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I can’t get anything done because I can’t stop playing my harp! This was it’s “coming out” week. The harp ensemble members loved it and thought it was just my color and size, and of course, loved the sound. My Irish trio loved the sound and said “Now, that’s what a harp sounds like." I felt I was offering so much more to my Hospice patients with it’s rich resonance and finally, last night at a reception performance with the trio, I plugged in. It boomed across the room and my band member said she could even hear it in the bathroom :)) and that was with the volume between 1-2! Picture on right is Michael Rooney approving of Lorinda's new harp.
- Lorinda Jones, Kentucky 2019

Update on Lorinda and her harp: I was amazed today. This was a really nice retirement community in Louisville and they had about 200 guests total coming in for a Mother’s day Luncheon. I was initially worried about my placement in the room, but once I started playing everyone said they could hear me and I received so many compliments. It was a huge room plus the noise of serving food, visiting with family guests, etc. I did not use my mic! Just loving my harp. Thank you!!

Here's my first video with my new harp. I love it so much! If you listen with headphones or a desktop computer, you can hear the resonance and bass.I didn't have to add any reverb at all - that's ALL the harp! (Of course, this is no surprise to you - but I still can't get over it). I LOVE it! Sincerely,
- Nadia Pessoa

I received the harp just a little while ago and am absolutely in love with it!
It arrived safely and sounds heavenly.
Thank you so much again for all your help and hard work making my harp!
I could not be happier and am looking forward to playing lots of beautiful music on my new harp.

- Rachel Oblouk-California

Thank you so much for creating this beautiful harp. The sound is so beautiful, the resonance of the instrument is just gorgeous. I love everything about the harp - the sound, the color, the shape, the feel of the wood. It's so hard buying an instrument without trying it in person - but if I had gotten the chance to try it, its the harp I would have chosen.
- Linda Schubel, North Carolina 2019

I received my harp and I literally can't stop playing it. It's my new best friend! I love how the strings just pop so easily off of my fingers, and the depth of sound is unbelievable for such a small frame. I am overwhelmed with how perfect it is! Thank you so much for your talents and outstanding customer service. I can't wait to see where this harp takes me!
Happy Holidays!
Olivia

After placing an order for a Ceili back in October I noticed a Thormahlen ad in the Folk Harp Journal. It was a picture of a Ceili with text that said "your dream harp." I clipped it out and pinned it up. When my Ceili arrived and I started to play I found it to be true! This instrument was my dream harp! I can't wait to go amp shopping and bring it to the dance music scene!
- Clara Stickney, Portland, ME (with her light-up ceili)

Dear Mr. and Mrs.Thormahlen,
I would like to thank you again for making me such a wonderful harp! I named her Weegie from our trip to Glasgow to audition at RCS. You made my harp for me so I could have a travel harp to audition with for college. I have been accepted to Berklee College of Music in Boston! I am extremely excited to start this fall at one of the most prestigious music colleges in the U.S.. It is an amazing opportunity and I do not know if I would have been accepted without your harp. I mean that quite literally; in part of my arrangement for a tune I switch hands so my right hand is an octave lower on the strings than my right hand (which is an octave higher than it usually is) and that is more difficult to accomplish on my other harp. I will also be taking my Thormahlen harp with me to college and am ecstatic to begin learning there.
Another bit of information that you might like is I played your harp at the competitions I was in last summer. At the New Hampshire Highland Games, I came in first for the Masters level and I ended up coming in second place for the National Scottish Harp Champion of America at the Stone Mountain Highland Games!
Thank you so much for making wonderful harps!
Sincerely, Rhiannon

Thank you for the opportunity to have and play one of your beautiful harps. I love my Ceili. Over the past four months, she and I have come to know one another better and better. She is truly a piece of masterful craftsmanship and a thing of beauty. And the sound is warm and bright. I couldn't be any happier.  With Gratitude,
- Caroline Passaerotti, Oregon 2021

I love everything about this harp, and one of the things I like most is the consistency of tone quality. Playing it is a sensual experience, like cutting through soft butter or snuggling into smooth suede. The resonance is so rich that the Ceili almost seems amplified. The light string tension is easy on my hands. The velvety sound quality of the Ceili has me noodling and enjoying my harp experience more, constantly composing. It definitely brings out my creativity. I love the extreme light weight and portability, and gorgeous profile. It stands well on its feet and fits into a small car! Thanks, Dave and Sharon -- you have come up with a jewel that will fulfill many harper's dreams."
- Carolyn Deal, North Carolina

I absolutely LOVE my gorgeous Ceili harp!! I got one with folk gut strings and the sound is superb, so warm and luscious! The harp is also so comfortable to play- I feel I could go on for hours, without fatigue or pain and that is huge for someone with musculoskeletal issues like me. After putting on some new strings, I just finished regulating the harp- MYSELF! I couldn't believe how easy it was! I love the Camac levers on the Ceili! And, I can't say enough good things about the Thormahlens' customer service. They will bend over backwards to make sure the customer is totally satisfied! Thanks Sharon and Dave for my beautiful harp and the great service! You will definitely see more of me in the near future.
- Amelia Gerlach, North Carolina

Just want to let you you know I love my new harp and everything about it...it is gorgeous, the sound is beautiful and it is very comfortable to play!!! I look forward to playing it everyday! Thanks again for everything!
- Emily Benziger 2018

I am so enjoying my Walnut Ceili Mor. We just returned from Scotland and Ireland where we heard lots of wonderful music but really missed my harps and my husband and I were so glad to get back to our Thormahlen instruments.
- Susan Vaughn, Oregon

The harp stork brought me a new black Ceili and I'm just crazy about the huge sound, fluorocarbon strings, and it only weighs 18 pounds. It's just so nice having a smaller, lighter harp to play the Grainne stuff.
- Kathy Chanik, Virginia

It’s 10:40 on a Thursday night and I CAN’T STOP PLAYING MY HARP! I love it! I may just send these “ I love it” emails every few months for the next 70 years!
- Kim Lambert, California

So Kim has been sending us "I Love My Harp" emails. We love it! Here's the latest one in July of 2020:

I wanted to thank you (again...) for my lovely instrument! It’s been five years this month and I have not, even for a second, thought.... hmmmm, should I have gotten this? Not for a second! Not only have I been finding solace in playing my harp during quarantine, but I played for my dying friend a couple of weeks ago (letting quarantine fall to the wayside as, well, dying trumps pandemic) which brought he and his family comfort and escape. I love my harp and feel so blessed to have it. It is a wonderfully rich, full instrument which helps me feel happy every time I sit down to play. And I play every day with out fail. Often several times a day. I just finished in fact, and had a big happy sigh (after zipping through Kim Robertson’s Highland Heart’s tune book).

I hope you are both staying safe,
Thank you again,
Kim Lambert

I cannot let another day pass without telling you how much I totally love the koa Clare harp I picked up at Southeastern harp weekend. I was smitten the moment the case was opened and saw how beautiful it is. But, oh the sound, just takes my breath away! Here we are a month after Southeast and I can hardly bear to put that harp down. I have OCH, obsessive compulsive harp! I am ever so grateful for this harp. Everything about it is simply wonderful and I thank you for the fine craftsmanship and beauty of sight and sound of this harp. Many blessings to you!
- Anna Marie MacArthur

I've had the problem for some time of my harp getting somehow heavier and heavier each year. My harp had somehow gained weight over the years...I just brought home a beautiful Thormahlen Ceili from Sharon and Dave in Corvallis, OR. It has a lovely big and bright tone and weighs 19 lbs. I'm adjusting to the difference in string spacing and tension, and that process is going well. Y'all know I've been a Dusty girl - I've owned six of them over the years, and I will of course keep my gorgeous FH36 bubinga for local concerts. And I've got a lovely Rees Corlieu double-strung that I love to play. Now I've got a Thormahlen Ceili and my family is complete!
- Beth in cold, cloudy Seattle, WA 2017

I am LOVING my Clare - it is astounding how much sound this harp puts out!! So far, I have done two programs and two concerts with it and I didn't even need my amplifier - wowzers!!! It is effortless to play and the sound is so mellow and full. I am going to make a YouTube video as soon as things settle down around here after Somerset. I am playing for a wedding at Laguna Beach this Saturday and I am sure she will sing beautifully - I have named her St. Cecilia.
- Joanna Mell, California

I thought I would just take a moment and let you know how much I am enjoying the new Clare. My back feels so much better! It is a joy to play - it practically plays itself. Very compact and lightweight and HUGE sound. Don't know how Dave does that. It had its debut at a very high level gig this weekend - Kerry Irish Productions provided the entertainment at an event at Hollywood & Highland in LA (Hollywood) and everyone loved the sound of the harp. I so enjoy playing it. It is a delight - I now sit down and play every day. Thanks so much. Thanks,
- Joanna Mell, California

I've already gotten to play my new Ceili three places: an art gallery reception, a farmers' market, and a prayer service. I used my amp at the outdoor market.
It was so easy to just plug into the harp. Yeah! The other two places I didn't use my amp, but the harp sounded so rich and full. The sound really filled up the rooms. Everybody loves the new harp. Tell Dave he's a genius for getting the beautiful, full voice of the harp into such a comfortable size. I don't feel like I compromised anything by getting a smaller-sized harp, and I gained a lot because it fits me so well.
- Linda Brown, California

You made my day, Sharon. The harp really is gorgeous. It's the perfect size and the sound...to think its still quite new and that the sound will just mature. Lovely. So very different with Folk Gut strings and far more my style.

And a few months later, this is what Isabelle said:

What a great little harp.I cannot tell you how pleased I am with this instrument – I had lots of time to play it over the past few weeks and I have to say that she and I have truly bonded! I’m thrilled with my Clare, I adore her!

And another few months later, this is what Isabelle said:

I hope you're doing well! I wanted to write to you, once again, to share with you my experience of playing the Clare that Dave built for me. I cannot tell you how much I am enjoying this instrument. I had no idea that
playing could be this much fun! I love everything about it. I brought it with me to the shores of Lake Huron this summer and got to play outside on the deck, while watching the waves. It was a surreal experience - so
pleasant. So thank you, for taking the lead in building a harp with a narrower string spacing using gut strings and for building such a gorgeous harp at the same time. The spacing, as it turns out, is perfect for my hands. I always had issues reaching for strings (very small hands) and my teacher, Sharlene Wallace, is perpetually moving chords around to accommodate them, but this harp allows me to play things I couldn't before. Just lovely.
-Isabelle Raue, Canada

2009 I just want to let you know my Koa Ceili-Mor arrived today. It is a beautiful instrument. The feel is soft and easy and the tone is just as you described it - bell-like. I have fallen in love with it and know that I will have many hours of playing enjoyment. Thank you very much for all your advice and help and for this lovely harp. I'm glad you made a video of unboxing the harp. That is certainly one sturdy package, and with your guide I had no trouble unpacking and reassembling the box.
- Margery Manuli, Virginia

See more from Margery below

My new Ceili has surprising volume and I love the tone, brightness, clarity, ease of playing, design and so far, everything about it! The string spacing is a bit less than on my other harp, so that will take some getting used to, but I think it's worth it. Considering the temperature change, it arrived in fairly good tune. The ease of the tuning pegs surprised me. They are very sensitive, compared to my Salvi. And what a gorgeous carrying case you sent with it! Thank you. This harp is a dream come true for me and I'm grateful for all your patience in working with me to pick it out.
A very happy new Thormahlen harp owner : )
- Suzanne Ludlam, Vermont

The harp arrived and is as beautiful as I could want. The sound side by side with my other harp is so much more resonant, sweeter, vibrant and clearer. It's such a different experience playing it. It's incredible. The bass notes are wonderful and rich, the treble clear and bright and warm, and the odd difference between wound bass strings and nylon strings on my other harp doesn't exist on this harp - it's consistent throughout the full range. It feels so uplifting and healing resonating against my body. Thank you and your husband for such a beautiful thing.
- Susan Beal, Vermont

More from Margery

2011 Playing my new Koa Ceili-Mor has been a joy - it is physically so much easier to play than my other harps, and the tone is absolutely lovely. I took the new harp out for my first gig on St. Patrick's Day, and got a lot of positive comments about the music. That's saying something in a restaurant where the music is generally in the background. And there was a lot of admiration for the look of the instrument itself, all the beautiful craftsmanship. I have since taken it to church and again people admired the harp itself as well as appreciating the music. Several of my friends, who have heard my other harps in the same setting, commented that the tone of the Ceili-Mor is outstanding, and noticeably different from the others. One said the sound was sweeter and more pleasant, and carried well without amplification. I think the koa makes all the difference. I am so pleased with my new harp and very glad I gave in to the temptation to buy it. Thank you again for your helpful and friendly service. The Ceili-Mor is a wonderful harp, and it is a pleasure to play.
- Margery Manuli, Virginia

2013 Margery continues to be a satisfied customer: You might remember me as the customer who bought a lovely koa wood Ceili-Mor several years back. I continue to enjoy playing the harp immensely, and would like to express my thanks as a satisfied customer and musician.
- Margery Manuli, Virginia

I just wanted to let you know that I received my brand new Ceili this week and I am absolutely loving it. The sound is gorgeous and it is so easy to play! I had been having some wrist and hand pain after long practice/performance sessions with my previous harp and it looks like those will be things of the past. The height on the harp (with the tall feet) is also perfect (for me) - I can sit in a variety of chairs without having to hunch awkwardly. Thanks again for your excellent customer service and this beautiful harp.
- Sarah Merrigan

From Jack London's autobiography (Martin Eden): "He was a harp; all life that he had known and that was his consciousness was the strings; and the flood of music was a wind that poured against those strings and set them vibrating with memories and dreams." My ensemble, the Valley Harpers, practiced outside last summer, We got excited every time the wind made our strings sing.
- Debbie Crist, Nevada

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