Christmas tired us out

Belle, snuggled in her nest.

Sam The Cat, lounging in the sunshine.

Yeah, ok, Harry.

I guess I forgive you for the

fiery cookie baking incident...

We've all been taking it easy during this "in between" week. Lots of naps, lots of snuggle time on the couch. Good times, Amy and kittens.

Christmas baking, with Harry's help

Every year, I make my Dad dozens and dozens of his favorite chocolate chip cookies for Christmas. He affectionately calls them "lard biscuits" - each batch calls for a cup of oil AND a cup of shortening. Mmm, delicious. Ahem. So I put on my favorite Christmas CDs and got ready.

I had everything on the counter I needed:

flour, sugar, brown sugar, said oil and shortening,

salt, cream of tartar, eggs...

...and the New Oxford Book of Carols

right beside the candles.

You know, to double-check the lyrics to 

"E la don don Verges Maria" so I could sing along.

Loudly. And correctly.

Everything was going so well. Several batches were cooling on the counter. One batch was waiting on cookie sheets on the counter...beside the candles...

Yeah, you can tell where this is going, can't you?

I was doing some dishes when I smelled something burning. It wasn't the cookies in the oven; I'd just put them in there. When I turned around, I saw that Harry had jumped up on the counter and was standing over the candles to get to the cookie dough. And he was smoking on both sides.

HE WAS ON FIRE AND HE DIDN'T CARE BECAUSE HE WAS GETTING TO EAT COOKIES.

After much screaming (me) and hissy-hissy-hissing (him) and hosing him down and finding (relief) that he wasn't hurt and cutting off his burned fur and opening the doors and windows to get the smell out and tossing out two pans of cookie dough...

...I gave up. I baked the last batch of cookies and closed up the bakery. Harry sulked in the corner, nursing his pride and mourning the loss of huge hunks of glorious white hair on his sides. 

Oh, merry. So Harry-merry.

A harpist's Christmas story

It was hard to get in the Christmas spirit this year. There hasn't been snow for weeks. It feels more like March than December outside.

I didn't put up a tree this year. For the last couple of years, the cats (the boys, I think) have confused the tree skirt for a litter box and I just couldn't deal with it this year.

 So these wreaths had to do for Christmas decorations.

 Much safer, with the evergreens up off the floor.

And I had a crazy performance schedule this December. I played for lots and lots and lots of events the first two weeks of the month, and then had nothing to play for until Christmas Eve. Not a single party, church service or happy hour. It was odd, strange, empty. I paced a lot. Finally, I called my Mom and asked, "What should I do for two weeks in December if I'm not playing the harp?"

"Bake cookies and wrap presents like normal people," she replied. Normal people. I haven't been a normal person in December since I got a harp 23 years ago.

Finally, Christmas Eve arrived. The service wasn't until 7:00 p.m., so I did have time for some present wrapping during the day. (The baking? Yeah, read about that fiery disaster in a future post...) I polished up the harp, put on a pretty dress, warmed up the truck and...

...ahhhh. The harpist finally had a purpose

in December. 

I played mostly by the light of these trees.

In a full-circle story, this church was where I played my very first Christmas Eve service, many many many many years ago. I remember that night they turned off all the lights when it came time to sing Silent Night for the candle lighting, so a beautiful little girl came forward with her candle and knelt beside me so I could see my music. It's one of my favorite Christmas memories of all time. And that girl's mother became my dear friend.

The magic of Christmas Eve. I hope yours was wonderful, too.

More Concert video: Ave

The song I wrote in Ireland, the words that I hold dear, performed by the women who make my songs compositions come alive.

Ave.

Concert Video: Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming

A last-minute set list change. And I'm so glad I included it.

A rose in winter.

(one more video coming...stop back!)

Concert Video: Blessed Be That Maid Marie

This is one of my favorite pieces from The Light and the Lady. I love how it sounds in this arrangement I made for my band for the concert - they take it back to its medieval roots so well!

A lot of notes for the harp. 

Each one a joy to play.

(still more videos coming!)

Winter Wedding

Outside it was cold and blustery. But inside...

...warm, elegant and romantic!

This was my view while the couple said their vows and exchanged their rings. The bride wore a white lace dress that I dare say was just as beautiful as Kate Middleton's wedding gown. And in her hair: a spectacular, sparkling flower. (Girl after my own heart!) And I loved the color scheme of deep eggplant - so rich for winter!

This was the last wedding of 2011. And what a year it was - there were weddings inside, outside, rainy, hot and steamy, and so windy we almost blew away. But it was a year filled with much love and much harp music.

Bring on the 2012 brides!

Get your Christmas shopping done here!

There's still time to order my CDs for Christmas gifts!

You can purchase CDs directly from my website, www.amykortuem.com, and I'll mail them out to you right away.

There are four to choose from, all are $15.00 each.

All Hayle to the Days

— Carols and Songs to Drive the Cold Winter Away

(Christmas)

The Light and the Lady

— Carols of Mary

(Christmas)

The Harp Her Soul Required

 — Traditional Irish Music

The Month of January

— My original music and traditional Irish favorites

You can hear samples of songs on the ordering page at my website. Enjoy!

Concert Video: A Virgin Most Pure

I've always loved how this song sounds on The Light and the Lady, solo harp. I couldn't imagine making it better with an arrangement for my band. But when we played it together for the first time, I yelled "Pretty!" out loud. And I kept saying it, every time we played it.

The band teased me that I'd say it out loud without thinking during the concert. Did I? See for yourself...

Pretty. Very, very pretty.

(more videos coming later this week!)

Concert video: Of the Father's Love Begotten

It was the first and last song I included on my recording The Light and the Lady - inspired by the alpha-omega, source-ending lyrics. So I just HAD to begin this concert with it.

The recording is solo harp in Good Counsel Chapel. I was really wanting to mimic that big sound, that ring, that mystery at this concert. So I added some special surprises played from the balcony (played by my wonderful band)...

It was magical.

(stay tuned for more videos this week!)

What should never, EVER fall out of a harp...

This.

And it came from here...somewhere.

This happened the night before the holiday concert. I pulled the harp back against my shoulder for a final practice session and..."clunk."

Yeah. Harry didn't know what to do either.

So I panicked. Then I ate some chocolate. Then I went to my Facebook friends and they all said "oh no" etc. etc. etc. And then I called my harp regulator, Dan, in Chicago. 

HE DIDN'T ANSWER. So I ate more chocolate. Panicked a bit more on Facebook. 

Then Dan called back. "Oh, it's just a base frame bolt, worked loose from the vibration of the music," he said calmly. He even laughed a little bit at me. "Nothing to worry about."

Yeah. "Just" the bolt that holds the bottom of the harp to the...rest of the harp. That little thing. Dan gave me some good instructions on putting the bolt back in and when he heard my voice waver, he told me I could do it. And if I couldn't do it, he'd come from Chicago to help me (awwww...)

I hope you never have to see a harp in this position.

(Or a harpist trying to get it in this position...)

But Dan was right. I did do it. It took a lot of chocolate and a little more panicking, but I did it.

 And all was well.

This sight is more like it..

The first Christmas party of the season

The December day dawned with a kiss of snow.

Just to set the mood.

And it ended with an evening Christmas party.

Lights, harp...

...and a harpist who can take a dare.

(Notice the flower in my hair?)

It didn't get much better on the second try...

Harry, he always gets the last word.

Rehearsing with Harry

He's such a good rehearsal partner.

Pretty soon, I'm going to give him his own, hairy show.

The concert was wonderful

It was an amazing evening. Really. The music was so lovely thanks to all the help from my ensemble and to Ann and Sara of Prima Vox fame. The crowd was warm and responsive. Many more people came this year than last to benefit VINE Faith in Action. We truly drove the cold winter away, if only for a few hours. A precious, beautiful few hours.

 Afterward, I kicked off my shoes, took the flower from my hair 

and enjoyed some mulled wine at my house 

with the generous people who helped make everything happen. 

I promise I'll post some video excerpts of the concert for you to enjoy. So stay tuned! But for the next few days I'll be resting and reorganizing, letting my thoughts unravel, creating a clear slate in preparation for the rest of December's performances.

However, I will give you this sneak peek at the dress I finally decided on wearing...

Rich, red and ruffly. A crowd-pleaser.

 And the flower.

 I want to wear a flower in my hair

every single day until spring comes.

What do you think - do you dare me?

Happy Thanksgiving

Dinner is over.
Everyone is taking a nap.
Except for Amy, who made the interesting decision to drink real coffee this morning.
Besides being very talkative, she is not interested in sleeping at all.
(And for some reason, is referring to herself in the third person...)

 Anyway, off I went on a walk in the woods.

Mom and Dad live on a ravine acreage. The woods have always been my brother's domain. But today, the sun and the warmth and the cool breeze were just too enticing.

I took along this critter, Sophie the French Brittany Spaniel,
Dad's hunting dog.

Who wanted very, very, very much to run straight

to the bottom of the ravine, but who ended up being

very good on a leash for me.

We found acorns.

And a natural sculpture that looks a lot

like a pair of dinosaurs fighting.

When we came back inside, all windblown and breathless, people were eating pie. Oh, the sloth. Oh, the gluttony.

Oh, the happiness of it all.

It all comes together

There have been last-minute set list adjustments (several).

There have been total mind-changes about what I'm going to wear (at least 5 times).

There have been major and minor artistic panic attacks about how in the world this concert is going to come together.

And then these wonderful, talented, generous

and very, very, very patient people come over

and the music makes it all better.

My band. Marti the violinist. Martha the recorder/whistle player. Sam The Drummer. They have such musical intelligence and sensitivity, and I'm so honored that they share it with me. Tonight they sat through one of those set list adjustments and gave great advice (the homemade rose liqueur I plied them with helped, no doubt).

We're ready for the concert. We had our usual fits and starts tonight at rehearsal, as happens right before a performance. But we laughed through them, tried them again, worked them out.

 Then we toasted ourselves and the music with some

homemade rose liqueur I made at midsummer.

Heart-warming.

The band is helping me bring new life to the music I first recorded in 1999 and haven't played since. They're helping me express who I am now through the music choices I made 11 years ago for that recording. Full circle, kind of.

I sent the band into the chilly, damp November night with wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving, and then I came back inside, lit some candles and sat for my own run-through of the music.

Harry, he's a good leg-warmer while I rehearse.

Though he's taken to yeowling whenever I sing lately...

Only 4 more days to go and the concert will be here. I have a few more details to take care of, my outfit to finalize (red ruffles or black lace?...) and of course 4 more rehearsing sessions.

And then I'll bring this music onto the stage and out to you. I can't wait.

The Light and the Lady - the recording that started it all

Almost from the day I’d gotten my first harp, I’d toyed with the thought of recording, but didn’t have contacts, didn’t feel I had the experience, didn’t think I was good enough, didn’t have the first idea of how to go about it.

I’d like to say that the inspiration to finally record came to me in a flash, a burst of angelic light, a voice from beyond. But what really happened is that it grew from a small, secret hope (that one day I’d have the experience, the talent, the idea) to a recording date slowly, surely, naturally.

Since I was a little girl, I’ve been obsessed with the Blessed Virgin Mary. I used to have dreams about her in which she’d save me from the devil and hold up her light-filled hands to me. (Before you start thinking I’m a saint or something, you need to know that I also dreamed about Rocky and Bullwinkle…a lot). My Catholic upbringing and my very Catholic, rosary-praying grandmother instilled in me a deep reverence for Mary. Because really, what a woman. What courage. What a journey.

 Grandma's Mary statue and rosary.

(That's her Jesus in the background, too.)

I loved Christmas especially for the carols about Mary and equally loved playing those carols on the harp. And out of that love grew the idea for The Light and The Lady — a musical meditation on the journey the Blessed Virgin Mary took from annunciation to nativity.

If nothing else, Mary is really a symbol of saying “yes” to divine inspiration. I took this to heart (believing that inspiration to do good and to use our talents is always divine) when planning the recording. I wanted to chicken out and scrap the project several times, only to think about Mary saying “yes” to something much bigger, much more life- and world-changing than my recording project. A miraculous conception and birth, a life of persecution, a son who would be sacrificed and launch a major religion…vs. a little CD. Yeah. Humbling.

It was 1999. I rehearsed 4 hours a day, prayed the rosary a lot and was prepared. 

 I showed up at Good Counsel Chapel, set up the harps, lit some candles.

For the next six hours, I played my heart out. The music flowed. The sound was rich, resonant. I was amazed by it.

By November, I had a CD. People were surprised when it came out and had a photo of Mary on the cover. They thought it should feature a photo of me and the harps. But that wasn’t what it was all about for me. It was about the music that told the story of divine inspiration, of a perfect example of saying “yes” to it. And that perfect example wasn’t me. My harps and I were just the vehicle for telling the story. 

I put our photos on the back...

...and on the inside.

I really thought I would end up giving the CDs away to my family and friends. But I sold hundreds the first Christmas. I had to order even more CDs in 2000. 

 And I just placed my third re-order for the recording a month ago. 

When I decided to play songs from The Lady at this year's holiday concert, I hadn't touched the music since the day the tapes stopped rolling. It was somehow too emotional to revisit, and that creative rush was too magical to try to mimic. Plus, my ideas have changed since then. I've changed dramatically since then. I wondered if I could bring the same warmth and power to the music that I did in those 6 hours at Good Counsel. But perhaps enough time has now passed. The music is flowing once again. I can't wait for you to hear it on November 26th.

Thanks, Mary.

Getting ready for the concert

Everywhere I look these days, there are piles of music, harps at the ready...

and cats staring at me 

until I'm done practicing.

The holiday concert is two weeks away (November 26th). When I haven't been behind the harp playing, I've been...

~ getting advertisements ready

~ organizing the venue (the beautiful First Presbyterian church in Mankato)

~ scheduling radio appearances

~ hanging posters

~ accosting everybody I know (and some people I don't know) with flyers

~ arranging ticket-takers and CD sellers

~ and trying to figure out what I'm going to wear (but that's a topic for another post...)

Some days I wish I had a manager to take care of all the non-musical things for me. But I've been told before by people who have tried to help me that I'm "unmanageable". I guess I do like to have a sense of control over my musical pursuits. OK, total control. OK, OK, bordering on control freak.

When I am behind the harp playing, I enjoy every note, every single phrase. Revisiting this music from The Light and The Lady has been a beautiful, sentimental trip down musical memory lane. I'll tell you more in the next post about that recording experience 11 years ago, that music, that concept, that consuming project that started my recording career.

Today, I've got ads to create and record, notes to give to my band, reserved seating to plan, candles to buy, TV stations to grovel to...

Join me for my holiday concert November 26th!

'Tis the season!

I'm so excited about this year's concert. It will feature traditional favorites and my original music, plus music from my very first recording, The Light and The Lady, which I recorded in 1999. 

It was such an emotional experience, that recording. So much so that I haven't performed the majority of the songs on the CD since the minute the tapes stopped rolling! Revisiting that music and arranging it for my band has been wonderful. The music is so lovely, so lyrical, so beautiful. It's like opening a musical time capsule and finding delight in every single note.

I'll be joined at the concert by my ensemble — Martha, Marti and Sam — and by some special guest vocalists — Ann and Sara of Prima Vox. Prima Vox has been on hiatus for a while, and reconnecting our voices together feels great. 

I hope you can join me at the concert. If not, consider purchasing The Light and The Lady so you can experience the music yourself!

As always, a portion of the proceeds from the concert will benefit VINE Faith in Action. My personal effort in helping to "drive the cold winter away."

Happy Halloween

Six years ago today, Little Black Sam the Cat popped out of a leaf pile in Ethel's front yard, ran over to me and jumped up into my arms. It's been a treat ever since...

"I think I'll dress up as a 

very, very, very hairy cat this year...

oh wait."

"Is it over yet?

What's all this about black cats?"

Yep, there are strings attached (except for one...)

I knew exactly how much time it would take to get ready, pack up the Celtic harp and drive to my Saturday event. So that morning, I leisurely sipped a cup of tea, petted Harry the Cat, slipped out into the backyard to see if the last of the Roma tomatoes were ripe yet (hurry up, tomatoes!), petted Harry some more, called my Mom (with Harry on my lap), looked through my last issue of The Atlantic (seriously, who has time to read all this every month?), petted Harry once more.

Then I got dressed in a black harp dress, put on cute harp shoes, headed downstairs to get the harp ready to go and - No! A broken string!

I hadn't planned for this. But nothing I haven't dealt with before. I removed the broken string, which was a big, overwound nylon bass string and came apart by the sounding board with a "zzzZZZZZZzzzz" and ended up in a long strand of curly nylon Harry found irresistible.

The harpist's unorthodox tool kit.
And Harry, licking his lips.

When I went to put in the new string, something was blocking the hole. I couldn't poke it through with the new string end, so I dug out the seam ripper from my sewing machine cabinet (yes, I have one) and pushed the end through the hole out popped a little chunk of the old string. That's when I found out the new string's overwound part had been attached with a big blob of glue or melted nylon and wouldn't fit through the hole even though it had been cleared.

Panic. I had extra overwound strings, but none were long enough. (Harp builders and the squeamish - I recommend that you stop reading right here...) So I ran to the kitchen and got a very pointy serrated knife and tried to widen the string hole a little bit. Still no luck. More panic. So I dug around in my tool box (yes, I have one of those, too) and found a pair of grippy plier thingeys that also cut wire that my brother gave me a long time ago. I grabbed the end of the new string and yanked and yanked and yanked and swore and yanked and swore some more...the string still wouldn't pass through the hole.

Fine. I decided to give up and take the concert harp to the event, though it would be a tight fit in the location and wouldn't sound very Irish for the Irish music I would be playing...BUT THAT HAD A BROKEN STRING, TOO!!! What the heck happened in the night at Amy's house?

I had to get the Celtic harp string changed - the concert harp's gut strings take forever to settle in and I couldn't be tuning every 45 seconds through the event. So with a rush of adrenaline and one more heroic yank (and a really creative swear word), the string came through the hole. Victory! I wound it around the pin, tightened it up, brought it up to a little above pitch, stuffed the harp into its case and roared off to my gig.

Note to self on future gig days: check the harp first before drinking tea, freezing toes in the garden, calling Mom, petting Harry...

There was an epic battle...

...for the warmest spot in the house this week: my lap. Fall is finally here and the kitties haven't grown in their winter coats yet.

Sam The Cat won.

He may be small, but he fights dirty.

As for the losers in this particular battle, they're fine. I broke down and turned on the heat for the first time since April. Waking up to a house that's 58 degrees is even too cold for warm-blooded me.

Getting ready for Wedding Season 2012

All set up and ready for the brides.

And there were lots of them today at the Wedding Expo at the Verizon Wireless Expo. Mom, my trusty roadie / wedding show helper handed out my brochures, chatted with the brides, generally charmed everyone while I played and played and played and played. And played some more. 

Canon in D is still a top request...

I've already booked a 2012 wedding. And guess what? It's OUTSIDE!!! The books are open for more events, so get in touch with me if you're engaged, planning a party, needing a harpist for Christmas Eve, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day...

It was hard finding something to wear that wouldn't be stifling - it was 85 degrees today - and would still cover up my basement-cleaning bruises. Thank goodness for 3/4 sleeves and jet black hose. (Which I should probably wear while running because while I was out tonight, my friend Nicole yelled out her car window when she drove by, "Hey, nice tire mark on the back of your leg!")

Okay, THIS was the last outdoor wedding of the season...

I know I posted about that last outdoor wedding of the season on September 7th.  Obviously, I was so ready for this hot, humid, interesting outdoor wedding season to be over, done with, through, finished...that I didn't even look past September in my calendar.

Well, today. Today was the last outdoor wedding of the season. And wow, did it go out with a heatwave and a gust. 85 degrees and 40-50 mph winds.

 That's why the harp is lying on the ground

before the wedding. Safer that way.

And to think, when I booked this outdoor October wedding, I was most worried about it being too cold to play outside. Ha. The sun was intense; it felt more like August than October. And the winds were so strong, I couldn't even put music on the music stand - it would have blown into the next county. So I played the prelude, processional, commitment ceremony and recessional music from memory. As I did, I held onto the harp with both knees and both elbows against the gusts.

The flower girl almost got knocked over by the wind. One of the bridesmaids caught the little girl by the shoulder just in time and then nearly tipped over herself. The bride's veil was a wild flurry of white until she gathered it up and tucked it under her arm. 

And then the couple walked down the aisle and up the hill into the banquet hall in a shower of falling, blowing leaves. Nature's send-off.

Okay, now I can say it: I'm really glad the outdoor wedding season is over. For sure this time. Of course, until next year...