Plucky Harpist Finds Harmony With Instrument
Let’s get one thing straight right off the bat: Leslie Stratton Norris is not a harpoonist.
“People have really asked me that,” she says, pulling her gold-plated concert harp down to her right shoulder. “It just cracks me up.”
The notes businessmen slip her at luncheons where she performs make her howl.
“I’ve always wanted to go out with a harpist,” she recites, rolling her eyes. “They think I’m angelic or something.”
Forget it, guys. This harpist is married - and more loyal than Lassie.
Leslie knew shortly after she was potty-trained that she would play the harp.
“It was big, impressive, inaccessible,” she says. “I had to have it.”
She braved years of piano lessons first. The tell-tale, heart-shaped crate finally arrived at her door on her ninth birthday. In the 27 years since, her love has only grown for the ancient instrument.
“I’ve never wavered. I love the sound. It makes people happy. They’re curious and appreciative,” she says. “So many people have dreamed of playing the harp, so by listening to me, I’m kind of fulfilling their dreams.”
The harp’s magical sound fills Leslie’s spirit as much as any listeners’. Music from “Phantom of the Opera” floats through her rustic Coeur d’Alene living room as her fingers dance across the red, white and black strings.
Her feet jump from pedal to pedal and she slaps the strings for a bossa nova sound. Traditional glissandos across all 47 strings are fine, but Leslie’s into rhythm.
“You build your life around the harp,” she says. Five sit in her living room. She married a man who builds her wooden music stands. “Your doorways have to be the right size. Your car. How many stairs do you want in your house?”
But it’s worth it, especially when she can jam with the region’s 45 other harpists as she did in Spokane last Sunday.
“It sounds spectacular, it really does,” she says. “It puts you in a different world.”
Leslie will demonstrate the Celtic harp Nov. 11-12 at the Christmas Fair at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds.
Modern Marco Polos
The few frightening minutes Judy Sylte spent alone in a car in India last summer will remain in her memory forever. Want to know more?
Judy, who teaches history at North Idaho College, and her husband Jim McLeod, an NIC English teacher, will fill in the details at noon Thursday in NIC’s Bonner Room.
They spent 3-1/2 months this year in Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Singapore and Hong Kong. They’re home now with slides and stories to tell.
Their presentation is free. They’ll do two more in November.
Play it up
Remember Dayna Hewitt, the Priest River teenager who wanted to grow a Victory garden? Now she’s into a new plot. She’s the assistant director of Priest River Lamanna High’s “Together Forever,” a play written by her classmate, Shari Chaney.
Shari’s story follows two 8-year-old campers through high school. It impressed her drama teacher so much, he urged her to develop it into a complete play.
“Together Forever” debuts at the high school at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, with repeat performances through the weekend. This is your chance to catch a star on the rise.
Baby sitter’s Club
My daughter Megan, who’s 14, just baby-sat a little girl who pretended she was a fawn and Megan was her mother. All was fine until the little girl wanted mother’s milk and knew just where to find it. No one had prepared Megan for such a situation.
Can you beat that tale with your own baby-sitting experiences? Rattle those stories off to Cynthia Taggart, “Close to Home,” 608 Northwest Blvd., Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene, ID, 83814; FAX to 765-7149; or call 765-7128.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo