My Story

While teaching at the Pacific Harp Institute, a summer camp at Bastyr University in Seattle, Washington, my routine was to take a break during the day to play and meditate in the chapel. On one particular day, I invited an acquaintance to join me there. When I finished playing, we both commented on the vibrant sound and acoustic electricity that had moved through the space. The chills down my spine said it all. I recognized it as a defining moment in my musical experience.

Fast forward several weeks. My cousins in Seattle invited me to play with their chorale- just four months after my chapel experience. With a future trip on the horizon, the possibility of recording at the beautiful Bastyr chapel started to become a reality. The chapel was available on the one day I was free, the choice recording engineer open, and a very special harp at my disposal to play. It seemed that the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place.

Because of my ongoing involvement with a refugee family from Nepal through Exodus World Service (a Christian non- profit agency), I felt compelled to donate the proceeds of my work to help other families coming to the United States. Just one day after making that decision, I entered another chapel in Chicago to record a piece for harp and choir. The choir director had hired Legacy Productions to produce their CD, a company specializing in fundraisers for churches and schools. Another piece of the puzzle had fallen into place. Legacy would be my post-recording production company.

The day before I met with the director of sales to discuss details of the project, I did not have a title for the CD. Late that night, tired and out of ideas, I looked for titles paired with the word "heaven" that had not already been reserved. With one last effort, I entered "nearer to heaven" and discovered it had not been claimed.

Amazingly, the translation of the word Nepal is "nearer to heaven." A spark ignited in the chapel that day, and the words from Matthew 7:7 guided my thoughts and actions from that point on; "Ask you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened." The most exciting part of this story is that it is not over....the best is yet to come.