Myth and Magic of the Harp
Leigh Melander, Ph.D., Imaginal Institute Founding Fomenter
Patty Brundage. Ph.D., Imaginal Institute Fellow
Laurie Rasmussen, Harpist
Coming in 2008!
Leigh Melander will be joined by Celtic Mythologist Patty Brundage and fellow harpist Laurie Rasmussen to lead the group on a journey into what makes the harp so magical, for beginning to advanced harpers, as well as those who've been wondering about the harp from a distance. A combination of Celtic myth, poetry, story-telling, music, and fun! Bring your harp, or use one that will be available, and get your fingers flying!
About Leigh Melander
In addition to her role as the founding fomenter of all things imaginally ridiculous and ridiculously imaginal at the Imaginal Institute, Leigh has been a professional harpist and singer/songwriter. Her first album, Touch the Green, is a compilation of traditional Irish and original neo-Celtic/folk music, and reached the top-forty folk charts in 1998. She toured the East coast doing the coffee house circuit, and followed up with a second album, Star Songs, as part of the multi-media relaxation kit, The Lyra System of Relaxation, which was used as a required resource/text for incoming freshmen at the University of Northern Illinois for a couple of years. She was the Associate Conductor of the Penn State Harp Ensemble, studying under Nan Gullo, and has been a featured performer at the Von Trapp Family Lodge and in the hit show Spirit of the Dance in Reno, NV. Leigh has taught students privately for years, and most loves working with adult beginners, because they're such a brilliant combination of wisdom about life and neurosis about music that she likes both playing with them and learning from them!
About Patty Brundage
Patty has a doctorate in Mythological Studies with and Emphasis in Depth Psychology.from Pacifica Graduate Institute. Her disseration, Manannan’s Reach: Entrance to the Celtic Otherworld Within, interweaves original poetry with an archetypal analysis of selected Welsh and Irish myths that reveals the unified nature of the psyche. I based my work with Celtic mythology on several basic questions. How did the archetypal forces in the psyche present themselves to the indigenous peoples of Europe’s western edge? What did their myths have to say to us, the descendants of that world? How do the ancient Welsh and Irish expressions of these archetypal forces bring back forgotten perspectives and add texture and nuance to our understanding of the psyche? How can an analysis of Welsh and Irish mythology deepen our knowledge of our on being? Patty is also a much-loved and much-honored Advanced Placement English teacher in the Bakersfield, CA area school district.
About Laurie Rasmussen
Laurie has been playing the harp for over 20 years and was recently a top prize winner at the 2007 Lyon & Healy International Jazz and Pop Harpfest competition. As a performer she has toured across the US, Canada and Europe as a soloist and in collaboration with a variety of international musicians. While living in Italy in 2000-2003 she played at countless festivals around Italy and Germany, opening for The Boys of the Lough and Altan and sharing the stage with uillean pipers Diarmaid Moynihan and Massimo Giuntini, guitarist Roberto Dalla Vecchia, cellist Christian Kewitsch and the Celtic group Inisfail. In 1999 she appeared on stage nightly and served as Music Director for the Irish dance show Spirit of the Dance at the Eldorado in Reno, Nevada. She is a popular teacher and clinician in the folk harp world.
www.laurierasmussen.com
Please email us at thecrew@imaginalinstitute.com, or fill out the form at the top of this page to receive registration information as it develops.