Welcome to
High Spirits MusicCAROLINE MACKAY CELTIC HARP & SONG
This Music is dedicated to the upliftment of humanity and the Unity of all peoples.
About Caroline
Caroline Mackay Celtic Harp & Song
Caroline Mackay has a reputation in the Okanagan for dazzling Concerts and Wedding music. A prolific composer and arranger, she has recorded six full-length CDs of original music produced by her Indie Label, High Spirits Music. Her cheerful, engaging instruction to hundreds of beginning and intermediate students has its foundation in her 3 Level Celtic Harp Studies series, as well as dozens of other published harp selections.
For 25 years, Caroline has performed in a multitude of venues from great Concert Halls, Cathedrals and Festivals to intimate House Concerts, Galleries and Chapels. Her tours have taken her through Canada, the US, England, Switzerland and New Zealand. Her Harp and Vocal Trio AnamCara, with Debi Johnson and Kate Gibson-Oswald, have played many years of successful tours through British Columbia.
Harpist for Hire
Solo Concerts, Receptions, Galas,
Weddings and Events.
Caroline loves to perform, indoors, outdoors, online and everywhere. Her Celtic Harp & Song experiences have taken her around the world!
Learn to Play
Children & Adults of all Ages
Caroline teaches Celtic harp to Beginning and Intermediate students at the Kelowna and Vernon Community Music Schools as well as working from her High Spirits Music Studio in West Kelowna. The music and technique can be learned simply for joy and recreational purposes, or the student can decide to pursue the Royal Conservatory curriculum, and progress to more intensive studies. An appropriate course of Theory is available to all, and is relevant to a deeper appreciation of all music.
Private lessons are most effective for Beginners and Intermediate students, while Performance Coaching, Arranging and Ensemble Direction are available for more advanced players and groups. For 20 years, Caroline has also created annual Spring harp workshops for groups, which have been hosted most recently in the Okanagan where there is a great Circle of Harp players. Sharlene Wallace, Rebecca Blair, Sunita Staneslow and Kim Robertson have all been guest facilitators!
Online Music Resources
Sheet Music, Audio & Video Lessons
Have you found yourself intrigued by this magical instrument?
Hundreds of students young and old, beginners and established musicians, have learned to play the Harp with Caroline, either in person in the studio or on ZOOM.
To deepen your learning, private VIDEO Lessons are now waiting for you – you can begin from your previous experience, or start out as a brand new musician. We will help to make your learning individual and progressive… NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE.
AnamCara HARP Trio
Caroline Mackay, Kate Gibson Oswald and Debi Johnson met over music in the year 2000, at a Harp Circle in the Okanagan Valley. Their love of singing, Celtic and rhythmic music, and the Art of Spiritual conversation drew them together, and they have played to sold-out concerts all over the BC Interior ever since! Christmas shows and Springtime family gatherings, hot Summer evening outdoor venues and Autumn breezes by the Lake, everywhere has been a joy to perform with each other ~ and way too much laughter!!
Diamond Harps Canada
DANIEL SCHMITT, the Okanagan’s Harp Builder, Artisan and Proprietor of DIAMOND HARPS for 18 years, founded this exclusively Canadian Company in 2001.
Daniel was already a superb artisan when he met Caroline. They married soon after, and together began experimenting with new Harp designs. They worked diligently on the many elements of a rich sounding, elegant, well-tempered instrument and over the course of a few years, began producing three sizes of harps. The Magdalene is a 36-string professional model, the Carmel is its 34-string counterpart and the Lassie is a slightly more compact 34-string instrument, also excellent for rental to students. In recent years, Daniel’s workshop also launched a small fleet of Wee Bonnies, a 30-string travel harp, described as “a big harp sound in a small body”!
Daniel’s devotion and love for his work was very evident, and his craftsmanship was admired and appreciated by all who ordered one of his stunning custom-built creations. He was a constant feature at all the High Spirits Annual workshops, providing harp maintenance and advice to students behind the scenes, or as the sound engineer to countless concerts. Although sadly, he died in December 2019, yet his legacy of craftsmanship and his many harps continue to delight us with their brilliance.
