I'm delighted to share some highlights from an exclusive interview I had the pleasure of conducting with Anne Roos, a well-known Californian Celtic harpist who has performed at a variety of events for over 30 years.
I had the chance to meet her through the Facebook network on 2010, a very active musician and good friend.
She is a highly sought-after harpist for weddings and private events, on stage at concerts and festivals, and in the recording studio and on camera.Anne's credits include performance on the Grammy® Award winning Best New Age Album for 2015 "Winds of Samsara".
Anne's Spotify playlist has over 7K monthly listeners and ranges from the expected—traditional Celtic, Early, Renaissance, folk, world, and classical music—to the unexpected—rock, and modern mainstream music...her professional renditions and versatility make Anne a popular and much sought after musician for all styles of events.
Anne’s albums are unique--Her recent releases are actually little books with CDs tucked neatly into the back page. Anne is now considered a wedding music authority, with her new book on the market, “The Musician’s Guide to Brides: How to Make Money Playing Weddings”. This user-friendly guide is written for the novice musician as well as the pro. It comes complete with worksheets, checklists, and more! Published by Hal Leonard Books, this 324-page paperback can be bought at Amazon.com.
Celtic Sprite: Tell us about your first experience with the harp as a musical instrument. Was it love at first sight when you decided to become a harpist?
Anne Roos: Many years ago, I attended a Winter Solstice Festival. A lady there had little harps on display, and I was intrigued. She explained that if I wanted to learn to play she would rent me a harp and teach me. At the time, I had an incredibly stressful job, so the opportunity to learn to play a little harp in my pastime was just what I needed. The harp was just there at the right place and the right time for me to take it up.
Celtic Sprite: How did you get started on the Celtic harp; are you a self-taught folk harpist?.
Anne Roos: The lady with the harp display at that Winter Solstice Festival was the famous Sylvia Woods and I took private harp instruction with her for about three years before going out and playing on my own.
Celtic Sprite: Living in a country used to instruments like the celtic or folk harp...how did you managed to get yours?.
Anne Roos: It was from the same Sylvia Woods, she explained me at the cited Festival, that if I wanted to learn to play she would rent me a harp and teach me.
Celtic Sprite: Please, tell us about your lever harp, what model is it? Do you own a second model?
Anne Roos: The lever harp that I use for my recordings is a Triplett harp, a 36-string eclipse model, made of cherry wood and a spruce soundboard. I own several harps: I also perform with a Triplett 34-string Celtic II Model, with beautiful Irish carvings, and I play a 38-string, 10-lb. Heartland Harps carbon fiber harp, the Delight model, for outside performances. I own a collection of small harps, too, that I rent out to harp students.
Celtic Sprite: Do you play traditional folk music in addition to your own when you play the harp live?
Anne Roos: I play all kinds of music, from traditional folk and Celtic music, to Classical music, to modern popular music, to even rock!
Let us share now a video from Anne Roos' Official YouTube Channel
Feel free to check out the second part of this interview!
1 comment:
Thank you for featuring me in this interview!
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