I went, I saw, I had a good time. Took a really nifty class on Middle Eastern rhythms, and got a refresher class from Cynthia Cathcart, my wire harp teacher (back when I was taking lessons, Before Children). I learned a half-dozen ap Huw figures to practice, hurrah!
I'll be proposing some classes for next Somerset, I think. While the classes are usually interesting, they're also generally geared for people playing 29-36 nylon strings. Lots of classes on arpeggios and glissandos, on different figures for left-hand chords, on fingering and hand positions for nylon, on "using all your strings," and so on. My primary instrument (if I can be said to have one, for all the practice I've had recently) is my 19-string wire. Different technique, different positioning, different approach to arranging. So much just isn't applicable to me.
It is always fun to hear the different pro players, and how they excel in different ways. Main takeaway lesson: Playing lovely, floating music on the harp is not hard. Playing gripping music, music that demands and commands full attention from the audience, that's harder. Whether it's rapid melody played absolutely clean and fast, with ringing ornaments that baffle the ear; a slow air with sensitive phrasing that just draws you up and up; a can-do accompaniment that gets out of the way of terrific vocals - it has to be more than just "nice" and "pretty."
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