about halley weaver
I was bornin Anacortes on Fidalgo Island in the Puget Sound of Washington state during the passing of the comet of which I share my namesake. Since then, I have slept on various couches, beds and beaches in Bellingham, Boston & Amherst, MA; Key West, FL; San Diego, CA; Moscow, St. Petersburg & Lomonosov, RU; Copenhagen, DK; Seeley Lake, Ronan, Missoula, Kalispell, Billings & Bozeman, MT; Pacific City, OR; Ogden & Salt Lake City, UT; Vancouver & Powell River, BC; and tent-side all over Washington state... just to name a few. I now calls Portland, OR my home.
about harping
I got my first harp in December 1998, a 26 string Rosewood Pakistani lap harp. I enthusiastically worked my way through Sylvia Wood's "Teach Yourself to Play the Harp" work book and by spring performed in my school's production of "A Lion, a Witch and a Wardrobe" playing magical forest music and my school's spring choir concert during the song "When You Believe" from Disney's Prince of Egypt. From then on, I became a fixture with my school choir, performing that winter during "A Celtic Gloria" and holiday tunes before the concert.
In June 2000, I performed for my first audience of over 1500 people, alongside two violists. That August, I met Philip Boulding of Magical Strings during the Anacortes Arts Festival and began a relationship that has lasted almost ten years. (With the harp, not the man, though he is an awesome person to know)
In the summer of 2002, I became an active member in the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), where, upon seeing me at the Highland Games in Mt. Vernon, WA I now recall that they basically kidnapped me for the next two years,. I performed at countless events, feasts and revelries where I shared a tent with my maple companion.
During that time I was performing regularly at a senior Alzheimer's care facility, Irish pubs and other locations in Skagit and Snohomish counties. (Washington state)
In 2004, I moved to Boston where I gained a ton of life experience, none of which is relevant here.
So what about the last five years, you ask? Let me give you a speedy synopsis: Moved to Utah. Got married. Worked for a church. Worked with a wedding planner as harpist. Focused on costuming and art. Got apartment. Got divorced. Made a friend who convinced me to move to Portland with him in January 2008. Best decision in my life.