Mairéad Whelan (B.A., H.Dip.Ed., A.L.C.M.(piano)) studied music at UCD, and is classically trained in harp, piano and singing. Mairead was one of the founding members of well-known choral group Anúna and participated in various recordings, concert work, radio and television broadcasts. Since moving back to the Midlands, Mairéad has participated in various music events including playing with the Sligo Early Music Group, singing with Rooskey Choral Singers, and is a regular tutor at The Joe Mooney Summer School.

July 2010 My New Harp
My great love/hate affair with ‘gear’. I could talk endlessly about the merits of Yamaha versus Roland (Keyboards), a speaker system with the inbuilt amp, or as separate items, considering the weight issue (for light-weight females), the magnificence of the Shure SM-58 mike, and all the great merits of all the harps on the market. One is always in the market for more gear. My latest is the New Harp. I have my current (Colm O Meachair) harp for 20 years, and its still brilliant, but one harp is never enough. I have been on the lookout for my next harp for the last 5 years probably. The different features which have to be considered are dimensions (height and weight), string spacing and tension, the shape of the harp and how it lies on the shoulder, and most importantly, the actual sound of the harp as I play it. I love the harps of Larry Egar, Jan Muyllaert, Paddy Cafferky, Camac, Larry Fisher, but there was always some reason why it wasn’t suitable for me. Last summer was the first time I’d seen a Rick Kemper harp, and had only 5minutes to give it a test run, and was convinced immediately that it’s the harp for me. All business had to be done on the internet, as Mr Kemper is an American harp builder, but, nowadays this has so become the norm. Big stuff, small stuff, wedding dresses from the UK, music equipment from USA, books from Germany etc. Even wedding music bookings! All is done online nowadays. However, to get back to my most exciting purchase. It is now close to the big day, and my harp is arriving next week. I will fill you in after I get the packaging torn off, and get to play a tune. It wont be forced to work for a while, not until the shine has worn off.