Rita Linck

Harpist

Rita Linck began her study of the harp at a young age, already having several years background in piano and music theory. She performed in numerous venues as a child, including Indiana University's First Annual Harp Competition, and as guest performer for the University of Kentucky Symphony. She continued her pursuit of technical brilliance with Patricia Pence-Sokoloff at Salem College, and has studied with many of today's masters, including Mildred Dilling, Alice Chalifoux, and Carol Hahn. Performance credits include tours with Columbia's Concert Artists series, the Atlanta Opera, the North Carolina Symphony, and the Lexington Philharmonic.

An injury in college, and the resultant carpal tunnel syndrome, led to significant nerve damage in both hands. After several years of therapy, Rita is returning to her concert career on a more limited scale. This project, Out of Time, an exploration of both medieval and modern tones and textures, is the culmination of a lifetime of performances, from childhood to more recent times.

"I have no memories of my life before I could read music. This is a blessing and a curse. Blessing: I am fluent in this beautiful language of the soul; the translation from mind to fingers is generally instantaneous. Curse: In my workshops, I bring a Celtic harper friend to teach "aural" tradition to fledgling harpists, and it may be twenty years before I make the leap to improv."

"I'm sure some psychologist somewhere has thoroughly explained the trauma of career-ending injuries, but I'm at a loss to communicate the depth of this heart-ending experience. My journey through tendonitis and carpal tunnel (before these were media sound-bites) to eventual numbness paralleled a gradual stripping of self - self-awareness, self-confidence, self-identity. Having lived a life defined by my harpistic identity (read: otherness), somehow, my turbulent soul defined the loss of a career as the loss of all music: period."

"Years later, I met a very different type of artist, who defines his career based on his own ideals, and not upon the accolades bestowed through competition and commercialism; and yet has received the admiration of his peers. This recording is my initiation into this realm. Every piece is a landmark in my journey through music. I want to show you the amazing kinship between early and modern music - the two might be sisters instead of distant relatives. I hope to show you the astounding beauty in both, and the emotional depth of notes that do not always follow tonal "rules." And I pray you come to love these sisters as family - not always comfortable, but familiar in their quirks, joys, and fears."

"As always, this future was first determined by my parents, Ray and Kathy, who yielded to the pleas of a child pianist who suddenly chose harp (?) as a primary instrument, drove me to lessons and competitions, and then supported my decision to re-enter this realm after many years' hiatus. My borzoi, Nickolai, Pixie, and Isis, daily remind me of the joy of play, and write symphonies in the movement of their dance and the mystery of their song."