Noël Wan, Jaymee Haefner, Elzbieta Szmyt, and Barbara Lepke-Sims in American Harp Society News
Noël Wan, Gold Medal and Mario Falcao Prize winner in the 2022 12th USA International Harp Competition, will be performing a recital as part of the American Harp Society 2024 National Conference in Orlando, Florida. Wan’s multimedia performance will take place on Monday, June 17th at 7:30 pm EDT, and will include music for solo acoustic and amplified harp inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s iconic 1963 horror film The Birds.
American Harp Society members can watch a replay of this concert online by purchasing a virtual registration to the conference here.
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jaymee haefner
The 2024 AHS National Conference Ensemble, Sunshine Harps, will be led by Jan Jennings and assisted by USAIHC Treasurer Jaymee Haefner and USAIHC Board Member Elzbieta Szmyt, as well as Willi Maerz, Laura Brandenburg, and members of the UNT HarpBeats. Click here to learn more.
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The Weiger Lepke-Sims Family Sacred Music Award (sponsored by USAIHC Vice President Barbara Lepke-Sims) has been awarded to harpist and composer Megan Metheney. Her award-winning composition is Psalm 23, The Song of the Shepherd. Sheet music is available on her website.
Established in 2000 by Barbara Lepke-Sims and Michael Sims, this award was created to honor Barbara's family members who have loved and encouraged her musical pursuits and in memory of her grandmother, Mabel Fulton Weiger, her father, Ralph J. Weiger, and mother, Eleanor Marshall-White. Barbara’s grandmother, Mabel Fulton Weiger, was an organist at Moody Bible Institute in the 1940s.
Enjoy this interview with Megan Metheney, courtesy of the American Harp Society.
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barbara lepke-sims
How did you learn about the Weiger Lepke-Sims Family Sacred Music Award?
I have been aware of this award for years through AHS newsletters like this one. In 2021, I decided to do something new and crazy: compose a piece and send it in. I didn't win, but really enjoyed the process, so I entered again and again, each time feeling challenged and inspired.
Can you tell us about your journey with composing sacred music?
I've loved to improvise and arrange from the moment I started playing the harp 35 years ago, but to create something permanent and 100% my own was a frightening thought. Today, I find that as long as I'm focused on the pleasingness of sound and the way an idea feels under my fingers, I'm on the right track. The piece I sent in this year, for example, was inspired by a passage from a children's bible I read to my daughters. The words are so sweet and simple, yet they touch me to the point of tears. "What if I used this text as a starting point?" My girls were my guinea pigs, and we tried different melodies and keys to get the piece off the ground for children's choir.
How do you see this award affecting your work?
Winning this award has encouraged me to continue composing. When I think of the successful harpists and composers on the jury panel, I'm so honored that they chose my piece. If they considered my work worthy of recognition, then perhaps more audiences will appreciate it, and perhaps more harpists will find enjoyment in playing it.
Can you share any information about when the piece will be performed?
There are talks of a performance during the 2025 Summer Institute in Dallas, or perhaps the National Conference/World Harp Congress Event in Toronto, Canada in July 2026. In the meantime, I would like to make a proper recording of the piece.
Congratulations to USAIHC Gold Medalist Noël Wan and USAIHC Board Members Jaymee Haefner, Elzbieta Szmyt, and Barbara Lepke-Sims on their exciting American Harp Society news!
