Harpist Shares Musical Journey at Cascade Falls Event

"When I was a child, my mother announced that all of her children were going to learn to play an instrument. We could play whatever we wanted, she said, but we were going to play an instrument. That was for certain. 

At four years old, I looked at my parents and declared that I wanted a harp. I honestly couldn't tell you why. At the time, reasonably priced harps weren’t available and it just wasn’t something my parents were going to be able to buy me. I would play violin, they said, so I got a violin. And I was terrible at it.

I moved on to trying the flute, because my sister played that instrument, and I was competent with my knowledge. I had years of piano lessons too, but I found it wasn’t for me. Then I sang, which I found sparked my passion for music. I really enjoy singing. I actually have a degree in vocal performance and sing professionally.

It wasn’t until I was 25 that I got my first harp, 21 years after my first declaration of wanting it. I was living in Manhattan and was singing with a group at the New York  Renaissance Festival in Tuxedo, New York. There was a guy there who played a smaller-sized harp, and I was just fascinated. 

All summer long, I kept looking at his instrument and thinking, ‘I’d really love to play one of those.’ It was like it was calling for me. I don’t know how to explain it. So in the fall of that same year, I finally managed to get my very own and started taking lessons.

I love playing the harp professionally. It’s a very playable instrument, and it's very rewarding to learn because even if you make mistakes, it still doesn’t sound bad. And it lets me sing, too. I can’t sing and play the flute at the same time, but if I could do that, I’d be on the Tonight Show. 

I actually sang in a duo with my husband for 25 years. We called ourselves “Silk and Steel” because that’s the material the strings were made out of on his 12-string guitar. He was hugely talented and just so amazing. 

When he became ill, it was really hard for both of us. And when he passed away, I was devastated. I had to reinvent myself as a soloist and as a person. It’s been 12 years since he’s been gone. I miss him every day.

Through it all, music has always been available to me when I needed it the most. It has given me social camaraderie and connection and carried me through good and difficult times of my life. I really enjoy storytelling through song; I don’t care if I’m in a church singing a prayer or in a bar playing the Grateful Dead on my harp during an open mic. I can tell any story.

I love being able to sit down and just pour my emotions into music. I really do believe that we have the ability to say things through music that we sometimes can’t express through words. Whether you’re sad, happy, angry… it lets you do it all.

I like to think I first chose the harp when I was 4, then again at 25. But sometimes I like to think the harp chose me."

— Elizabeth Roth, AKA “The Harp Lady,” performing at the Fairy House Building Day in Cascade Falls, Saco in July 2024