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Deborah and Maggie met while recording solos for the CD
"Harpers Hall Collection, Vol. One".
Four months later, after an afternoon of completely butchering some Praetorius, they decided they were a perfect
musical match. Equally adept at both dance music and laments, they fearlessly tackle everything from slip jigs to Wagner.
Deborah and Maggie both perform on 36 string lever harps manufactured by Dusty
Strings in Seattle, Washington.
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Deborah
has been immersed in traditional music since childhood. A multi-instrumentalist and
singer, she has played informally in various folk and early music groups, as well as performing and recording
with the Sufi Choir. While in Ireland working on a graduate degree in Old Irish, she found herself living down
the street from the Royal Irish Academy of Music and took to nipping across to take harp lessons. She studied for
three years at the Academy with Orla Kelly before returning to the United States. Deborah's specialties are
traditional dance music and obscure Gaelic songs that defy accompaniment. She has taken a solemn vow never to
play "Danny Boy".
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Maggie
came to the harp from a Classical background. Originally a vocalist, she has sung
in choirs all her life, including select chamber groups and touring choirs, and has studied solo voice since
1993. After brief, disappointing flings with other instruments, she encountered the harp and was completely
smitten. The marriage of harp and voice followed quite naturally. Maggie's specialties are slow expressive
airs, melodic counterpoint and pork medallions in a red wine sauce.
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