S.D. HARPIST CHAMPIONS INSTRUMENT

SAN DIEGO —  A vanity license plate that proclaims “Harp Ace” is only one of the ways Marian Rian Hays champions her chosen instrument. Whether she is premiering a new work, resurrecting some forgotten gem, or making a classical music video, Hays attempts to supplant the myths surrounding the harp with an appreciation of its rich musical repertory.

“I’ve endured all the corny harp jokes,” said Hays, “and have been called ‘Harpy’ countless times. But I am still devoted to promoting the extensive amount of harp music the public almost never gets to hear.”

Hays confirmed the observation that, at least in Western countries, most professional harpists are women. “Maybe it’s because the harp is such a glorious-looking instrument and appears more feminine,” she said, “or because the harp has always been associated with angels and heavenly bodies.” She also mentioned that most people expect harpists to be either blonds or redheads, with long, flowing locks. Hays pointed out, however, that the two most celebrated harpists of this century were men, Marcel Grandjany and Carlos Salzedo.

While the harp has enjoyed some recent popularity as a lounge instrument, Hays restricts her performing to classical chamber music. “I do not do restaurant work or play weddings,” she said adamantly, but quickly added “although, in my time, I have done it all.” Her final wedding gig turned into a disaster, which no doubt influenced her decision to give up that aspect of her vocation.

“It was an outdoor wedding, and I was playing under a canopy as a protection from the sun. Right in the middle of Handel’s ‘Harmonious Blacksmith’ the canopy collapsed on top of me. Four guests came forward to pick up the posts and then held up the tent while I completed my solo.”

Shortly after Hays came to San Diego in 1977, she played with the San Diego Symphony for three seasons, but decided that being a single cog in a massive symphony machine was not what she wanted. “As a harpist, if you’re looking for symphony work, the orchestra certainly is the only show in town. But I discovered my real interest was not the symphony. I play chamber music because I like being center stage and being able to talk to an audience.”

The Artist Chamber Ensemble, composed of violinist Karen Dirks, flutist Damian Bursill-Hall, and Hays, has performed for concert audiences at Washington’s prestigious Phillips Collection Chamber Series as well as senior citizens’ afternoon lecture-demonstrations at the First Presbyterian Church in downtown San Diego.

As part of the La Jolla Chamber Music Society’s summer festival in August, Hays and Dirks will perform Arnold Bax’s “Fantasy Sonata,” a rarely played tour de force for viola and harp by the 20th-Century British composer.

“I’m addicted to performing new works,” Hays said. In November she premiered local composer Daniel Burton’s commissioned work “Three Psalms for Harp and Organ” at the First Presbyterian Church of San Diego with organist Robert Plimpton.

If the sheer size of a modern harp is daunting to an itinerant harpist, Hays noted that she quickly learned how to turn the situation to her advantage. “When I was single, it was a great way of meeting eligible men. I’d just stand there, bat my green eyes, and ask for assistance.” Her husband, attorney and businessman Brian Hays, has become “a charter member of the harp-carriers’ union,” she added.

Like most harp players, Hays began her musical training on the piano. “My mother, who was a church organist, decided that of her three children, I would be the musician of the family. When I was 10, my parents surprised me with an antique Irish harp for my birthday. It stood only four feet tall, but by my 12th birthday, I was able to graduate to a larger instrument.”

When her family moved to the East Coast, Hays was able to take the train into New York City every week for harp lessons in a studio directly across from Carnegie Hall. While she is grateful that her mother made her practice, Hays has no intention of urging any of her own three children--ages 9, 7 and 2--into music.

“None are budding harpists, and I’m not eager to encourage them in music. There is a certain amount of pain in being an artist, although it has some wonderful highs. I don’t think any of them have the temperament for music,” she said.

Hays has a penchant for organization as well as performing. She was president of the San Diego chapter of the American Harp Society in 1983-84 and is chairman of the board of the San Diego Institute for Arts Education, a new project launched with support from the Junior League of San Diego, of which Hays is also a member.

Working with the San Diego Unified School District, the new foundation will train teachers from 14 schools in a two-week intensive course this summer. This approach to arts education goes beyond the usual art appreciation approach, Hays explained. “We are not offering art as enrichment. Rather, we are teaching the basic elements of drama, dance, music and the visual arts in lay terms.”