Oak Park women make beautiful music together
By Sophia Fischer sfischer@theacorn.com

DELICATE SOUNDS- Diane Phillips, left, and Michelle Torney, both of Oak Park, perform on their harps at the recent Intergenerational prom held at Oak Park High School. The women have been playing harp together for nine years. SOPHIA FISCHER/Acorn Newspapers

The graceful, mystical qualities of the harp cast a spell on Michelle Tormey and Diane Phillips years ago, creating a strong friendship between the two Oak Park women and inspiring them to share the instrument's magic with others.

Tormey and Phillips play their harps for charitable and community occasions, for private parties and to help people heal. Their repertoire includes Celtic songs, mellow ballad-type pieces and classic pop music such as the Beatles.

The women officially call themselves Moonlight Harps and describe their duo as "a mini harp orchestra."

"It's very unusual to have two harp performers together," Phillips said.

Tormey also plays her harps for hospital and home care patients. Through the Music for Healing and Transition Program, a national effort, Tormey underwent a yearlong training course to learn how to use music to help patients in different medical situations. For those in chronic pain or who have just had surgery, Tormey plays rhythmic, familiar music that is slow and simple.

"It's soothing, helps the heartbeat regulate and helps patients heal faster using less medication. It's all documented," Tormey said.

If a patient is near death, Tormey will play arrhythmic music because it can be cathartic. One woman Tormey helped was agitated over the illness she was battling. Tormey played in time with the woman's speech, slowing as the woman calmed down until the patient relaxed and fell asleep.

"Music eliminates pain because it raises the spirit," Tormey said.

Tormey and Phillips met nine years ago when Tormey's daughter, Amber, started taking piano lessons from Phillips. In exchange, Tormey began giving Phillips harp lessons. Being a pianist made it easy to learn to play the harp, Phillips said.

"Playing the harp is like taking the strings of a piano and putting it on its side," Phillips said. "You're holding it, hearing it and feeling it way more than the vibrations of a piano. That's the magic of it."

The women began meeting weekly to "goof around" on their harps. Three years ago they started booking weddings, bar mitzvahs, holiday events and shopping mall appearances. They practice weekly, often going out to lunch together afterward.

"The shape of a harp is like an angel's wing," Tormey said. "It's a very visual, magical instrument."

Phillips, who has played piano since childhood, so much enjoys the harp that she can't walk by her harps without playing just a little. Both women practice daily, often for more than an hour.

"To me it's not practicing, it's not a chore," Tormey said. "Nothing holds anything back. You get so involved when you're playing. There are so many sounds you can make."

Harps come in a variety of sizes, shapes, woods, strings and sounds. The tone is determined by the type of wood the harp is made of. Price can vary from about $1,000 for a lap harp to $40,000 for a concert quality harp. Phillips owns two harps because the first one she bought was too large to fit into her car. Once the women began performing in public, Phillips purchased a smaller harp that was easier to transport.

"You get harpitis," Tormey said. "You also get harp acquisition disease. I have eight of them."

Performing in public can sometimes be tricky. If the carpet at a function is blue or red or intricately patterned it may be difficult to see the harp's color-coded strings. Red strings are C notes; blue and black strings are F notes. The women carry a solid-colored floor covering with them, just in case. Good lighting is also important because it allows the harpist to see the strings.

"It's not like the piano where you don't have to look at the keys because you can feel your way. On the harp you don't have that frame of reference other than the color," Phillips said.

A harp music fan since childhood, Tormey didn't decide to study harp until she was in her 20s, after hearing Celtic music in a Santa Barbara health food store. Shortly after graduating from UCSB in 1980, she moved to Boston and found a teacher to help her build a harp and give her lessons. Tormey continued studying harp through moves to Sacramento, Philadelphia and Oak Park, where she has lived for 15 years.

Phillips has been playing piano since she was 8 years old. Her family couldn't afford a piano, so Phillips practiced at a convent across the street from her Venice home. The convent teachers sometimes hit the children, who would leave crying. As a result, Phillips decided to become a teacher who would be kind to kids. After running piano lessons through the Los Angeles parks department, Phillips moved to Oak Park 19 years ago and began giving piano lessons out of her home. She has taught hundreds of students, some of whom are now grown and return to visit Phillips and update her on their activities that include music schools, music careers and other instruments.

"I run into them now, and I don't always recognize them because they're so grown up," Phillips said.

Phillips has written several piano teaching books, including "The Key of C," geared toward students, and a guide book for piano teachers. She has also written several songs for piano and harp.

"Piano is a great foundation for other instruments, including the harp," Phillips said. "There is no bad sound that can come out of a harp."

For more information or to arrange a performance, call (818) 359-1538 or (818) 706-2343.