We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Amelia Romano. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Amelia below.

Hi Amelia , thanks for joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

I recently completed a graduate degree in classical lever harp performance. My focus — re-imagining classical music (mostly chromatic music) for the lever harp. Chromatic music uses half and whole steps from the western scale system. To access half steps on the lever harp, I music toggle a lever, located at the neck of the harp. These devices are equivalent to the black keys on the piano. I spend a good portion of my practice time annotating works written for piano and pedal harp to create a lever-shifting roadmap so I know what device to move at what moment (often with my left hand), while playing with my right. Shifting levers rewards me with a rich and varied repertoire featuring works from Chopin and Debussy to Glass and Bruebeck.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I was exposed to lever harp in elementary school and grew up playing in teen harp ensembles. I continued privately in undergrad and returned to graduate school to receive classical training. During this time I immersed myself in chamber music, solo repertoire and the standard music degree curriculum. I now specialize in the performance of works not intended for the instrument which I find very fun. While the lever harp was designed to play diatonic repertoire, the chromatic music I enjoy expands the instruments possibilities.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I have carved a niche for myself using the virutal world as my platform for sharing chromatic repertoire on an instrument most commonly associated with diatonic folk music. Videotapming my graduate semester recital series (5-recitals in total), gave my sound a virtual audience. In addition, I launched a virtual workshop series, “Lever Harp for the Modern Harpist,” to quip lever players with the skills to navigate and perform the works highlighted in my recital series. In doing so, I have reached a wider audience.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

In my mid-twenties, while my band mate was on tour, I took the opportunity to record an album featuring local talent and harp. This project showcased my solo voice (harp+vocals), and works from Latin America to the blues presenting the electric lever harp, (my main instrument at the time), as a cross-genre voice. This experience gave me the confidence to continue carving my own solo sound while refining my work in the numerous chamber groups I founded over the past decade.

Contact Info:

• Website: ameliaromano.com
• Instagram: electricharp
• Facebook: Faithinthenow

Image Credits
Manali Sibthorpe & James Dong