Music has always been an integral part of my life, but when I encountered the Celtic harp 20 years ago my real quest into music began.

In the BCH (before Celtic harp) period, my background was in health care as a registered nurse. The ACH (after Celtic harp) era spiraled me into a journey that led me to studies at Skidmore College where I received a degree in music. My thesis was in the field of music therapy; the common ground which assimilates both a psychology and a philosophy of music.

"Harpistry" is the name that I created by combining the words harp and artistry for the purpose of indicating the particular meaningfulness from which my harp music emerges . Its meaningfulness is first of all qualified by the harp itself. To be aware of the fact that it is an ancient instrument which has existed in all civilizations, in various forms, for 5000 years, brings a kind of historical depth to the present moment in time. The melodic strains of the harp are somehow reassuring to me. Perhaps because they facilitate an intuitive connectedness with the past while at the same time honoring its continuity here and now.

The voice of the harp is very beautiful to me. Melodies ring with a purity and simplicity, and chords resonate with such rich, vital depth. I believe that the harp's voice is a perfect vehicle for giving expression to the heart and soul.

The idea that music is a vehicle for expressing what is most distinctly human and spiritual, brings into view one of my favorite quotes by Plato : "Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, gaiety and life to everything. It is the essence of order, and leads to all that is good, just and beautiful, of which it is the invisible, but nevertheless dazzling, passionate, and eternal form."

This is a premise which gives fire and inspiration to the phenomenon of music, and which has tremendous meaning and significance for me. Harpistry as a philosophical orientation embraces the idea that, through focused expression and awareness of harmony, we nudge into wakefulness its resonating correlate in the center of Be-ing. Harpistry as musical artistry seeks to articulate a dynamic feeling-space that can encompass both the personal and the universal. It tries to mediate that particular flowing space that interpenetrates heart and soul, reflecting and resonating with those qualitative essences of our being. 

Andrea E. McCarthy