Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Newton.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Erin. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Music has always been my safe haven. I began playing a lever harp at nine in Visalia, California after several years of piano lessons. Studying with a classically trained pop arranger and recording artist, Penny Beavers, helped me transition to playing a pedal harp. Pedal harps have seven pedals and twenty-one pedal positions, each with three positions which allow the harpist to play sharps, naturals and flats. I loved the challenge of difficult classical and jazz pieces and started performing at age ten for special events.
A graduate of Mount Holyoke College and the California School for the Arts summer program, I studied with many notable harpists including Felice Swados, Susan Allen, and Courtney Hershey Bress. I improved technique in master workshops with Marcia Dickstein, Kathleen Bride, and Alfredo Rolando Ortiz. While other passions like working as a geologist and rock climbing have brought me all over the world, I have always come back to the harp, my happy place.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Running a small business while working first as a geologist and then raising two small boys has not been easy. It was difficult to combine my geology consulting work which often involved travel and long stints in the field with maintaining a teaching studio. When I had my boys, I decided to focus on my Alpenglow Harp Studio and was able to more reliably schedule lessons and freelance harp gigs. It is difficult to find part-time childcare, so I rocked and fed my babies while teaching. As they have grown, they have learned to play independently nearby during teaching hours. Some students found coming to my home studio difficult at rush hours and in inclement weather, so I learned to teach lessons via video conference and I’ve seen motivated students really excel.
Since I’ve moved several times to various parts of Colorado, I have had to regularly update and optimize my website and recruit new students. In order to learn basic website design, graphic design, and web design skills I took online classes, community college classes and online tutorials in Photoshop, Illustrator, Web Design, and Search Engine Optimization. This has really helped me grow my business through my website I made using Wix templates. I am now pursuing skills in recording and digital editing using Ableton Live and working with several recording studios to pursue commercial recording contracts.
Music has been with me through the hardest of times in life. In a freak accident, my first husband was run over on a remote job site by a truck and trailer that had popped out of gear and rolled silently down the hill, hitting him from behind. I found him under the truck on the only day I went to work with him. While playing the harp in the hospital for him, helping him rehab for several years and suffering PTSD and grief as our marriage fell apart, I was invited to take over the daily High Tea harp performance at the historic Brown Palace Hotel. This was a tumultuous but healing time for me, separating from the hustle and bustle of life and being able to look within and cope with my grief through music.
At 28 I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had bilateral mastectomies. While recovering and still wrapped in gauze, I was asked to play a 15-show opera series at CU Boulder. Having to develop the strength to sit up through 25 performances and rehearsals with 200 pages of music performing “A Little Night Music” helped me get stronger mentally and physically and once I could get my arms back up to play the harp, I wondered if I could get back to climbing. I started climbing the Grand Teton in Wyoming still wrapped in gauze, then when I was able to do ten pull-ups, set my sights on the Matterhorn and Denali. During that time I attended a workshop with Kathleen Bride, which inspired me to finally properly learn one of my favorite pieces, Debussy’s Claire de Lune.
Last year at 38, I was diagnosed with hip dysplasia and could no longer do basic activities. My hip cartilage was destroyed and specialists recommended highly invasive risky surgeries, a labrum replacement followed by a Peri-acetabular Osteotomy (PAO), or rotation of my hip socket to give my hip more stability and bear weight on undamaged cartilage. While recovering from the surgeries I required blood transfusions and two weeks later developed a massive blood clot in my leg. As my pelvis healed and my leg atrophied, I wondered if I would ever walk or play again. I was inspired to struggle out of bed each day, during one of the darkest periods of my life, to teach students. I re-trained my foot to move the pedals again going to PT twice a week, and worked towards being able to perform again, though I could not drive for months. My family has been my saving grace, and while still rehabbing and working to get stronger, I am back to a full harping schedule.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
When I moved to Colorado in 2004, I started Alpenglow Harp Studio teaching all ages and levels and working as a freelance harpist. Students typically start on a lever harp so I use my two 22-string and 34-string lever harps to teach beginner students. I use a keyboard to help students understand theory concepts. When students have learned basic techniques and improved their reading skills, they may choose to commit to purchasing a pedal harp to further their skill set. For lessons, I have a semi-grand 40-string harp and I perform on a full size 47 string concert harp.
Having a room full of harps of varying sizes not only allows me to teach different levels, styles and techniques, I also enjoy playing duets with my students. We perform several harp ensemble shows annually at local community centers to give students the opportunity to share their music and perform together. We collaborate with Karen Lauffer’s Silver Strings Academy for a full strings sound. I encourage students to learn seasonal pieces to make their repertoire more relatable.
As a musician, it is important to play often with others to improve your skills. I encourage students to perfect pieces and perform regularly as that is the only way to hone the challenging skill of playing for an audience. Committing to the daily challenge of practicing can feel isolating since harpists often play solo. By playing with others and performing regularly, harpists experience gratification from learning a piece well. Sharing music with others keeps students inspired and part of a supportive community, with the benefit of being able to give back.
What resources do you rely on to develop a music teaching studio?
To be able to teach new students, harp rentals must be available. Fortunately, Kolacny Music in Denver on South Broadway rents over 200 lever harps with the option to put most of their rental fees towards purchasing a harp. Dave Kolacny, the third in a line of skilled harp regulators, sponsors virtuoso performances and supports our local thriving harp community. Every year the Mile High Chapter of the American Harp Society puts on the “Harp Fantasia” performance, where 50 harpists of all levels are invited to perform together on stage. Additionally, the Colorado Celtic Harp Society offers local workshops, retreats, and regular opportunities to play and perform together. The Colorado State University summer harp program in Fort Collins, for example, was a great opportunity for my students to grow and be inspired by other skilled harpists. I support and participate with my students in many of these growth opportunities which we are grateful to have in Colorado. I take them to live performances whenever possible as creative growth and dedication to a passion thrives on inspirational experiences. The Harp Column and Vanderbilt Music online offer great resources to be able to download music directly I can’t find elsewhere for my students. I also pursue continuing education through online master classes and tutorials. When I can’t find adequate harp arrangements, I often make my own for special requests.
Where do Harpists typically perform and have you had any atypical experiences?
As a freelance harpist, I have played the standard harpist engagements such as symphony performances, with choirs, for churches, weddings, High Teas, birthdays, anniversaries, holiday events, and fundraisers. Some less typical experiences I’ve had include playing above roaring lions at the Keenesburg Wildlife Sanctuary, on stage with Grammy award winning hip hop artist Kanye West, and on top of ski mountains in all weather conditions. I toured with a Maori Opera singer and dancers from New Zealand through several European countries and played at Denver University’s Gates theater at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts with the Denver Brass for their annual Celtic Fling performance. I also played with the Lamont School of Music Percussion Ensemble. I’ve played the Nutcracker Suite for a performance with the Boulder Circus Center and played 15 shows of “A Little Night Music” with the University of Colorado Opera series.
When asked if I could play Hip Hop Harp for an evening show at the Denver Museum of Contemporary Art, I learned to use a looping pedal to play the beats live on the soundboard while playing the melodies I’d arranged on the strings. I enjoy playing during the hustle and bustle of the holiday season at the Cherry Creek Shopping Center and fashion shows with harp and runway models are exciting. For larger events, like fundraising suarees at the Broncos Stadium at Mile High, at the Denver Art Museum, Museum of Nature and Science, Colorado Convention Center, and performances at the Arvada Center for Arts and Humanities and the Lakewood Cultural Center, I use an amplifier to bring out my acoustic sound.
To access one winter wedding at the top of Arapahoe Basin ski area in -15 degrees, I had to put skis on and take my lever harp up the ski lift, disembark and ski across to the lodge carrying the harp. I also play at hospitals, as the low pitches on the harp often lower a patient’s heart rate and help them rest. When close family members and friends have developed incurable diseases, I have been able to share music with them as palliative care. Playing harp for friends who have passed is among the hardest challenges, but at a Celebration of Life ceremony, it is an honor to help bring peace to family and friends and I am grateful I can help begin the process of healing and offer comfort through music.
In summer, I play often on the tops of ski mountains where winter ski lodges double as summer wedding venues. I can usually get my concert harp into the gondolas, but when it is not possible, I have to drive remote dirt roads to several of the mountain lodge venues, like Timber Ridge Lodge on the top of Keystone mountain. Once I nervously drove up the remote bumpy road with no cellphone coverage only two days before going into labor and giving birth to my son.
What are the challenges raising a family while teaching from home and traveling for gigs?
I played through both pregnancies, though my baby boys were nine and ten pounds, so it became difficult to load and unload the harp and pull the harp back against my giant belly, and my back eventually collapsed and required many months of rehabilitation. I will always remember, though, how my babies in utero kicked back against the harp when they could feel the vibrations. I got quite good at feeding a baby on one arm while practicing difficult passages on the harp with the other. My three-year-old son asked me once if he could duet with me. He demanded that I play Claire de Lune while he played the Waltz of the Flowers, though it was certainly his own special version of the famous cadenza. I often work on weekends and holidays so my husband and parents offer crucial help to be able to commit to my irregular schedule.
What are your most memorable performance experiences?
Playing for 15 years in Colorado for special events has allowed me to experience iconic Colorado venues like the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, the Eldorado and St. Julian Hotels in Boulder, Cheesman Park Pavilion in Denver, the Ritz Carlton’s in Denver and Beaver Creek, the Boulder Theater, the Magnolia Hotel in Denver, the Chautauqua Amphitheater in Boulder, and the Flagstaff Amphitheater high up in the Flatirons. I have played at several castles and historic mansions including the Cherokee Castle in Sedalia, Duafon Castle in Idledale, the Manor House in Littleton, the Boettcher Mansion on Lookout Mountain in Golden, and the Grant-Humphreys Mansion in Denver, among other lovely front range venues.
Some of my favorite concert series have been at libraries, art galleries, elementary schools and retirement homes where audiences make more time to slow down, listen and learn. I played daily at the Brown Palace Hotel as their High Tea harpist and found the three-hour sets really helped me diversify and expand my repertoire. I loved playing for the excitable children, curious patrons and appreciative staff, who had their favorite requests. Due to repetitive constant use, however, I eventually needed dry needling and therapeutic massage in my right shoulder. The harp is, unfortunately, not ergonomic as you always balance the instrument on your right shoulder and your right hand typically plays the more difficult passages on the high strings. Despite that my hand went numb for a while from the tension in my shoulder, it was magical being surrounded by 20,000 lights, magnificent Christmas trees and hundreds of poinsettias while playing during the holiday season each year.
Do you play outside and what are the challenges and accommodations needed?
It is a pleasure to be so often in the places with the finest natural ambiance in Colorado. I play on top of mountains, beside rivers and lakes, at hot springs and in botanical gardens and parks. I’ve played at Denver and Chatfield Botanical Gardens, at Evergreen Lake, at Dillon Lake in Frisco, Lake Estes, Evergreen Sprague Lake, Sylvan Lake in Eagle, Gold Lake Mountain Resort and Spa, Denver City Park Lake, Roxborough State Park in Littleton, and Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. Remote ranches and riversides are also popular venues like those on the Yampa in Steamboat Springs, Crooked Willow Farms in the rolling green hills of Larkspur, and at Princeton Hot Springs. And of course mountain ski areas turn in to summer resorts so I play for weddings at Vail, Beaver Creek, Aspen, Breckenridge, Arapahoe Basin, Keystone, And Steamboat Springs. As a climber, I’m partial to alpine environments so Aspen’s Maroon Bells Chapel is one of my favorite spots, but there are many challenges playing outdoors in Colorado. We have extreme, fast-moving weather, uneven surfaces, aggressive insects, and blowing winds.
Since the harp is not suited to extreme temperature changes, I often have to quickly tune and re-tune my 47 strings throughout an engagement, keep my harp cover nearby, have a sun hat, sunglasses, sunblock, water, sun shirt, and hair bands as well as warm jackets and a change of warm clothes for the same day. Several times I have had to put icepacks on my IPad, which holds all my music, to cool it down. I have had IPads die and had to improvise. I’ve had my harp trolley tires go flat, and I’ve had my page turner and strings break mid-performance, so I have to be flexible and try to anticipate challenges. I use a wide-base music stand for gusty Colorado winds and have occasionally had to play in a down jacket and fingerless gloves. I have only had to decline to play for one wedding where a zealous bride was determined to have her ceremony outdoors in gusting snow flurries. Those extreme temperatures could easily crack the thin soundboard as the strings tighten quickly and exert over 2,000 pounds of pressure on the delicate soundboard. Most venues, fortunately, offer indoor venues for inclement weather. I’ve never missed a wedding, though I’ve come close once when a highway was closed due to extensive flooding.
It sounds like you enjoy engaging with a variety of passions. How do you find balance and stay centered?
Between traveling all over Colorado for special events, scheduling daily lessons and preparing for holiday performances, playing regularly for nearby retirement homes, and wrangling my two 3 and 6 year old sons, I am quite busy. I still geology consult, design websites, and work as the communications coordinator on the Rose Roots Community Garden as well as the city council appointed Arvada Parks Advisory Committee. I also serve as the membership and Reflections Art Contest chair for the PTA and enjoy being a classroom mom and supporting our teachers as well as petitioning for safer multi-use trails in Arvada. As such, there isn’t much time to continue adventuring with my husband, but we both love climbing, biking and skiing so we try to combine some of my harping engagements with outdoor adventures. We carve out Fridays as an adventure date day to re-connect. We have plans to climb in Puerto Rico for my upcoming 40th birthday which also happens to be on Leap Year. I have yet to take the harp high up a cliff face or tried to play it while riding a bike, but there’s still time.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I am now pursuing skills in recording and digital editing using Ableton Live and working with several recording studios to pursue commercial recording contracts. I have been performing for more community and educational organizations and am pursuing Arts Education grant funding to serve these communities better. I am exploring the ability to record with other musicians remotely and am interested in purchasing a 36 string Celtic lever harp with a wide soundboard that goes to the floor to project better in louder performance venues and match the sound of other Celtic instruments.
I perform regularly with a flute and violin player and we are working on making music videos of some of our own arrangements. With the holidays approaching, my Alpenglow Harp Studio is currently preparing solo and ensemble music. I am working to perfect my technique with my looping pedal to create beats in live looping performances. I am always learning and arranging new music to provide my students with challenging opportunities and to expand my repertoire so that I can maintain an eclectic selection of Classical, Jazz, Popular, Celtic and Hip Hop standards. I don’t seem to sleep much, particularly when I have late night gigs that require extensive travel or find myself in a creative phase but I’m working on better routines to wind down earlier in the evenings and when those doesn’t work, there’s always exercise. We are beginning to train to climb El Capitan in Yosemite Valley, a life long dream. Maybe someday I’ll be able to combine harp and adventure travel, but if I plan to live the #harpvanlife, I may need to downsize the harp. Surely Cirque du Soleil has a need for an aerialist climbing harpist?
Contact Info:
- Website: www.coloradoharpist.com
- Phone: (303) 253-5090
- Email: harpisterinnewton@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erinhnewton/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coloradoharpistErinNewton/?ref=bookmarks
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