“You have to work like the devil to play like an angel,” Carlos Salzédo — the foremost harpist of the early 20th century — once said of his chosen instrument. For local high school junior Lucy Ruse, the angelic sound of her Celtic harp is the result of both diligent practice and a music-writing ability that recently won her national distinction.
She learned of the music writing competition by the Scottish Harp Society through her harp circle instructor, Alix Baldwin, the instrumental director at Oakcrest School — an independent Catholic liberal arts school in Vienna for girls grades 6–12, which Lucy attends. The competition marked the society’s 40th anniversary in 2022. She was interested immediately, since the pandemic had effectively shuttered the in-person competition circuit.
The first task for Lucy: a crash course from Baldwin in musical composition.
“It was funny, because she was going to teach me the basics of how to write a song,” said Lucy, a parishioner of St. Catherine of Siena Church in Great Falls. “But then, while she was getting paper for me to write on, I was just doodling on the harp, and I just made a little tune.” Baldwin immediately whipped out her cell phone to record it. “Wait; that’s really good,” Baldwin said. “We can work with that.”
After some technicalities and tweaking, Ruse’s melody — titled “Equinox” — was officially entered.
And then she promptly forgot about the contest.
“There’s all these amazing harpists,” said Lucy, who has played harp since sixth grade. “It was not even on our radar that I would win. I completely forgot about it until they said, ‘You won.’ ”
Lucy was exiting a harp lesson when her mother, Cathy Ruse, approached to tell her she had an important call. “It just happened that Lucy’s best friends were standing around,” Cathy said. “So, they got to watch her hear the news.”
“I am extremely proud of what Lucy has accomplished here,” Baldwin said. “This competition was open to all members of the Harp Society, worldwide, and there were many entries. Lucy’s excellent slip jig shows real understanding of the harp and the Celtic style, and was the result of a lot of hard work.”
One of the judges explained why she chose “Equinox” as the winning entry: “It was the most playful, new-yet-old, easy to grasp entry” — and apt for the organization’s anniversary celebration. Another judge said, “Lucy’s tune was original and creative. It was a wee bit playful and different.”
In addition to the harp, Lucy — who hopes to attend the University of Dallas — plays flute and piano, and sings. She also has written a novel — and is working on her second — and has produced an extensive art portfolio.
“She surprised us at age 6,” said Cathy. “She just sat at the piano and started playing Christmas carols, without making mistakes. Every teacher she’s had has said that Lucy has an amazing musical ear.”
For Ruse, music also has a faith dimension — in fact, she hopes her talents will carry her to World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal, in August, by booking a steady stream of gigs to raise funds. “I can so easily connect beautiful music to God. God is beauty and truth, and so music is like a prayer,” she said. “Anything you do can be a prayer to God.”
Heatherington is a freelancer in Alexandria.
Hear the song
Go to the Dec. 4 posts on the Scottish Harp Society of America Facebook page to hear Lucy Ruse’s “Equinox” performed at a slower tempo for demonstration purposes: facebook.com/groups/ScottishHarpSocietyofAmerica
