Today we’d like to introduce you to Alix Raspé.
Alix, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started playing the harp when I was 8 years old, and have now been playing for 17 years! I can hardly believe it. At the age of 5, I was completely obsessed with the sound of the harp from hearing “Big Bird Meets the Orchestra” and Duchess the Cat’s harp performance in the Disney film, “The Aristocats”. I started with piano lessons, as my parents—non-musicians—knew nothing about the harp. Being a tenacious kid, I saw our baby grand piano as just an obstacle in the way of playing the harp and proceeded to lift the top of our baby grand and pluck the strings inside. Worried for the safety of my fingers, my parents would monitor my “piano string plucking” because it became so frequent. It was like the Harpo Marx scene, “Day at the Races”, where Harpo completely dismantles a piano to create a harp. Finally, after 3 years of begging for harp lessons, my parents finally agreed and they have been incredibly supportive.
All I can say was that playing the harp was my calling. My parents encouraged me to join harp ensembles, youth orchestras and eventually those experiences lead me to Juillliard Pre-College where I studied with June Han. After that, I attended New York University (NYU) for my Bachelor’s degree where I majored in Harp Performance with Bridget Kibbey and New England Conservatory (NEC) for my Masters in Harp Performance with Jessica Zhou. As a student at both NYU and NEC, I was the NYU String Competition and at NEC First Runner-Up in the NEC Lower Strings (Bass, Viola, Guitar, Harp, Cello etc.) Concerto Competition. As well, at NEC, I had been nominated for the music honor society, Pi Kappa Lambda. My teachers were incredible in shaping me to be the harpist and determined person that I am today. While this determination applies to my musicianship, it also impacts my approach to my career.
As a harpist, I have quite a fulfilling solo, chamber and orchestral life. I am finishing up an Associate Harp Fellowship with Civic Orchestra of Chicago and am currently an Associate Harpist for Columbus Symphony. In the past year, a few of my major highlights were playing with singer, MAX, on The Late Late Show with James Corden and with Roger Daltry of The Who and the NY Pops. This summer, I will be attending Tanglewood Music Center as a Harp Fellow and can’t wait! What I love about playing the harp is being able to not only perform in all genres of music but be a musical entrepreneur as well. As well, I currently am a Harp Specialist at The Harp Connection in Rowley, MA, the harp teacher at Note-worthy Experiences in Sudbury, MA and serve as Development Director for Caroga Arts Collective in Caroga, NY.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It hasn’t been a terribly bumpy road, but of course there are always challenges along the way. Taking on many jobs and saying yes to any opportunity can be extremely tiring and difficult to balance, despite how rewarding. As well, being a musician requires you to be extremely analytical, honest and critical of yourself and sometimes that can be hard on your self-esteem.
Alix Raspé – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I always strive to involve myself in a multitude of different projects and push the limits of what is expected of a musician. For instance, I am Harp Specialist at The Harp Connection, which is the premiere New England harp and music accessories store for New England, located in Rowley, MA. The Harp Connection not only provides all harpists with whatever they may need (strings, music, tools, and of course, harps!) they also help create a network and community of harpists and harp teachers.
I am also on faculty at Note-worthy Experiences in Sudbury, MA directed by Renee Bordner where I have a growing harp studio. Note-worthy Experiences is a private music studio established in in 2006 with the mission of educating all students about the art of playing music and music theory.
As well, I serve as Development Director and as a performer for Caroga Arts Collective (Caroga Arts), in Caroga Lake, NY. My work for Caroga Arts helps keep Caroga growing, developing and expanding each year. Caroga Arts, founded by Artistic Director, Dr. Kyle Barrett Price, is 501c3 non-profit focused on reigniting the experience of the town of Caroga through interdisciplinary and inter-arts collaborations among musicians, artists, scholars and communities.
What sets me apart, I believe, is that I am a musical entrepreneur. It all started at NYU, where I received the NYU String Performance and Leadership Award and the NYU Orchestral Award. At NYU, I always felt I wanted to contribute to future musical opportunities for the harp. While in New York City, I formed the MetroHarp Young Harpists Alliance, a group dedicated to help young harpists in the Metropolitan area get to know each other, form a community, and provide support for issues all musicians face. MetroHarp Young Harpists Alliance was affiliated with MetroHarp, the New York Chapter of The American Harp Society for Metropolitan area harpists.
While at New England Conservatory, I had 2 Individual Performance Fellowships and 1 Ensemble Fellowship from the Community Performances and Partnerships program run by Tanya Maggi. These fellowships focused on the importance of giving back to our community through music by giving performances to the local Boston area. As well, at NEC, I formed a harp and flute duo along with Fanya Wyrick-Flax, named kairos, where we received two Entrepreneurial Musicianship grants for composer commissions, and for the festival we formed- Dorset Chamber Music Residency– a community-based chamber music festival in Dorset, VT formed in 2017. This project inspired my work with Caroga Arts Collective. This summer musicians from Dorset Chamber Music Residency and Caroga Arts Collective will be collaborating from August 26-29th for several exciting performances!
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
This is such a hard question because I have had so many highlights! Just in the past year performing with MAX on The Late Late Show with James Corden, Roger Daltry of The Who, and, of course, my acceptance as a Harp Fellow for Tanglewood Music Center, I can’t wait to see what is yet to come!
Contact Info:
- Website: alixraspe.com
- Phone: (203)252-7913
- Email: alixraspe@me.com
- Instagram: @alixraspe
Image Credit:
Max Schneider, Tanya Maggi, The Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Conservatoire de l’Ouest
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