Atlanta Harpist Elevates Occasions
Lisa Handman was inspired by her mother and grandparents to pursue a career as a harp performer and teacher.
After 37 years with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and now with the AJT, , Jaffe’s focus is lifestyle, art, dining, fashion, and community events with emphasis on Jewish movers and shakers.
The mere image of a harp stirs emotions. Using a harpist at a simcha is a direct way to enhance the mood and get the attention of guests. Atlantan Lisa Handman is trained to do just that.
Ancient harps were recorded as far back as 3,500 B.C. Mesopotamia (now Iraq), and later in Egypt and China. They have symbolic and political traditions, especially in Ireland. It is the national instrument of Paraguay. In Christianity, heaven is depicted with a harp. Above all are images of King David holding a harp and displayed as a sculpture outside his eponymous tomb in Jerusalem.
The talented Handman received her first harp as a bat mitzvah gift. She recalled, “My grandparents bought me my first harp for my bat mitzvah present. Harp teachers were pretty scarce back then, but my mother found a teacher about a half hour away from our house in New Jersey. I knew from the time I started playing the harp that it was going to be my career.”
After that initial year, she studied at Manhattan School of Music Prep Division and continued throughout high school. Her bachelor’s degree is in music education with a concentration in harp and minor in piano. She explained, “As a musician, you have to wear many hats to make a living. It was difficult in the beginning to find enough work to sustain myself, so I went back to school and got an M.S. degree in computer science. I still performed and taught throughout my corporate career and was able to take the plunge back into music full-time in 1996. I have never looked back on that decision!”
The sheer mass of a harp is daunting. They come in different sizes, brands, weights and types. Usually, one starts on a lever harp that is smaller and less expensive. There are rentals and lease/purchases of levers. The starting price for a lever harp is around $4,000. The levers on this harp raise the pitch by a half-step, so one can achieve sharps and flats.
Pedal harps are more expensive and larger. The largest pedal harp has 47 strings and has an average weight of 79 pounds. Prices range from $12,000 to $80,000. Handman elaborated, “I just think of it as buying a car. I own 12 harps (four pedal and eight lever) and rent some out to students. Some of the woods used to manufacture harps are maple, walnut, spruce, bubinga, cherry. The type of wood affects the sound. Pedal harps are all hand carved. Gold harps are rare these days, due to the expense. I do own two older gold pedal harps that are over 100 years old. Unlike violins, harps do not get better with age, and usually need major work after a number of years. My electric harp is quite unique and gives me the ability to perform for large audiences.”
Handman is able to transport the harp alone with the aid of a harp cart, all of which fits into her minivan. She has also performed on movie sets, for TV programs, symphonies, and radio.
Playing professionally for many years, she has developed a vast repertoire of thousands of songs – anything from classical to contemporary to rock ‘n roll to Jewish music to country. Some of her most requested songs are “Stairway to Heaven,” “Clair de Lune,” “A Thousand Years,” “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” and “Canon in D.” Additionally, in her extensive Jewish collection, she plays “Dodi Li,” “Erev Shel Shoshanim,” and “Siman Tov.”
Now, Handman would say she is a full-time performing and teaching musician. She wears sophisticated gowns for performances — weddings, mitzvahs, corporate events, parties, grand openings, proposals, funerals, receptions, and more. She travels throughout the Southeast with her harp and was the warm-up artist for Ray Charles at a special dinner.
Harpists must pay special attention to physical factors and the condition of their fingers. Handman noted, “My fingers have been callused for years, but do crack with the amount of playing that I do, and weather conditions. It’s important to balance the harp on your right shoulder and pluck with four fingers on each hand at a certain position. You don’t use the pinkies due to lack of strength.”
The harp needs to be tuned every day and every time it is moved.
Handman’s performance fees start at $450 for acoustic harp or $550 for electric harp.
She concluded, “My mother always wanted to play the harp, and since that never happened, she wanted her daughter to study the instrument. This is, of course, what any good Jewish mother would want!”
For more information, please contact: lisa@harpnotes.com.
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