Hawaii | Cymber

February 25, 2019February 25, 2019

By Cymber Lily Quinn

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Hello. It’s been a while…

Hello. It’s been a while since we chatted. I imagine you have a few questions…

Q: What have you been up to lately? What are you harping on?

Last year was a big year for me. I spent a lot of time working on boring, difficult but technically necessary projects, including adding a store to my website for the first time, and experimenting more with social media.

All of that work meant that I had to put creating new music on the back burner for longer than I wanted to. And performing less than I wanted, as well. But I want you to have a wonderful experience with my music, all my marketing was way overdue for an upgrade.

Q: How’s Hawaii treating you?

The transition back to Hawaii has been just about as good as it could be. I have a really cute upstairs studio in downtown Hilo where I teach in the afternoons. I’ve been performing the Queen’s music, and getting ready – equipment wise – to play out more. I need a Gig Assistant for local gigs, if you know someone. And I’m still working on getting the word out more about my music…I’d love your help with that. Share my posts and vides?

Q: What about the World? How are you feeling about all that?

As a Taoist, I tried to see the good and bad in everything. As concerned as I am about the dehumanizing actions I see happened all around the globe, I also feel a great hope, especially when I think about the younger generation. I see them already taking action to bring love, peace and harmony back to the forefront of our thinking.

Q: How do you help the younger generation?

At this point in my life, I feel that my best choice is to teach and play music. If I can inspire children and adults to express themselves creatively and freely, then they are much less likely to be shackled in society as well. As a life-long teacher, I know that it only takes the right word, the right moment – which I may never know at all – to propel a student into a positive life that will change their life, and of necessity, change the life of those around them. How far the ripples of my teaching and music will reach, I will never know.

Q: What’s next in your music? Do you have new music coming out soon?

Yes! In fact, I just released a harp meditation version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” last week. I hope you find it relaxing. You can download that for free on my blog>>>here…

I’ll be adding songs by piano dudes Billy Joel, Elton John and Bruce Hornsby. I’m looking for songs that make great meditations and also reference harps. If you have favorite piano or harp songs, let me know. When I have collected 11-14 songs, I’ll release them all as a CD, and the free downloads won’t be free anymore…

Q: What about the Christmas/Holiday CD?

I know, I know. I’ve been promising a holiday CD for a while now. I’m starting with “O Holy Night,” which I am recording right now. I’ll post it soon.

Keep in touch and let me know what you’d like to hear…lots of new music is in the cooker!

January 14, 2019January 12, 2019

By Cymber Lily Quinn

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New Year, New Blog | Taking Requests | One More Harp Student | Another Encore Performance

Aloha friends, and Happy New Year! If you’re reading this, congratulations! You made it another turn around the Sun, and you have survived 100% of everything that has happened to you! Yay!

NEW BLOG

As I have grown as an artist, I have been exploring lots of different options as a musician – many that I have shared with you in this blog. But this year is different. More focused. More music.

Each week, you can look forward to receiving a free harp meditation or a free guided meditation from my catalog, delivered to your inbox (if you have signed up for my newsletter), or right here in the blog. You’ll get solo harp meditations and guided meditations covering topics such as Reclaiming Your Artistic Confidence with Stewart Blackburn or Communicating with Your Departed Loved Ones with Uma Girish.

And each week, I offer some words of inspiration to accompany you on your journey into the world, along with some beautiful photographs that I have personally taken on my journeys. I hope you enjoy them.

As performances and other newsworthy events come up, I’ll share them here as well.

ENCORE: THE LAST QUEEN OF HAWAII

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I have a passion for arranging and performing the music of Queen Lili’uokalani, the last monarch of Hawaii, who was overthrown in 1893, and died in 1917.

This time, I had the honor of performing in one of Hilo’s fine Lyman House Museum. As the opening performance of the Saigo Series, I had the deep pleasure of again teaming up with the the amazing Jackie Pualani Johnson as the Queen, and Kathy Dorn on flute. These are our fourth and fifth performances.

Each time we perform this piece, we refine it, tighten it, deepen it. And it shows. There was not a dry eye in the house, and we have been asked repeatedly to take this show to other places. We may start looking for grants.

OPENING FOR ONE NEW HARP STUDENT

If you have been thinking about studying harp with me, now is the time. My teaching calendar is filling, and I only have one more opening for a new student right now. Is it you?

TAKING REQUESTS

I am recording two new CDs this year. The long-awaited Christmas CD, and a CD of favorites and requests. Do you have a favorite song? Let me know, and I’ll see if I can get it on my CD.

January 10, 2019January 3, 2019

By Cymber Lily Quinn

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Harp, Skip and Jump: A Fun Beginning Harp Workshop

Do you love the sound of the harp? Do you always wish you could play? Or do you play another instrument and wish you could add the harp to your collection of instruments? This is the workshop for you. No experience is needed, and most of the class will be taught by ear.

In this workshop, you will learn:
● A brief history of the harp
● The different kinds of harps
● How to figure out what all the strings mean
● How to make beautiful improvised music, using your ears and a few simple ideas
● How to play improvised music with others
● One or two simple songs

Requirements:
● A beginner’s mind and a playful spirit
● A notebook or some way to take notes

Not Needed:
● You do not need to read music as most of the workshop will be taught by ear.
● You do not need to bring a harp, but if you have one, please bring it. I will bring harps to share.

About the Teacher:
Cymber Lily Quinn is a master music teacher, who specializes in teaching harp, piano, voice, improv, and composition. She especially enjoys teaching beginners and making the learning process fun and easy. Cymber is a 5-time Big Island Music Award winner and has been featured on National Public Radio and Hawaii Public Radio. She lives in Kurtistown and shares her Hilo studio with 7-8 harps, two dogs and her students. Cymber teaches in Hilo and online, with students as far away as Ohio and England. www.RosalaniMusic.net.

Details:
Who: You and your friends who want to try the harp
What: Harp, Skip and Jump: A Fun Beginning Harp Workshop
Where: New Thought Center, 81-6587 Mamalahoa Highway, Building C, Kealakekua, HI 96750
When: Sunday, January 13, 2019. 2:00-4:30 PM
Why: To have fun!
Pre-Registration is Recommended as this workshop will sell out: http://www.newthoughtcenterofhawaii.com/

BONUS SPEAKER: Hank Wesselman, PhD.
In the morning, The New Thought Center will be hosting of one of those rare cutting-edge scientists who truly walks between the worlds, Hank Wesselman. He did his undergraduate work, as well as his Master’s Degree, in Zoology at the University of Colorado at Boulder, then went on to receive his doctoral degree in Anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley. Hank is also a shamanic student, practitioner, and teacher, now in the 28th year of his apprenticeship.

Make it a full day of spirituality and harp music, the perfect combination.

January 7, 2019January 7, 2019

By Cymber Lily Quinn

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Today at 7 pm! Ho’okia’i: Lili’uokalani to be Part of Saigo Series at Lyman Museum

Please join us for “Ho’okia’i: Lili’uokalani, featuring Her Majesty’s music and a living history performance of the Queen’s final journey on Monday, January 7, at 7:00 p.m. and Tuesday, January 8, at 3:00 p.m., 2019, at the Lyman Museum. The script is a first-person soliloquy that was written to commemorate the 100^thAnniversary of Queen Lili’uokalani’s passing on November 11, 2017. The Queen’s deep feelings for her family and those in her entourage who remained faithfully at her side after the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom loom large in this re-enactment of the Queen’s funeral. She muses on her love of music and the manner in which music ushered her onto her final journey, ending with her entombment at Mauna ‘Ala, the resting place of Hawai’i ali’i. The Queen’s music is played by the harp and flute duet of Cymber Lily Quinn and Kathy Dorn.

Johnson’s UH Hilo career spanned thirty-eight years, where she taught acting, costuming, and stage makeup, while directing annual musicals and a wide range of classical and contemporary plays. In recent years, she has scripted and performed living history works focusing on the Hawaiian monarchy.

Quinn is an award-winning harpist who loves arranging the Queen’s music for the harp and other instruments and voices. She grew up in a musical family, playing many instruments and worked in corporate life until deciding to return to music to play the harp ten years ago. Her music has been featured on National Public Radio and Hawai’i public radio. She welcomes students who wish to learn to play the harp and other instruments at her studio, Rosalani Music in Hilo, and performs island-wide and on the internet.

Dorn has been playing the flute since she was eighteen and a student at UC Berkeley. After moving to the Big Island from Kaua’i in 1979, she played for three years in the University of Hawai’i at Hilo Wind Ensemble. For the past 14 years, she has been playing with a guitarist focusing on jazz with a recent emphasis on pop songs. She respects Queen Lili’uokalani immensely and loves the Queen’s music.

For more information: https://lymanmuseum.org/.