Creating Your Harp Life with Dr. Kristina Finch - PHH 251

Welcome to the show. I know it's cliche, but when I was a young harpist, I wanted to be just like my teacher, the same

way children want to be just like their parents.

Specifically, that meant to me that I was going to play in a big orchestra someday. It was years later when I discovered that not only were there other paths harpists could pursue, but but some of those paths actually suited me better. So I've certainly done my share of orchestral playing and I enjoy it. But I have always found more scope and more musical opportunity in chamber music and solo performances. And when I was still in high school, I began to freelance to play a variety of music in various settings to earn my living. Don't get the wrong impression. I didn't have to earn my living in high school. My freelance playing at that age just set me up very well to earn a good living freelancing in college and beyond. I reveled in the variety, in the unusual experiences I had and the interesting places my playing took me.

I still do some of that kind

of playing, albeit less than I used to, and I still love it now. On today's call, I'm speaking with harpist Dr. Christina Finch. Some of you may know her as one of our Harp Mastery Certified coaches. She also has an extremely busy freelance career, which has taken her all over the world. And now she has a new harp path. In addition to playing and teaching, she and her husband are the new owners of the Harp centers in Atlanta, Virginia and New Jersey. So I asked Christina to join me on the podcast because I wanted you to hear her story about change, about refocusing her harp career and the insights that she has gained in the process. Our conversation was fun. It's always fun talking with Christina, but I think it will give you some insight as well and perhaps some takeaways about realizing your passion and, and balancing your own harp life. I've put some important links that you will want in the show notes as well. I've put a link to the Atlanta Harp Festival, which is coming up March 20th through 22nd in Atlanta. And you'll hear Christina talk about some of the really exciting stuff that's going to be part of that festival. I've also put links to the Harp Centers themselves so that you can take a look, you can look at their inventory of harps and you can drool all you want, as well as, of course, music and accessories and all that good stuff. So those links are all there in the show notes for you. And while I'm about it, I just Want to give a quick shout out to the retreaters who have been joining me at the retreat this past weekend. We finish up actually tomorrow, but it's been a great retreat here in Florida, and I'll share some of those insights with you over the coming weeks as we go. But we've had a great time working together, hanging out together, enjoying the Florida weather together, and we've done a lot of learning, a lot of playing, and had a great time along the way. Thank you, retreaters, for joining me. You've made my days lots and lots of fun. And next week, I'll be working with my Gold Circlers. They're the students that I work with one on one, and they have their own retreat. Their retreats are actually included in their program. So we always have a good time together and I'm looking forward to seeing them here, here in the Florida house, too. But now, without further ado, let's get on to my conversation with Dr. Christina Finch.

Christina, thank you so much for agreeing to talk to me. I'm so excited to talk to you. It is always a pleasure to talk to you, and I feel like I don't get to do that often enough. You're one of our Heart Mastery coaches and so you're busy working with our students all the time, but sometimes our paths only cross briefly and mostly virtually at that. So I'm just really loving this chance

to talk to you.

No, thank you for having me on, and I am so happy to have the opportunity to sit down with you. Always love any opportunity I have to talk with you. I am so grateful to have that chance. And as you know, my life has been very busy these last couple of months, so I'm extra appreciative to have this extra time to talk to you.

Well, I'm grateful you could fit me in because your life has gotten really busy these last few months. So I'm sure that lots of the people listening to this podcast know that you and your husband are now the owners of the HARP Centers. Why don't you tell us a little bit about how it happened and the impact it has on your life and your playing. I can't imagine. So I don't even know where to start, do you?

I mean, I. Absolutely. So I think the best place to start is the relationship that I have with MJ and David d'. Arville. Yeah. I am so grateful to both of them for so many reasons, but they've been a part of my life since I was a young person. My parents bought my first pedal Harp from the Virginia Harp Center. My best friend, Diana Donovan, grew up taking lessons from mj. MJ has been a part of my life for many, many years. And even as a professional, she has really been a huge, huge advocate for me professionally throughout my career. She is really. I mean, we had had some contact prior to me becoming a certified coach, but as I understand it, she's the person that recommended me for this program. And Heart Mastery came along in my. At a time in my career where I. I needed a new path, and I was so grateful for that opportunity. So, you know, I've. I've had. The d' Arvilles have been a part of my life for many, many years. And this past year, the past few years, my husband and I have been living here in Mississippi, and I have been. Any of my students can tell you I have been all over, literally the world in the past few years, playing and working, and something needed to change. We needed a change in our lives, and I had been actively seeking a change. And a conversation that MJ and I had one day turned into a much larger idea. And then we got David on board, and next thing you know, the banks are saying yes. And it all kind of happened, I think, a lot faster than any of us expected. But I'm the kind of person that if you give me a task, I'm going to complete it, and I'm going to complete it 125%. So I'm so grateful to have been given this opportunity to take over their legacy. These stores are such an important part of our community, and I'm so grateful to have this opportunity to continue on with all of the incredible work that they've done. So.

Yeah, no, it's true.

They.

I mean, I've known MJ since we were both young people, and we were. We were at HARP Camp in Maine together, and that's really how we met. Although we grew up in pretty much the same area, but our circles in high school did not cross, really, so. So we knew each other, and, you know, we've kept track of each other and stayed in touch through the years. But when it came time for some additional Heart Mastery coaches, you and I. Christina had already had some conversations, and I was thinking, well, I really love her energy, and I love the way she talks about things. And then MJ mentioned your name. It was like, well, yep, okay, there's confirmation. This is how we're. This is how we're going. So it was really serendipitous at that point. And I'm. You know, I'm thrilled that are part of heart mastery and I know our students are because you bring so much energy to everything you do. I love that you know you're going to complete that task 125% and I know that shows up in your teaching as well. We were talking a little bit before we got on the recording here and it really struck home something that you said. You were talking about how busy you had been always as a freelance harvest and how this is a really different kind of a change for you. Could you describe it for people who don't understand that freelance world that you and I have both been in and then finding this other way of relating to the harp in life?

Absolutely. It's been a massive shift for me and for my husband and I just in general, when you're a freelance musician, your life is very much feast or famine. You are go, go, go. During the. Oftentimes during the summer it can be very much little to no income sometimes. So you have to plan very carefully. You have to work very very hard. Sometimes you have to sacrifice your well being and your health in order to make it to the gig. It's the kind of work that you can't call out from that. You can't just find someone else to substitute for you if you're not feeling very well one day. It takes a toll physically emot emotionally, mentally. So you know, I loved being a. I am still a freelance musician. I will never stop playing. But one. One of the big things that's changed for me is I, for the first time in my career I have the opportunity to practice what I've always preached which is valuing myself and valuing my time and saying no to gigs and opportunities that do not create value in my life.

So that's huge, Christina.

And I hope that a lot of people listening can appreciate the value in what you're saying because when you're caught up in that I need to take this, I need to take this mentality. You don't even really believe somebody that says that to you. And then the second you start making those choices, a whole the, the clouds lift, you know, the world opens up to you. Is that kind of what you experienced?

Absolutely. I, I mean just this past weekend I was offered, this past week I was offered a last minute opportunity to play for an ensemble that is a 12 hour drive away from where I live. And it was two days before the first rehearsal that they were reaching out to me and my husband and I sat down and had a conversation about the value of the little amount of time that I do have at home here. And so I quoted them just an absolutely astronomical coffee. And I never heard back from them, of course, because I'm sure they found somebody more local and wonderful and they did a great job. But, you know, in the past, I would have said yes to that, no questions asked, and have driven probably overnight the 12 hours to get down to where I needed to go. And it's wonderful, of course, but it's also very challenging because I have that freelancer mindset still. It's hard to say no to things. But it is, it is, definitely is. Like the clouds are first start. They're starting to lift for sure.

I'm so glad. I remember an interview that my teacher gave for a little radio intermission spot.

Actually.

It was played as in the intermission for a concert that I had been playing at Curtis. And so I was really interested to hear the broadcast later. So I could hear what it was that she said. Although that was pre recorded, of course, But I listened to it and she was talking about having an orchestra job and how stable that was and how it really gave you time to do all those kinds of things. And the quote that my roommate and I at the time just loved is she said, well, you know, there are those harpists and they put their harp in the back of the station wagon because that's what we had. Then put the harp in the back of the station wagon and they drive from place to place and they play all those things. But that's no life.

It's no life.

And it's no life.

She was right.

It sounded funny at the time because that's where I was. That's what I was working at doing. But. But she's right. She was right.

Yeah. I mean, I. I truly. I'm so grateful for all of the ensembles I have gotten to play with and continue to play with. I've gotten to play some really incredible music. And now I have an opportunity to say yes to the things that I really do, I love. And I can say no to the things that don't serve me. So it's a. It's a. It's a nice new. A nice new experience.

Yeah, yeah, no, of course. So what would be. I'm trying to. Trying to think about how you might actually kind of balance. I mean, you know, balance is one of those unachievable things. We know that. But you've got. You've got work at the Harp center. You've got your home, which is where you are now. In Mississippi, but then you've got the harp centers in Atlanta and Virginia and New Jersey, so you're spread throughout all of those. So what would a workable week look like for you at this point?

I mean, at this point it varies from week to week. I am often many places and frankly, the orchestral contracts come out for us, you know, around June and July for we freelancers. And that was before SBA loan was finalized and approved. So I took a, I took a good bit of work this season. I've been able to pare down some of it, but my orchestral schedule is still quite full. So I'm not around in the stores as much as I would like to be at this point. But that's going to change in the coming months. My husband and I are moving to Atlanta or we're, we're working towards getting a property in Atlanta. We will probably. He still has a job here at the university, so we'll be a little bit back and forth for a couple of years. But, you know, I have great employees at all three of the stores. Many people know and have worked with Amy, Megan and Katie, my three managers. I'm so grateful to them and all of the incredible work that they do in the stores. So, you know, I try and spend as much time as I can in store, but you know, right now it's a lot of logistics trying to get things organized and just trying. I'm still getting my feet wet. And David has been so incredibly helpful throughout this whole process. He's, he's been there to answer emails and calls and keep me encouraged when I'm feeling a little discouraged. And you know, he's, he's been really, he's been really great every step of the way. I'm very lucky. I've got a lot of people in my corner to help me, so. But it's, it's, it's a very busy time. So.

Yeah.

So what's. Do you, what would you say is the most surprising thing that, that you discovered or that has happened since you took on the, the harp centers?

Yeah, no, I think that that's a really great question. And you know, I, like so many of us, I think I never really had the opportunity, have had the opportunity to play a lot of brand new harps. I got this, my instrument, my Diana, when I was in my doctoral degree. So I was like, like 26, 27 years old. And I've been playing on this harp for that entire time. And it's, it's really interesting because there are, I think that so many of us are looking for that like shining gold light moment when we sit down behind a brand new harp. And I, I want that for everybody. I, I, I have experienced that. I sometimes a harp and you're just like, oh my gosh, this is the one. But you know, we had a harp, we, and this is still, we still have this harp. It's a, it's a, an instrument that I claimed as a demo instrument for this year. So it's going out on short term rentals. It's a really beautiful Mahogany line, Healey style 30 and I brought it down to Miami with me in nutcracker season because it had been sitting in the stores for quite a while. It's seemingly a perfectly fine harp, but you know, it's not getting played, it's not getting as tuned as regularly as it should. It just, it wasn't moving. So took it down with me. Man stable, the most stable instrument I've ever played on my life. And over the months that I had it down there, it opened up in such a way. So I, I mean, for me the most surprising thing really has just been the experience of being around these new instruments, seeing how these getting to go to the factories both in Chicago and in Moselle, France, see how these instruments are made, see the integrity with which these companies work. And you know, it's been a really eye opening experience. I think we all come to this instrument with a lot of preconceptions and sometimes biases and ideas about what we're looking for. And I think that if you, if you come to harp, harp trying, even, not necessarily harp buying, but harp trying with an open, an open mind and an open ear, you might be surprised. I mean, we've got some really beautiful instruments in stock right now that I would take home in a heartbeat if I could. That's the hardest, that's really the hardest part about owning the harp stores. And David warned me about this. He's like, you're gonna want to take them all home.

It's like the, it's like the cute puppies, right?

You want them? Yeah, I want them all too. I know. So, yeah. It's been a fun experience though, to get to, to do that for the first time.

So what about the, the people who come into the harp store and there they are and they' their first harp. How do you steer them toward the right purchase?

I mean, I think that there are a lot of ways to sell harps and to guide people, but my philosophy personally is to allow the customer to use their Ears and to guide them as to how to use their ears, what they should be listening for, and then allow them to make their own judgment. There are a lot of options out there and a lot of pref. Everybody has individual preferences and individual hands. I sound very different on a Lion and Healey than I do on a Salvi, than I do on a Kamak. Everybody has their own physicality and idea of sound concept that they bring to playing the harp. So I think that you're. You're never in any time that you're working with me personally in one of the stores, you're never going to get a strong. This is the direction you should go in. I will maybe help you find that path on your own. But I think it's really important for the customer to feel like they are a part of the process and educating them and how to listen and what they. What they should be looking for and what they might be able to see and how an instrument can develop. Can develop over time. And I finally, for the first time in my career, have the experience to help someone understand that. I think so. So, you know, it's. I don't have a lot of opportunity to work with customers. I haven't had a lot of opportunity to work with customers one on one because I haven't been in store as much as I wish I could be.

But you will be.

I will be. The first two weeks of March, I'm in. I'm going to be in both in Atlanta and Virginia for the first two weeks of March. So if you've. If you've had the idea to come and look at harps or you just want to come say hi. The first week I'll definitely be in Atlanta. And then we're expecting a shipment to come in from Camac the second week of March. So I'll probably go to Virginia to accept that. That container of harps.

Gosh. And I. I'm just kind of getting goosebumps imagining accepting a container of harps.

That just sounds so fun.

It's really fun. I was there for the last one. It's a little terrifying also because it comes in a container. So when the harps are delivered at the store, it's not like the container doesn't have a lift gate. They are just drawn very carefully dropped off of the. Off of the back of the truck down to our wonderful employees there. Last time we had a really helpful driver who really went above and beyond. But yes, last time we had a half container come in. This time we're having a Whole container, really. Some stun. I got to see all of them when I was in France, all the harps that are coming, and some really just incredible, incredible harps. I'm so excited for people to try them.

If you were going to get a

new harp for yourself, what would you get? Just. Just not.

And I'm not looking for this for, to, for it to be a recommendation of any particular. Just like you. What kind of harps do you gravitate toward? And you, and you, you know, you say, if I were going to get another harp, this would be a really cool one. This is the one I want.

I mean, I, it's so hard. I have one from each manufacturer. Of course he's late. Just because I love them all for so many reasons. Individually, I, I have always wanted the Kamak Canape. I think that that is just an aesthetically just.

It is incredibly beautiful.

Yes. There is a Salvi Minerva in our Virginia store right now, a gold Minerva that I just hand picked from Chicago that's gonna be at the Hampton Roads Festival. And assuming it doesn't. Doesn't sell, it will be coming to Atlanta also. It is one of the most incredible instruments I've ever played in my whole life. I was in the Line and Healey showroom and I was just like, one by one sitting behind the harps and I got behind that one and I had that moment that, like, ah, the sky's open. And I, you know, I have always wanted an 11. Personally, I think the 11 is such a beautiful heart, beautiful song.

It is a beautiful.

So I, you know, I have. And I, I'm so spoiled. My husband likes to joke about before any of this harp store purchasing idea came about at all, we were talking about buying a new harp for me, and he likes to. We bought all the harps. So, you know, she doesn't get one harp. She gets all the harps. So I'm very, very lucky. I have, I have to access. Access to a lot of really incredible instruments. And one of my favorite things to do is just go into the stores after hours and play.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, how much fun it.

I think really a lot of us

are just thinking, yeah, that. That would be. That would be right up there. That would be the, the dream. There you go.

Living the dream. Yeah, exactly.

And, and that's a good thing.

You should.

Right. We all should be able to live our dreams.

So tell us.

There's a lot of stuff going on at the Harp Center. Tell us about some of the stuff

that's coming up yeah, absolutely. We have a lot of upcoming festivals that we're both attending and hosting, of course. So just coming up in this next week we've got the Hampton Roads Harp Festival where we are exhibiting and providing some instruments for the competition and for Alexander Boldashev's concert. And then after that, at the end of March, March 20th through 22nd, we have our own Atlanta Harp center conference. That is, I'm very, very excited about. Yes, it's two day, three days, Friday, Saturday, Sunday of just incredible presentations, workshops, master classes, performances, pop up concerts. I'm gonna have some, just the most, a really cool selection of harps from the entire spectrum of prices and sizes. I've got some really fun instruments that are coming into town for that, for that conference and some really great featured artists. Parker Ramsey is coming. He's the chem artist. Yeah, he's an incredible player, incredible musician and just such a talented person and teacher and I'm so excited. He's performing the street by name by Nico Muhly and it's, it's an incredible piece, very timely for the Linton season also. And then on the same concert we have Sunita Stanislo who I know, I know I had never, I have never met her in person, but we just had her on hanging with the harp and just what a lovely human being. She's absolutely just incredible. And she's going to be giving a bunch of really wonderful workshops during the week as well weekend as well. And then Jamie Hafner from unto wonderful friend and colleague is giving a performance of Renier Renee's music. He's a Renee scholar. If you're gonna hear anyone play Renee, it's Jamie. And then Lizzie Steiner is our line and Healey sponsored artist and she's. Yeah, we've got a really. Oh, this harp, if you saw it was a similar harp was provided by the, the LA Harp center for the Super Bowl. It's a Salvi Electra with a blue board. It's, it's a really cool instrument that Lion Heli has helped helped us secure for Lizzie's performance. And it's, it's just going to be such a fun weekend. You know, Robin Gordon Cartier is going to be there. Angie Bemis is presenting. We've got a Alexander technique specialist coming in. It's, it's just going to be a really fun weekend of community building, music making and sharing our love of the harp together. Which is, is my favorite part about all of it. And you know, it's, it's gonna be a party. I Was just talking to David about this on the phone the other day. We've. From Line and Healey. We've got Massimo and Giovanni, their marketing director and their CEO coming.

Yeah.

And both Jacques and Eric are coming from France from president and CEO of chemac are coming. It's. We've got some really just exciting things happening at this festival. And I. It's. It's our first time hosting this festival. Of course, we are very much working in the tradition of how these have been run in the past. MJ and David are going to be there. Of course. We're going to spend all weekend celebrating them. But, you know, it's. I'm really excited about this opportunity to. To share with the community in the ways that the Harp Centers always have and will continue to do as the years go.

Yeah, I was so excited. I was telling you before we got on the call, I was so excited about the, the Atlanta Heart Festival. And I. And I was looking up, I was getting all ready to, to click through and register and get. And then I looked at my calendar and thought, oh, no, I've got performances all that weekend. And here I was so excited about the festival that I didn't even think about looking at my calendar. And I was just devastated. I know, because it's going to be fabulous. These are just terrific artists. And I would encourage everybody to attend because it's, it's fun. And what, What I've always enjoyed about the Harp center festivals is that they're manageable. I mean, it's not like going to a huge convention where you don't feel like you really get enough of anything because there's too much going on and there are too many people and it's in too big a space. They're always just like a kind of biggish party and all the good stuff that you want to learn and the people you want to learn from and meet. You know, we feel like we know these people because we see them online and this is something that only happened in this generation. Right. We weren't seeing people online before. If you wanted to meet these people, you had to go in person. And now I think we sort of think, well, okay, you know, I know this person. I don't need to meet them. But you do in person is just really different. It's an important opportunity.

I think I'm disappointed that you can't come also, but I completely understand. Of course, as I was telling you, I passed up more than one opportunity to play that weekend. I was offered Bartok First Harp On Bartok Concerto for Orchestra. Pull my heart out and just throw it on the floor. I'm sorry I had to say no, but, you know, it's. It's gonna be. It's gonna be fun. We're very much looking forward to everybody coming. And there are multiple. Many more than a few of my own heart mastery students who are coming, who I am going to get to meet for the first time. People that I've been working with for years at this point. And what a blessing. What a gift to be given the opportunity to finally have. To have the chance to. To speak and be together face to face.

Yeah, it is really special, that is for sure. So. But that's okay, because you and I are going to work on some things. I have some. Some projects in mind that I want to talk to you about. There's nothing like a good project, I think.

So.

So you're starting with this tremendous setup that the Diavels have. Have, you know, handed over to you, and you think, well, what would you like to see the Harp Centers grow into? You're starting from such a wonderful point, and they've got. There are so many possibilities. What would be something that would be really meaningful to you to see the Harp Centers be able to do?

Yeah, absolutely. We have a lot of plans. We have a lot of dreams. My husband is someone who. We love to just sit and kind of talk about our dreams and our ideas and bounce ideas off each other and. And, you know, I think that the biggest thing that we want the Harp stores to be is a place for the community, a place for harpists to feel like they can get honest and open advice where they can come to ask questions and come to see great concerts and come to experience things that they wouldn't necessarily have the opportunity to in their everyday life. We want to host events. We want to just give. Create space for more community making. This has been a huge part of my entire career, whether overtly or not, the idea of community building and supporting one another and creating safe spaces for people. And that's. That's what MJ and David did in the building of this company and of the community that. The communities that they've built. And if there's one dream that we have, it's that we want to continue that legacy and continue to build upon it and spread further this incredible love of this instrument that we all have to. New. New people, new communities. It's. You'll see me on the road this summer, taking the sprinter van out to small towns to, you know, try and expose people that wouldn't necessarily be exposed to Harp to a new, a new opportunity. You know, there's, we have the energy and the excitement and the, the willingness and the drive to, to, to continue to build upon this incredible, incredible company that the d' Arville's built. And we're so honored to, to continue on with that legacy.

Well, that is, is fabulous. Like, after that, that's kind of like a drop the mic moment. We've got nothing else we need to say except. But it's easy enough for people to be in touch with the Harp centers because all the contact info is there. And we'll put the contact info for the Atlanta Harp center and for the Atlanta Harp Center Festival, we'll put those in the show notes to this episode so everybody can get them. And just remember, if you're listening, show notes are easy to get to. If you go and look at this episode@heartmastery.com or in your podcast app, the show notes are there for you. So be sure that you check those out. And of course, there's always the hanging with the Harps, isn't there every month? Is it the third Tuesday? Is that right?

Tuesday. Third Tuesday of every month. Yep.

So that's another easy way to get into the, the Harp center universe and, and start experiencing that. So, Christina, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me.

It's.

It's such a pleasure to talk to you as always. So I will look forward to being able to attend the next festival, although I will certainly make it a point to see you before then.

Definitely. Definitely. It will be in Virginia next time around. In the D.C. area. We switch back and forth. Virginia Harp Center Festival and Atlanta Harp Center Festival.

Well, and it's kind of the same weekend, so I think I should probably put it on my calendar now.

There we go.

And, and I'll be. And I'll. I'll be ready.

Yes.

Awesome. Well, I look forward to that, but I'm sure we will. We will be in cahoots before that.

Oh, for sure. You know that.

My thanks again to Christina for joining me on the podcast today. It always is fun to talk with her and I hope that you figured that out. She's just got so much energy and enthusiasm in addition to all her expertise. It's always a joy to talk with her. Remember to check out the links that I've put in the show notes, particularly the link to the Atlanta Harp Festival, which is coming up soon and I don't want you to miss it. It's going to be terrific. As I mentioned on the podcast, I would love to be there, but trust me, I've already put the dates in my calendar for next year when the festival will be in Virginia. That's all right. I'm going to put those dates in my calendar in perpetuity and I'm not going to miss another one of these Coming up next week on the podcast, I'm going to be teaching you about how to play by ear. This is a seminar call that I gave a while back, but it occurred to me that it's so pertinent. And this is something that fits in very nicely with what we were talking about not long ago on the podcast about needing to level up some of your skills. So if you've ever wondered exactly how you play by ear, or maybe why you'd want to do it, next week's podcast is going to be one you don't want to miss. So be sure to tune in then until I talk to you next time, remember that every day is a day. You can add more harp happiness to the universe, to your world, and to your spirit, and all you have to do is play. Thanks so much for listening and I'll see you next time.