Senior harpists Sabrina Sprangle and Caroline Leath played alongside four other harpists at the school’s annual production of the Nutcracker Spectacular.”
Senior Sabrina Sprangle believes that the long hours of practice paid off for the performance.
“Preparation is so important, and so is learning to calm down before a performance,” Sprangle said.
Sprangle started playing the piano before the harp as an “unserious” hobby. Harp was recommended to Sprangle by a friend who was a year older than her and playing the harp. Sprangle soon fell in love with playing the instrument.
“I didn’t want it to be a big thing,” Sprangle said. “Then I really liked it. I loved the teacher. She’s great.”
Being a harpist also introduced Sprangle to new friends. The high school harp ensemble is very different from middle school harp because in high school, musicians are in their own room and get to have one on one time with harp teacher Ayren Huslig.
“In high school, my best friend, Caroline, and I bonded over the harp,” Sprangle said.
Sprangle and Leath were the only two harpists in their freshman year. Similar to Sprangle, Leath started playing the piano at the start of her music career. Music is extremely important to her because she grew up listening and playing it. Her father collected albums that she would listen to. Leath’s parents and a friend encouraged her to play the piano.
“One of my close friend’s older sisters played harp,” Leath said. “I had heard it, and I thought it was really cool.”
Harp teacher Ayren Huslig has been teaching the same group of harpists for six years, building strong relationships and strong bonds. The consistency helped the musicians.
“We’ve had the same teacher for six years so we know her really well, and it’s a really small class, so it’s really nice to have some one-on-one practices,” Leath said. “I like harp ensemble so much because the class is such a great community. Ms. Huslig does such a great job of building a community and making everyone feel welcome. Harp is also a great creative outlet and while it is challenging and time consuming, it is so rewarding to watch all that hard work pay off at performances or recitals. When I started as a freshman, Nutcracker seemed so scary. But now, after finishing my last show, I know I’m going to miss it.”
