By Harriet Marx 

Inspired by my love of the music of the blind Irish harper Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1738), it came to me that there should be a program for getting harps into the hands of visually impaired people. As an amateur harper and a volunteer at the Braille Institute in Santa Barbara, this idea seemed to me like something that was meant to happen. I just couldn't imagine how.

But thanks to serendipity and the wonderful harpists from the Santa Barbara Central Coast Chapter of the American Harp Society, my dream became a reality. In early 2005, I met Leah Young (then president of the AHS chapter) who loved my idea and told me her chapter could make it happen! That was one of my happiest moments.

After that, all the pieces started magically coming together. One by one, various chapter members took up the cause, and in January of 2006 our first 14-week "Joy of Harps" class began at the Braille Institute and was a huge success. Each week a different aspect of harps and harp music from around the world was presented by a different harpist in a one-hour program. The sessions were both educational and entertaining, and the students became "harpoholics." Several of them said they would like to learn how to play the harp.

So in September of 2006 we began a 14-week "Beginning Folk Harp" class at the Braille Institute for a small but enthusiastic group of students who were committed to learning to play despite their visual impairments. (For updates and photos from the class, click on Braille Harp Class.)  The class ended in December 2006 and three students continued their "harp journey" through private instruction. Their harps and lessons were paid for via donations and a small grant from the Santa Barbara Foundation.

January-April 2007 was our second season of the "Joy of Harps" class; January-April 2008 was our third; April-June 2009 was our fourth; and April-June 2010 is our fifth season!  Thanks to all the local harpists who have volunteered their time and talents to this program.

For a more detailed history of the original Joy of Harps class, click here.