By Nina Zipkin

Gillian Grassie, harpist, songwriter and Bryn Mawr junior, placed second in the New York Songwriters Circle (NYSC) contest in New York City on November 5. NYSC is an organization dedicated to discovering and supporting young songwriters and musicians. NYSC has helped launch the careers of many musicians, including Norah Jones and Gavin DeGraw. Grassie and the 11 other finalists in this prestigious competition performed at the Bitter End in Manhattan for a panel of judges composed of respected musicians in the industry, including David Barnes and Grammy award-winner Marc Cohn.

“I submitted my songs shortly before the deadline and thought it was a bit of a long shot,” says Grassie. “I got the call saying I was a finalist while I was doing some recording in Florida during fall break, and it’s been a bit of a whirlwind since then. The competition has given me a chance to perform in front of and connect with people to whom I wouldn’t otherwise have access, and that’s the most valuable part of this competition for me.”

Grassie’s prizes for winning second place included $3,000, a free session in a recording studio, and the opportunity to perform in NYSC’s showcase series. Her song “Silken String” will appear on the next NYSC compilation album.

Grassie, a comparative literature major, describes her sound as “jazz-minded indie folk/pop.” She finds inspiration in many people and places, especially poets like Philip Larkin. “Silken String” came to her subconsciously. “I actually dreamed the whole pre-chorus and chorus and then built the rest of the song around a guy I met at a gas station once. Usually I have to work a bit harder to get the songs out.”

Grassie, who wants to pursue a career in the music industry, has had many years to perfect her writing process, in addition to her technical skill. “I have wanted to play the harp for as long as I can remember…My family had trouble finding a harp teacher for a long time, and so I didn’t actually get to start taking lessons until I was twelve. A wonderful harpist and Curtis Institute graduate, Janet Witman, played a concert at my Quaker meeting and she became my teacher for the next eight years. I studied classical pedal harp and Celtic harp with her and she has been incredibly supportive,” says Grassie.

According to Grassie, it is an exciting time to be a harpist, with the harp finding its way into the sounds of popular contemporary artists such as Joanna Newsom, Björk and John Legend, with whom she recently had the opportunity to work.

In addition to performing live and collaborating with other artists, Grassie released an EP in 2005 and a debut album, Serpentine, in 2007, her sophomore year.

In writing the album, she focused on consistency. “An album is a much more cohesive undertaking and I wanted there to be a relationship between the songs, with common themes lyrically and sonically.” With the album completed, Grassie has had the opportunity to share her music further. “It feels good to have a full-length recording under my belt. The songs have continued to evolve as I play them in live settings, and it was great taking them out on the road for a proper tour in June."

Grassie boasts an impressive musical résumé, with a highly praised debut recording and numerous live shows under her belt, but the NYSC contest was her first songwriting competition. “There was a time in my life when I was heavily involved in the Scottish harp competition circuit, although I haven’t been very active in that scene for a while now. [But] I really enjoy performing and don’t really get nervous, which is nice. It was a very exciting evening,”

For Grassie, music is all about communication and making a connection. “Songwriting has sort of become the way that I process and make sense of my life and the world at large. Sometimes I’ll have an experience or memory or image that keeps nagging at me, but I can’t make sense of, and I can work out the big picture through the songwriting process…[and] performing is something I’ve loved for a long, long time. I love the feeling of being on stage, and on those nights when you make a real connection with the audience – it’s amazing, it’s like falling in love, hard, with a hundred people, in the same moment.”

Related articles

• BMC Student Harpist Releases Second Album
• Moaning Myrtles’ Nina Jankowicz BMC ‘11 Releases Solo Album
• Learning to Listen, Delighted to Hear
• In Brief
• New Albums from the Arcade Fire and LCD Soundsystem
• The Buzz: 2008 in Music
• HC Recording Studio Project Rekindled
• Upcoming Performances at The Point:
• Chamber Singers Holiday Show
• Allegra Fletcher Artist Profile