Welcome!

The Society is dedicated to the performing of Scottish Music, both new and old, on the small harps of Scotland. We support the playing of nylon, gut, wire strung, levered and unlevered harps. The Scottish Harp Society of America, Inc. (SHSA) is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to the the Scottish harp, the clarsach and its music both ancient and modern. Members of the Society include musicians, harpmakers, and people who simply enjoy listening to the Scottish harp. Membership in the Scottish Harp Society of America is open to all. Yearly dues are $18.00. Membership includes a subscription to the Kilt & Harp, the quarterly journal of SHSA.
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The society is completely volunteer operated. The society continues to operate due to the efforts of the Board Members, Officers, and Committee Chairs.

Membership has its privileges. Members receive many benefits, including the award winning Kilt and Harp Journal. Our fabulous journal is only available to members, so click here to join!


Another privilege of membership is the SHSA web forum. You must be a member in good standing to access all of the content, so click here to register at the forum.

Membership is open to all. Join today...

 

Officer Elections

Congratulations to Kelly Stewart, our new President Elect!

Franklin, N.C. Harp Competition - June 2011

For more information, visit the Taste of Scotland Festival. 

The National Scottish Harp Championship of America - 2010

Scottish Harp Society of America Welcomes The Clan Currie Society as Title Sponsor of the National Scottish Harp Championship of America

International Clan Society Commits to Five-Year Program

(August 24, 2010) - The Scottish Harp Society of America (SHSA) is pleased to welcome the Clan Currie Society as Title Sponsor of the National Scottish Harp Championship of America.  The Clan Currie has made a five-year commitment to act as Title Sponsor for the Championships through 2014.

“We are absolutely thrilled to have the Clan Currie Society make such a generous and long-term gift,” said SHSA President Jen McGovern Narkevicius. “Part of the success of our National Championship depends upon generous donors like the Clan Currie to ensure we have sufficient funding in place to produce a first class competition. It is especially rewarding when that support comes from a clan with such an ancient and distinguished history of Gaelic poets and musicians.”

According to Robert Currie, president of the Clan Currie Society, this partnership is a perfect fit. “The founders of our Clan were the celebrated MacMhuirich bards of Medieval Scotland and the instrument of the Bard was the clarsach. Over the past several years Clan Currie has sharpened its focus on the arts with our concerts, special events and scholarship program. In addition to sponsoring this prestigious championship, we have also established an annual harp scholarship at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, Scotland. We look forward to becoming involved in more of these types of programs in the future.”

The 2010 National Scottish Harp Championship of America will be hosted at The Meadow Highland Games outside Richmond, Virginia and is open to all SHSA members.  The adjudicators for the competition are the renowned Sue Richards and SHSA President Jen McGovern Narkevicius.  Rules and categories are available on www.shsa.org. For more information on the 2010 Championship, visit www.meadowceltic.com.

Scholarship Information

Somerset Harp Festival Scholarship
If you play traditional Irish or Scottish music, you have the opportunity to earn a scholarship to the festival. The first scholarship will be awarded to the first place amateur level winner in the harp competition at the Southern Maryland Celtic Festival on April 24 in Prince Frederick, MD. It is adjudicated by the Scottish Harp Society of America. Two scholarships will be awarded at the Mid-Atlantic Fleadh Cheoil in Pearl River NY on May 22 to the first place winners in the 12-15 and 15-18 age category. The competition is adjudicated by Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann. A second Scottish Games, later in the year, at Stone Mountain will receive a scholarship toward the 2011 festival. Somerset Harp Festival is offering these scholarships as an additional incentive to younger players to continue to play traditional music. Check the festival websites for rules governing the competitions and other details.

St. Andrew's Society of Pittsburgh Scholarship
Check out the  scholarship page for more information.

Herbert P. MacNeal Travel Scholarship
Applications must be postmarked by May 26th, 2010. Check out the scholarship page for more information.