May Day Basket

I’ll be spending most of May initiating the restoration process—carefully documenting every quirk and imperfection with photographs and notes, and gently cleaning the instrument using only distilled water and a microfiber cloth. I plan to carve new keys but won’t install them yet. No additions or replacements will be made at this stage; those decisions will be left to a professional builder in Sweden after a full assessment.
My highest hope is to return the harpa to a playable state. If full restoration (or close enough to count) isn’t possible, I’ll be content with preserving it and preventing further deterioration. Either way, the harpa will travel with me this year as I visit schools across Minnesota as a teaching artist with Minnesota Public Radio’s Class Notes program.