West Virginia based Professional Harpist Leah Marie Trent
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have “live harp music” at your wedding ceremony, wedding reception, anniversary party, holiday party, open house, private dinner,
or other special occasion?
HARP CHOICES: you can select the TYPE of harp you that best suits your event needs:
Concert Pedal Harp, the largest member of the harp family, the type usually used in symphony orchestra performances – ideal for big events such as large weddings or entertaining guests at a five-star hotel lobby or private estate
Irish Harp – a ”lever harp” (also known as the Celtic Harp), smaller than the pedal harp yet still produces a big sound – popular at smaller settings such as an outdoor wedding or inside a typical home
Lap Harp, the smallest of the harp family, often played at “Renaissance Festivals”, allows Leah to stroll around at your event (big or small) entertaining your guests tableside!
HARP MUSIC STYLE: select the kind of music you want: Classical, Celtic, Sacred, or Popular
HARP PERFORMANCES: solo recital and concerts – see our Booking Information section for details and to request more information/schedule event
HARP LESSONS: workshops, group lessons, and private lessons are available
About Leah
LEAH TRENT:West Virginia based Harpist
Private Harp and Bowed Psaltery Lessons available
Leah is available for Hire to play her harp for Special Events, Private Weddings, Parties, and much more!
BIO: Leah has been playing the harp for over 40 years. She performs professionally using the large Concert Pedal Harp, the medium-sized Irish or Celtic Harp, and the small (and very portable) Lap Harp.
Concert Harp – The largest harp that she owns is a 47-string Salvi Aurora pedal harp, which features an exquisite custom gold design on the soundboard.
Leah performing on her pedal harp.
Celtic harp – her 38-string Egan Harp was designed and built by Salvi in Italy. The Egan harp features a lovely bell-like tone.
Lap Harp – a 22-string Eve Harp, made by Stoney End, a harp maker in Red Wing, Minnesota USA.
Leah performing with the Charlotte Philharmonic Orchestra
Leah maintains an active performing schedule, playing with orchestras and smaller ensembles, in addition to playing solo harp for recitals and concerts.
She plays for corporate and private events at the world famous Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.
In addition she plays at many local restaurants and churches.
Leah also frequently performs at private special occasions such as wedding ceremonies and receptions, anniversary parties, private dinners, funerals and memorial services, holiday parties, and other special events.
Invite Leah to bring her harp and her beautiful music will grace your event with elegance.
MORE ABOUT LEAH:
Leah Trent is a member of both the American Harp Society and the International Society of Folk Harpers and Craftsmen.
Leah has taught harp for many years, both in private and group sessions. She also teaches Bowed Psaltery. Leah teaches lessons at Carnegie Hall in Lewisburg West Virginia.
Leah is an in-person and online instructor. Lessons are available for both harp and bowed psaltery.
In the past, she has had the honor of teaching harp classes at the world-famous Irish Week at the Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins, West Virginia. She also taught harp for eight years at the Classen School for Advanced Studies in Oklahoma City, where she built the harp program into a performing harp ensemble with 14 members.
Leah has also taught harp at the college level, having had experience as the Harp Instructor at both the University of Central Oklahoma and Southern Nazarene University.
In addition, Leah was the Harp Director and Lead Harper for the 15 member St. Patrick’s Irish Harp Orchestra.
HARP LESSONS:
Leah teaches private lessons for children and adults at St. Charles Borromeo Church in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. She teaches all levels of lever harp, and beginning and intermediate pedal harp. In addition she teaches the bowed psaltery to beginners and intermediate players.
No previous musical training is required. She has lever harps and bowed psalteries for rent to her students. Leah specializes in Celtic, folk, and sacred music. She also teaches arranging and improvisation, and classical, orchestral, pop, folk, Renaissance and early music. She offers recitals and harp ensembles for her students. She has both Bachelors and Masters degrees in music, and has been teaching since 1980.
“If you have always wanted to play the harp or the bowed psaltery, now is the time! I welcome students of all ages, and abilities. It is not necessary for you to know how to read music to play the harp or the psaltery.”
STARLIGHT AT HER FINGERTIPS: THE HARP MUSIC OF LEAH TRENT September 10, 2012 by Christina – The Lewisburg News City Paper
This past weekend, my fellow spy/cohort Christina, my husband Sam, and I had the pleasure of having a lovely dinner at the historic General Lewis Inn, and our experience was magically augmented by the lovely and divine musical accompaniment provided by Leah Trent, playing her Celtic harp.
Near us, also having dinner and appreciating the lyrical ambience, sat the exquisitely graceful and ever-beautiful Eileen Kramer, whose costumes, choreography, and dancing have enriched Lewisburg for many years, and I felt honored to be in the presence of both of these creative women, while having a beautiful night out during the rare and magical Blue Moon.
When asked how she found her way to Lewisburg, Leah Trent explained that she had “married into it”, having met her husband Rodger Trent in a harp class at Irish Week at the Augusta Heritage Workshop in Elkins, West Virginia. Apparently, it was “love at first strum”, so to speak. Eventually, she found herself living in our little burg, teaching harp lessons and performing at weddings and gatherings.
She worked for 15 years atCarnegie as Education Director, implementing programs such as Creative Classrooms, Carnegie Kids’ College, writing programs involving in-mates from the Alderson Federal Prison, as well as implementing many classes, concerts, and workshops geared toward educational enlightenment. It was a challenging job and a good fit, obviously with the right person in charge. Leah brought both enthusiasm and knowledge to the creative table, and modeled a wonderful musicality and joy to the Carnegie Children’s Choir, which she administrated and accompanied.
Leah brings a noteworthy legacy of credentials. Having developed a passion for the harp in an unusually distinguished music program at her high school in Cleveland, Ohio, she eventually, after acquiring several degrees in music in adulthood, went back and taught a harp program for eight years in the inner city schools in Oklahoma City. She “gave it back”, so to speak, and was proud to mention that one of her students who may never have had that exposure to harp music otherwise went on to make a career of music, and is presently attending the Cleveland Institute of Music with a promising future in performance.
Leah now performs for weddings, private affairs, and other events, alternating between Celtic Harp and Pedal Harp, which she describes as two “very different animals”. The Pedal Harp is huge, a little more intimidating to the player, as it has 7 pedals and weighs in excess of 90 pounds. Yet, it is very diverse in musical styles and orchestral participation, being the choice of more the classically trained. Its crying-in-your-beer country cousin is the pedal steel, with surprising similarities, the pedals functioning as a means for pitch changes of certain strings. The Celtic Harp is more ethereal, and generates a seemingly more open community of really sharing the music with like-minded pluckers, as opposed to a more competitive edge generated by the pedal harp populace.
So, back to the actual performance at the General Lewis. The expressive and romantic sound of Leah’s music was like walking in soft starlight. She gracefully brought a veil of sweet melodies to envelop us while we dined. We had a perfect table where we could watch and hear well (while enjoying the best home-made chicken noodle soup on earth) and I watched Eileen as she mentally pirouetted in tandem with the lyrical and lovely tones of the harp, dancing in her danced in her thoughts. I knew they had collaborated on one of Eileen’s dance-works in recent history, so I asked Leah about their first meeting.
“We met at the General Lewis. I was playing, and this lovely woman came up and asked, ‘Would you mind if I danced to one of your songs?’”, Leah explained. And dance she did, and a friendship was begun. While visiting Leah in her office this morning, she showed me the incredible costume Eileen had lovingly rendered for her performance, and was amused to find that Leah had felt obligated to actually wrap her harp stool in satin, so it would be worthy of sharing the stage with Eileen’s gorgeous garment. These are the gifts she bestows upon us, the gifts of costume, dance, books, drawings and just the essence of Eileen herself.
And so Leah Trent is added to the Lewisburg arts mix, and brings to us a gentle spirit, eager to share her music, willing to collaborate with others, and always open to talk about what it all means to her…She has two CDs available, one called “For Mrs. Cole”, a collection of traditional Irish lamentations, marches, tunes, and hymns, and the other an expressively beautiful collection of Christmas music. It’s to be listened to when the snow is silently falling and you are safe and warm with loved ones. The candles are burning, the dogs are in, and the light from the window casts a beam of golden light on the quiet white snow-covered yard beneath. I can feel it when I hear this music. Let’s not rush it, but let’s take pleasure in it when this summer is past and we settle in for winter.
The music of Leah Trent would be a beautiful addition to your winter concerts, gatherings, parties, and more. For booking, recordings, and more information, go to www.liveharpmusic.com.
She has starlight and dreams at her fingertips.
By Susanna Robinson-Kenga for LBSPY, September 2012 LINK TO NEWSPAPER WEBSITE: https://hashtagwv.com/2012/09/starlight-at-her-fingertips-the-harp-music-of-leah-trent
Harp Music
THIS PAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION
HARP MUSIC – WEDDINGS Typical songs performed at weddings include, but are not limited to:
1) 2) 3)
HARP MUSIC – CD’s for SALE Available for purchase at most live performances, and also soon to be available to order online, are three CD’s by Leah Trent. If you’d like more info and/or would like to purchase harp music CD’s, please CLICK HERE to contact Leah Trent via email.
Be Thou My Vision – Leah Trent
song title #1
song title #2
song title #3
For Mrs. Cole – Leah Trent
song title #1
song title #2
song title #3
CD #3
song title #1
song title #2
song title #3
If you’d like more info and/or would like to purchase harp music CD’s, please CLICK HERE to contact Leah Trent via email.
WEDDING REVIEW from bride at The Greenbrier Resort
“I wanted to thank you again for playing the harp during our ceremony and the piano during cocktail hour. We had so many guests come up to us and compliment on how beautiful the harp was. You are so talented!” – from Mary, the bride.
Ronceverte / Greenbrier County / West Virginia / USA
PHONE: (due to privacy concerns, personal phone number is not posted here on website – however, if you’d like to speak with Leah, please use the Email link above to contact her – be sure to include your name & phone number and she’ll call you back ASAP)
