Gary Garritan, Harpist

As a solo act,people would see and hear me with a Celtic harp. I would dress appropriately for the occasion - Tux for formal occasions, Santa suit for holidays, as Harpo Marx for Halloween, jazzy for clubs (see left).
You can expect a wide variety of songs of many genres - Love songs, Show tunes, Classical, South American, Holiday, Pop, Folk, Easy Listening, Jewish, Gospel, etc.. I have a repertoire of over 200 songs committed to memory.

I can also come as a duet with a classical guitarist for a unique sound - harp and guitar.

This page is about me, Gary Garritan. I am a harpist, The harp has offered me the opportunity to help those people who are sick, sad, hurting or need comfort.

I was born to be a musician and play the harp. It is a perfect occupation for me. It fits my beliefs and temperament, lets me be creative and gives me freedom. I wanted to be a musician as far back as I can remember. I come from a musical family. My Grandpa was a great lover of opera and played the mandolin. He had one of the first phonographs in his town and many townspeople would go to my Grandpa's house to listen to music.

My father played the mouth harp since he was a child - no not a harp you put in your mouth, but a harmonica. According to my parents, I developed an interest in music at age 3. My parents tell me that I would fashion anything I could get my wee hands on and make it musical. At age 5, I started taking accordion lessons, then guitar lessons at age 6. Early on, I would "hear" music in my mind.

At age 11, I started my first rock group. During my teenage years I studied classical piano. In high school, I saw a Marx Brothers movie. I was amazed by the way Harpo played the harp. From then on I knew I had found the instrument of my life. There was a harp teacher nearby and I began taking harp lessons. My classical piano training made it easier to learn the harp. In college, I bought a folk harp and was the musical director for several plays and musicals. I also did arranging for bands that wanted orchestras with their music and worked at the studios in Radio City Music Hall.

I graduated Stony Brook University in New York with a degree in Economics, went on to earn a Master's degree in Applied Mathematics, then went to Law School, passed the New York State bar exam and began a law practice. Practicing law, although a noble profession, was interesting but I missed music. For enjoyment, I would often bring my harp into the subways of New York City and play for rushing commuters.

One day I was introduced to Atahualpa Poalasin, an incredible harp master from Ecuador. I was thrilled at how he could make the harp do things I never imagined and his playing was spellbinding. Atahualpa took me on as a student and I became his protégé'. For five years I studied with Atahualpa and learned so much from him. Although Atahualpa knew little English, we both spoke the language of music. He honored me by giving me his harp that he had when he was a child. I attribute much of my playing style from Atahualpa.

The world of harps is very diverse. I have found that there are many talented harpist who play all kinds of music. I studied with the legendary Jazz harpist Daphne Hellman and with pop-harpist Dwayne Fulton. They rounded out my education of the versatility of the harp.

At one time I owned 15 harps from all around the world - Classical Pedal harps, Irish harps, Oriental harps, South American harps and more. I noticed how many advances were being made with keyboards, guitars and other instruments regarding MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface); but the harp had remained unchanged for centuries. I embarked upon building the world's first Electronic MIDI harp with the help of Florida State University's Center for Music Research. With this new instrument and my other harps, I recorded several albums which were successes.

I made music a full time career. I performed all over the North America. I was honored to have received many testimonials as to how my music has had a positive impact on people's lives.

In the late 90's I was rear-ended on a California freeway and was injured. That was the end of my performing for some time as the healing process took a number of years. However, this turned out to be a blessing. I was led to start a music software business and pioneered many innovations in software musical instruments. This software was used by many top-name acts, Hollywood and TV, a staple in Universities and Conservatories. It was also licensed to Apple, Microsoft, SONY, MakeMusic and many other companies. My products have received many industry awards and accolades.

I sold my software company to MakeMusic, the makers of the popular music notation program - Finale. Since then I have retired and moved to Florida.

The main places that I play are at memory care, senior living facilities and non-profits. It's one way of giving back for the wonderful blessings I've experienced in my life. There often is no charge for my playing for non-profits, but I do accept a limited number of paid gigs.

I truly believe playing the harp is what I was put on earth to do. Music is my art, my joy and my purpose in life and I want to share music with others. Imagination, helping others, playfulness - all in one. The harp is associated with healing, tranquility, peacefulness, and many positive things.

Harp music helps people.