ISFHC History

Robbie's discovery of the harp:

Roland "Robbie" Robinson discovered the folk harp while in South America in the late 1950’s while in Brazil on a two-year tour with the USAID ( US Agency for International Development).

Robbie wrote, "While walking through the streets of Rio, I became aware of this new sound which seemed to emanate from everywhere. Incredible arpeggios, technical flourishes, tremolos, percussive sounds, bells, flutes, indeed the sounds of hundreds of instruments seemed to come from that harp."

"Since that day in Rio, nothing about my life has been as it was. The harp became an obsession which possessed me. I had to study it - it's music, it's construction, it's history and the cultures that spawned it. The harp ruined me professionally and financially. I became a hermit on my mountain so that nothing could interfere with my research, study, experimentation, and romance with the harp. I found my niche on Earth and it seemed that nothing else mattered."

The Folk Harp Journal is Born

A born writer and teacher, Robbie envisioned a Folk Harp Society that would provide a means of communication among the folk harp community. In 1973 he wrote, typed and published the first Folk Harp Journal (FHJ). With the assistance of occasional Guest Editors, the Robinsons published the FHJ quarterly for twelve years.

"People asked questions! The same questions hundreds of times. Where can you get this - or that? How do you string a harp? How do you position the sharping levers? We decided to answer everybody's questions by publishing a magazine, the 'Folk Harp Journal', which would contain plans, sources, music, articles, etc."

"There was nothing particularly good, or fancy, about my harps. People just wanted harps. At that time I thought I was the only harp maker in the world. People came from Germany, from England, and from Ireland. The pathways to Mr. Laguna became worn."

In 1980 Robbie proclaimed the creation of the Society of Folk Harpers and Craftsmen. In FHJ #28 he wrote “ . . . our aim should be to strengthen the foundation of our activities, to stimulate and encourage regional activities, to advance our research into the past of our instrument, folk music, and identify the folks who have meant so much to the continued, though tenuous, survival of the folk harp. Mainly it should help to get folks started, and to progress – to the enrichment of their lives, and ours."

The establishment of the ISFHC

Linda Bruce, Sylvia Woods and Sylvia Fellows assumed the daunting task of obtaining a non-profit status. In 1986 the International Society of Folk Harpers and Craftsmen, Inc. (ISFHC) was formally established as a California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation. The Articles of Incorporation includes the following statement: “The specific purpose of this corporation is to educate, cultivate, promote, foster, sponsor, and develop among members and the general public an appreciation of the folk harp as a musical instrument and living cultural tradition; to develop and improve the quality of the instrument itself and of its related components by educating harp makers and encouraging communication between them; to encourage the composition and performance of music for the folk harp; and through education to improve the quality of performance of harpers.” The ISFHC continues to follow these guidelines.

"In spite of our efforts to satisfy a seemingly endless thirst for knowledge about the harp, the mail pours in, the people keep coming. They fly to the San Diego airport, rent cars and drive to Mt. Laguna, and I am no longer a hermit, nor am I rich - but I am happy. I am very happy.

We extend our deepest appreciation and graditude to