conant • HipHarp.com • pg. 15 • SKYLINE MUSIC • SkylineOnline.com