Meet Laurel McConkey | Harpist, Singer & Pianist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Laurel McConkey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Laurel, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I can’t remember a time when there wasn’t music in my life. One of my earliest memories is waking up to J.S. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor blaring on the stereo. I was picking out melodies on the piano by the time I was four, although I didn’t start formal lessons until I was ten years old. There was always music playing in my home, and I would dance around the living room to the music of The Nutcracker or other great classical works and sing along with legendary Peruvian singer Yma Sumac. By the time I was seven I knew that I wanted to be a professional singer.

I had the good fortune to attend West High School in Phoenix, AZ, which had an incredible music department. I sang in choir all four years, acted in musicals and accompanied my friends on the piano during UIL competitions. One day when I was a sophomore I heard on the morning announcements that there were openings for harp students, piano background recommended. Truthfully my dream instrument was the pipe organ, but since that wasn’t available, I decided to learn how to play the harp instead, and by my senior year I was playing in the school orchestra and made All-State Orchestra.

As much as I felt that I should major in something more practical than music in college, I kept ruling out majoring in other things that I enjoyed, such as science, because I knew I wouldn’t have time for music if I pursued such an intense academic major. When I finally decided to major in music and announced it to my friends, their reaction was, “Well duh, no surprise there!” My principal instrument was voice, with a secondary in harp, and I graduated from the University of North Texas with a degree in choral music education. I then worked as a singing waitress, did singing telegrams, auditioned for opera and musical theater companies, performed in dinner theaters throughout Florida, did summer stock in Wichita, Kansas, and toured nationally in a production of A Christmas Carol. Although I occasionally subbed for other harpists at their restaurant gigs and played now and then with regional and church orchestras, I wasn’t pursuing a career as a harpist. That all changed when the Westin Galleria Hotel opened and needed harp music nightly. The pay was much better than performing in another bus and truck tour, and soon I was also playing for weddings, cocktail parties, grand openings and other events. Although I still occasionally perform as a singer in opera productions and recitals, I have been performing primarily as a harpist since 1984 and now own three full-sized pedal harps and a Celtic harp. When I’m not performing, I teach piano. I love getting children excited about music and playing the piano!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I believe that playing the harp was my destiny, even though my original goal was to be a singer/actress. The doors just kept opening up to me as a harpist and I walked through them all. Along the way I have played for all sorts of wonderful events and for numerous dignitaries, ranging from Van Cliburn to Pres. George W. Bush to Jane Goodall. I’m especially proud of playing in the pickup orchestra for Ray Charles on two different occasions when he performed in Dallas. Ray Charles was a perfectionist, so the fact that I was asked to play with him more than once means a lot to me! I’m known for my versatility and ability to play everything from Beethoven and Debussy to Big Band, Broadway, Classic Rock, Bollywood and music by contemporary artists such as Taylor Swift and Beyonce. Although I mostly perform as a soloist for various events, I also play and sing backup with Nova Pangea, a World Music/Rock Fusion Band. I never imagined that little girl me, who preferred Bach to Rock, would some day love playing and singing in a rock band!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
When close friends from out of town come to visit we generally sit around the kitchen table chatting into the wee hours, although we also enjoy going out to eat. Favorite spots include Gloria’s, El Vecino, Scalini’s Pizza and Pasta, Hook, Line and Sinker, Table 13, Ozona’s, Norma’s Cafe and Ginger Thai. I live less than two miles from the Dallas Arboretum so I often take friends there. It’s such a beautiful place and I love the seasonal displays. Going to Reunion Tower is on the must do list if one has never been to Dallas. The views are phenomenal!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to dedicate my shoutout to Mr. Huff, the amazing choir director at West High School in Phoenix, AZ who inspired everyone who ever had the opportunity to work with him, Mr. Marshall, the band director at West High School who went out of his way to open doors for me as a harpist, my wonderful piano teacher Henrietta Lundquist, who understood that I loved to be challenged and reassured me that I could always find work as a musician, my superb harp teacher Charles Kleinsteuber, who not only challenged me as a harpist, but was also like a second dad to me while I was a student at UNT, and especially my husband, Phillip Allen, who I met on a tour of A Christmas Carol when he was the stage manager and I was in the cast. Not only has Phil supported me on all of my musical and theatrical endeavors, he has created all of my promotional materials, coached me on auditions, created my videos on YouTube, and willingly moved my harp no matter how bad the weather or difficult the terrain.

Website: http://aharpist.com

Instagram: @ldmharpist

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurel-mcconkey-3324ab11/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HarpSoul

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ldmharpist