Recently, it came to light that a rare harp of historical significance, created in the year 1810, has been carefully preserved through the devotion of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Watertown, whose Sister Mary Marcelline used it for teaching and performance throughout her life — during the days of the sisters’ musical conservatory until Sister Marcelline’s retirement in 1974. This Erard harp was one of the first ground-breaking harps that enabled their players to change notes both to sharps and flats using foot pedals.
In honor of this rare discovery, Janet Witman—known, loved and admired for her lifelong dedication to expanding the repertoire of music for harp—will be performing pieces that might have been taught and played on this harp over its history of the last 200+ years. The harp itself will be present at the time of the concert to be admired for its remarkable beauty!