Resonating with Everyone: A New Chapter for Harp

My first sensation stumbling down into her studio — a space no larger than a small dorm — was a sense of awe. There were harps of every size. Short and stocky Celtic harps, tall and lithe concert ones and every shape and model in between were stacked in rows in front of me. I vividly remember the moment when I sat down, pulled the instrument to my chest, balancing it weightlessly on my shoulder, and plucked my first note.

My own harp studies began my junior year of high school with Anne Morse Hambrock of Southeastern Wisconsin, an instructor at both the University of Wisconsin at Parkside and Carthage College. I reached out to her via email, and we corresponded back and forth until my first lesson.

In my time studying at UW Parkside and Carthage College, I benefited immensely from each school’s vast collection of both school owned and privately owned instruments. Used concert harps usually start around ten thousand dollars, with new instruments soaring as high as twenty, if not greater depending on the brand and design. 

This is no new information to Loyola’s student harpists. Kate Michel-Couture, a junior student musician who plays lever harp, knows all too well the inaccessibility of harps.

“My family spent a thousand or something [on the lever harp,] but it was originally $5,000,” she said. “You have to look into the insurance for it. It’s a big financial commitment.”

As a result, harp remains largely inaccessible, not only because of its minority of trained teachers in comparison to the plethora of violin or piano instructors, but also the sheer cost of purchasing and maintaining such an elusive instrument. This is where universities, especially ones with endowments exceeding a billion, can fill the gap.

So far, Loyola’s harp program is completely dependent on the student’s ability to provide their own instrument. A lack of student enrollment is usually the argument for why funding for instrument purchase isn’t prioritized. 

However,  the cost of a student purchasing their own instrument is an almost impossible investment for most — especially for college students — and the price restricts access to only a paucity of musicians who have the means. Purchase of a school instrument wouldn’t only democratize access to the harp, but it would bolster student involvement and enrollment too.

“[Purchase of an instrument] would make it so more people could play,” Michel-Couture said. “You’d take away the huge cost of investment. If we have one here, that would push more students to learn.”

I’ve been fortunate enough to co-rent an instrument for use from a fellow Loyola harpist in their last year. This arrangement, though temporary and a decent financial investment, has been my only means of continuing on an instrument that has grown with me and become a reliable place for me to throw my concerns aside and make music — an instinct I believe any student at Loyola’s Department of Fine and Perfoming Arts knows all too well. 

“There’s always been a need for one,” Michel-Couture said. “It’s such a hassle for such a beautiful instrument and there’s never not been a need because there’s always been at least one or two students.”

But this isn’t a solution for the long term, nor for those who may not have the resources to support long-term private rental. If Loyola’s music department wants to continue to champion accessibility and promote student engagement, investment in instruments is a necessary next step. 

“It’s a lot of upkeep and a big financial investment,” Michel-Couture said. “But it’s definitely worth it.”