Handel - Harp Concerto in B flat Major, Morgan Mackenzie Short, 2014 Young Artist Concerto Winner 

Your words are simply beautiful! I’m glad that is how you felt when hearing the harp. Thank you ☺️! - Please keep listening and check out my professional Facebook @Morgan Short, Harpist. Take care and stay safe. - Morgan

Thank you, Lucy! Let me know how you progress. Like you, Handel has been one of my favorite concertos to learn. I have had the good fortune to perform it with 5 orchestras thus far. I have also played it as a solo and taken first prize along with an audience prize in 2 multi instrumental competitions. There are many arrangements for you to chose from. I play Salzedo’s and have added Grandjany’s Cadenza in the second movement. Enjoy!! It’s a really fun concerto to play! Please check out my professional Facebook at Morgan Short, harpist and subscribe to both my page and RU-vid, as I will be uploading new material this month. Take care, my Irish friend! - Morgan Mackenzie

@@morganshort1164 I have only seen this comment now, sorry!! Thank you! I must revisit this piece, I do love it 🥰

+DerafsheKavian Thank you so much!

Thank you for listening and taking the time to comment!

Thank you so much for your kind words! I am grateful you took the time to listen to my work!! Why don't you Subscribe to my channel, as I have many new pieces I will be adding in the next few months that you might enjoy.

Lauren Marty, your generous words are a real blessing to me!! I sincerely thank you for taking the time to listen, and I am thrilled it has helped you as you tackle this magnificent concerto. It’s one of my personal favorites. I have performed it with five orchestras about once a year and I have found that it has helped strengthen my technique and increased my stamina. My sole intention for putting my concerti online has been to encourage other harpists as they work towards performing our repertoire. And your response confirms my highest hopes! Let me know if I can be of any further help by messaging me on my professional Facebook. You might search Morgan Short, Harpist and like/follow my page. Will you be competing with this concerto, auditioning for schools/summer festivals, or performing it in a solo recital this year? I wish you the best always! - Morgan

@@morganshort1164 , thank you for your reply! It is my goal to be able to perform the whole thing with an orchestra. That is incredible you've been able to do that 5 times! I learned the first movement to audition for college and to perform for my high school senior recital with an orchestra. Going into school this fall my goal is to learn the remaining movements!

@@morganshort1164 ...it is truly a right hand workout that requires utmost stamina! I love this concerto also but the first movement is a killer for me! You played it beautifully!

Indeed, it was my pleasure, Fred! You are sincerely welcome! Every time I have been gifted with the opportunity to perform this harp concerto, I feel as if I am soaring on eagles wings. I appreciate your insight and your affection for the work that Handel graced us with. I perform Carlos Salzedo’s arrangement which is considered more challenging due to its abundant use of trills. And I perform Grandjany’s Cadenza in the second movement which allows me to literally soar. I adore this cadenza as much as the first movement! I am grateful to Handel as I love ALL things Baroque, and I am grateful to you, Fred for taking the time to listen and generously comment. Stay well! Many blessings to you, Morgan

Thank you, Wendy!

I am so pleased you enjoyed listening to my channel! Thank you, Angelo, for taking the time to comment. I enjoy playing World Music, so keep an eye out for some Paraguayan music coming to my channel soon. You might follow my professional Facebook @MorganShort Harpist. Take care - Morgan

You made a very important point, YOU FINISHED IT TO THE END! I am proud of you!! This piece is one of the most difficult concertos in our repertoire. It is called a "naked" piece because you generally can't hide any mistakes. And you definitely can't hide behind the orchestra because most of the time you are alone. I will perform this again in two weeks and several more times this spring including a concert with the North Carolina Symphony. I have to say that I have not played it perfectly every time. I strive for perfection, but in the end it is the audiences reaction that brings me delight time and time again! People humming the melody, patrons feeling the need to communicate with me after the performance, and on some occasions even musicians have been brought to tears. I also take delight in finding new voicings. The piece is like an onion with many layers left to discover each time I present it. The first movement requires great stamina and the Cadenza in the second movement is my favorite! Incidentally, there are many versions, some a bit easier to play and less notey. Thank you for sharing your story!! Keep on sharing your love of our instrument with others!

Hootax, like Morgan says, YOU FINISHED. Sometimes, EXPERIENCE is what we get, when we don't get what we want. I'm so sorry that you were laughed at, that sounds cruel. May you savor this memory knowing that YOU got to play an instrument that so many of us love, but will never have a chance to touch. I don't mean to lecture here, far from it, I only mean to encourage. If the harp is your hobby, your hobby is far better than most of the rest of ours!

Please take the instrument back up. This world needs harpists.

Dear Lexie, I am so grateful for your kind words! To know that I inspired you as you prepare for your graded harp exam really did my heart good! Between you and me, I absolutely love the second movement as well. I suppose it’s because the Grandjany Cadenza gives me the opportunity to play virtuosically. So what version will you be playing? Besides the Grandjany cadenza, I play the Salzedo Version. I really enjoy playing the trills. Out of curiosity, did you compose your own cadenza for movement two or will you use a traditional version? Once again, it was my pleasure to aid your performance in any way! Let me know how you made out, and please subscribe to my professional Facebook @Morgan Short, Harpist. Best Wishes to you - Morgan

@@morganshort1164 Hi Morgan, this is very late but I just came to listen again while I prepare for another performance and only just saw you replied, so sorry for that! I played an arrangement by Karen Vaughan, who I think was my teacher's teacher in the past if I remember right? I agree, I really love the virtuosity you can find in the 2nd movement, and love the really powerful sections with all the wide spread chords near the end. I find trills really difficult to be honest, my fingers never seem to want to move fast enough, so that's something to keep working on 😅.. thank you for your kind wishes, my exam went better than I could have hoped for and I ended up getting a distinction, so I was really happy with it! Thank you again for the lovely comment and inspiration! 😊💜

Lexie, Cheers on receiving a distinction for your performance! Thanks for letting me know. It was my pleasure to encourage you in tackling this concerto. And I’m thrilled to hear that you’re performing it again! You go for it, girl! - Best Wishes, Morgan

Glad you enjoy it!

Thank you for listening! Enjoy - Morgan

Thank you, Elizabeth! It’s my favorite cadenza to play! Please subscribe and follow my professional Facebook as I will be uploading more videos soon. Take care, Morgan

Great job!!! Btw where can I get the Grandjany cadenza? Cant find it!!!!

Thank you very much!

I sincerely thank you for your kindness!!!

Thank you!

Thank you for listening! Enjoy playing this amazing concerto. Take care - Morgan

I am delighted that you took the time to listen to the concerto! I sincerely appreciate your kind words! My younger brother performed in the violin section. He is the little guy on the left. He will be performing his first concerto in May. I think the youth symphony certainly did an excellent job! I hope you subscribe to my RU-vid channel and professional Facebook page, (Morgan Short, Harpist) as I have many more harp concertos you might enjoy. I will be performing Handel (for the fifth time) with the North Carolina Symphony in May and the Debussy Danses with two different music festivals in July. Thanks again!!

Morgan, many thanks for the invitation! I am now subscribed. I am honored to do so by such a talented young lady. Blessings to you and your younger brother. I am certain that if you both maintain your interest in performing, you will do well. I'm an old guy, 61, but in high school I was persuaded to join our marching band, and played the Sousaphone. (We had no orchestra and I FAILED at any stringed instrument I tried, but I was OK at the brass and some of the woodwinds.) I also fiddled with most other brass instruments, and was loaned a Conn tenor saxophone from freshman year to senior year. When I turned it in on graduation in the ancient year of 1976, the assistant principal who signed it out to me had forgotten all about it, and they lost the records, lol! Sadly, I did not keep up with music. Life took its toll on me, so I live vicariously through talent such as yours that I can search out on the internet. I'll look for you on Facebook as well. Best of luck to you, your brother and fellow musicians going forward, and please, 40 years from now, have a conversation like this with a yet-to-be-born young person. Keep this beautiful music alive!

I promise to encourage other musicians no matter how old I am! Along with performing, I equally love teaching others about my instrument. By the way, my dad was a tuba player in his high school marching band. He's 65 now. He always jokes about the time someone threw a rock inside his tuba while marching in a parade! Unbelievable!! Incidentally, learning the saxophone and the violin has always been a dream of mine. Since I am very busy at college, I took up the Celtic Penny Whistle a few years back. I've gotten rather good at it and hope to join some Irish Sessions with my brother this summer. Thanks again for your encouraging words! Take care.

Morgan, the story about your dad and the rock in his tube is HILARIOUS. I struggled to figure out what was wrong with the old, white, fiberglass Sousaphone I was issued one day, long, long ago. Turns out someone had used it for target practice with a tennis ball, lol! I still remember everyone laughing as I rotated my instrument a few times to roll it out. Please keep up your music, and good luck in college. If I might offer some unsolicited advice, study hard, play later, learn something you can make a living with, and try not to take on much debt. My Chemical Engineering degree has kept me fed and more or less employable all these years, as would a science, math, or finance degree. Study what you love, just remember that some of the degrees I've seen young people pay a mortgage for won't pay for a lovely harp such as you have mastered! :)

Thank you, Nathan! Please subscribe to my channel and check out my professional Facebook @Morgan Short, Harp.

I certainly did, and will! Thank you for sharing your gift!

It was my pleasure!! Thank you for taking the time to listen Jean-Charles! I sincerely appreciate your encouraging words. I will be competing with this in 2 weeks for a VERY important competition. Follow me on my professional Facebook, Morgan Short, Harpist if you enjoy listening to harp music. I try to post regularly. Take care, Morgan Short, USA

+Tommy Yu You have blessed my heart!! Thank you Tommy!

Laura Short hopefully, my baby will have a chance to try playing a small harp. At what age do you recommend starting?

Tommy, Piano lessons for learning to sight read music might be helpful to start. Then begin harp at age 7 or so. I began playing a smaller lever harp at age 6 without any piano background. It took me a few years to sight read. Most importantly, be on the lookout for an excellent teacher as this makes all the difference! I hope your child grows up to grace your home with the wonderful sounds of the harp! Best wishes, Morgan

Malcolm, I am playing the Boieldieu for an upcoming recital at the New England Conservatory. Be on the lookout for it on my channel.

Thank you so much!! I'm glad you enjoyed listening. I love performing Handel's Concerto. I guess it shows! I compete with this once again this week, and I am excited to be performing this with the North Carolina Symphony in May! You might follow me on my professional Facebook to hear my latest works. Best Wishes, Morgan Short

+Thank you for your kind words!Tak for dine venlige ord! Flemming Ranch

😊 Thanks!

You are most welcome! Thank you for listening and taking the time to comment. Enjoy! - Morgan

@@morganshort1164 Thanks for your reply! your performance makes me happy😊

+ELOcho Thank you!

I am so glad you enjoyed the Handel Harp Concerto, Helen! Thank you for taking the time to listen!! You are partially correct, I was performing Grandjany's Cadenza, but all the rest is Salzedo's version. Check out my RU-vid channel as I performed this with Delta Symphony last spring and Liberty University a year before that. And I will be competing with it in a week to perform with another professional orchestra. As you probably know, mastering the Handel is quite a feat, and I have really enjoyed the challenge because I believe it has strengthened my technique.

Thank you so much!

Thank you, Serena! I appreciate you taking the time to listen and comment! Check out my professional Facebook at Morgan Short, Harpist, for the latest. Enjoy! - Morgan

@@morganshort1164 I followed you. :) I will enjoy your performance. Thanks for uploading a good performance!😉

Thank you! Have you subscribed to my RU-vid channel? Also, my professional Facebook 'Morgan Short, Harpist' has more harp Music you might enjoy. Take care!

Thank you, Elaine! Check out my RU-vid channel for more music and my professional Facebook. Subscribe to them if you’d like as I am putting new material on all the time. My most recent concerto at the New England Conservatory was the Debussy Danses. It was arranged by a doctoral student for winds. It was fun to play. Enjoy listening and stay well!

Poby Wu, THANK YOU! You made my day!! Please Subscribe to my RU-vid Channel and professional Facebook Page at Morgan Short, Harpist. Take care, Morgan

It is a harp.

Thank you so much

Lyon & Healy 85CG is the brand of the harp.

Thank you!