Re: [Harp-L] Cigar Harp update and breakthrough




On Apr 9, 2008, at 7:33 PM, <venkyr@xxxxxxx> <venkyr@xxxxxxx> wrote:

Also, at the recent Buckeye Harmonica convention we had a juggler play a bunch of harps perfectly.


Great entertainment value!

As a general rule I neither crave someone whom thrashes around on stage nor do I fully appreciate someone who stands there and presents their performance with all the aplomb of a corpse.


While there are people whom don't like funny gimmicky hats, outlandish outfits, and overly accentuated gestures, there are also those who want to know that the player is at the very least..alive.

The person you refer to is the GREAT..and here we go again with the 'what do you want to be known as'.. Michael Runyan. Doctor Michael Runyan, in fact. In MY estimation, he would be known by the same term that 'I' would love to be known as. Namely..UNDER RATED.

Michael performed at the spah Milwaukee 2007 and did another novelty act dressed as a cowboy. The amount of harp switching (all types of harps) was stunning. It definitely required all the practice and coreography and timed movements that Michael Behn would have needed to do the fancy pistolero work in the movie 'Tombstone'.

Meanwhile, Michael is a premier player. Not always a novelty player. When necessary, he is capable of playing with the likes of Marvin Hamlish, Andre Previn, Burt Bachrach. He is the trustee of the archives of the Indianapolis symphony (of which he is a member). He also does the arranging. He has played with the Windsor Ont., Pgh., Phila, Houston symphonies (and many more).

We're not talking the Zamboanga, Antofagasta, or Prudoe Bay symphonies. We're talking some serious gigs here. I am waiting for his first CD. But like me, he has shelved it several times. I can't wait to hear him do his renditions of: 'Variations on a Pagannini Theme by Rachmaninov, OR 'Interlude in the Afternoon of a Faun' (aka Moonlight, OR.. Claire de Lune), by Claude DeBusey (NOT Gary Busey), OR 'These Precious Moments..on the Warsaw Concerto'

Shy and quiet offstage with a presence not unlike a systems analyst, he really changes once on stage.

Yes, it was great having Michael get some recognition from spah. That's what we need more of. More new faces.

Be sure to check out his website. Just Google Mike Runyan

just my opinion...smokey joe



________________
Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org
Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx
http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l

!DSPAM:5614,47fd526430383880910095!







This archive was generated by a fusion of Pipermail 0.09 (Mailman edition) and MHonArc 2.6.8.