Gentle Heart, Gentle Hands
Photos c/o Connie Uejio
Constance “Connie” Uejio (née Harding) comes alive when the subject turns to the lovely music she hears and plays on harp, organ, and piano. Principal harpist with Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra (HSO) — retiring this year — has herself come a long way — Reading, PA — to share the special moments that happen, to both performer and audience, when her gentle hands touch the gentle heart of a big, bulky stringed instrument that has its roots dating back to ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt.
Like many of her peers, the talented musical prodigy of a Lutheran pastor took to playing early — age three to seven — and even performed a piano solo of Haydn’s “Concerto in D Major” alongside the Reading Symphony when she was all of 11.
By the time the Eastman School of Music alumna made it to the islands in the late 1970s — husband Glenn is a Kalani graduate, fellow musician, former St. Andrew’s Priory trustee, and part of the culturally significant Slipper House family dynasty at Ala Moana Shopping Center — she was ready for much more.
She got to play harp her first Christmas in Hawai’i, accompanying the women of the Lutheran Church of Honolulu choir on a moving rendition of Benjamin Britten’s “Ceremony of Carols,” with a CD to follow, then Peter Hallock’s “Phoenix,” among so many other memorable shows.
But, let’s hear from Connie Uejio herself…
“September 2020, during COVID, I played a concerto, live-streamed, with a small group at the Hawai’i Theatre…no audience [physically there]…”
What lovely thoughts! Thank you! I try to be positive, thinking good thoughts, and trying to help others.
It’s a long way from Reading, PA. What brought you to the islands in 1978? When you arrived with your husband Glenn Uejio (his family owned the Slipper House at Ala Moana), what were your first impressions?
My husband is a “local boy” from Kaimuki, graduated from Kalani High School in 1965. He went off to the Eastman School of Music, in Rochester, N.Y., graduated, and went into the United States Marine Corps. After serving, he headed back to Eastman for his Masters of Music degree, and I was a lowly sophomore at that time! We met, and the rest is history! We were married in 1973, and at the time of our move to Oahu in 1978, we had a two-year-old daughter and four-month-old son. Our second son was born here in Honolulu two years later.
You both do a great deal of philanthropic work, helping wherever needed. What are some causes near and dear to you? How important is it to do more than asked…to care?
We are very involved with our church, Central Union — I play organ, piano, and sometimes harp, I used to sing in the Chancel Choir, and Glenn has volunteered for a variety of things there too. Glenn currently volunteers on Tripler Hill at the Community Living Center with the VA.
The story goes…that your parents encouraged you to play harp (from piano) at an early age, even going so far as to cash out their life insurance for your first harp — a vintage, 1920 Lyon & Healy Model 17 rebuild from Chicago. How did you feel about that sacrifice and how long before you realized you really loved the music from such a bulky, unusual instrument?
My father, a Lutheran minister in Pennsylvania, would mention to me, as a two- or three-year-old, how interesting the harp was, how beautiful it looked, how wonderful it sounded. My uncle frequently worked with a harpist at his church and that lady eventually became my teacher. Yes, the 1920 harp was in pieces at the Lyon & Healy Salon in New York City. Daddy thought we could get a used harp for the cost similar to a used piano…boy was he surprised! Not possible! Mother and he didn’t tell me about purchasing the instrument, I never saw it in the back room, but it was standing next to our Christmas tree on Christmas morning! I started harp lessons in 1965 as a seventh grader, traveling to Allentown, PA (an hour away), as there was no harp teacher in Reading, PA, at that time.
It’s unseemly to ask a woman’s age or how much something costs, but…would you mind telling me how much that harp cost your parents and how much harps cost on average today?
I always tell students that the new pedal harp costs as much as a new car (especially if there’s gold leaf on it!). My parents purchased my harp in 1964 for $2,400, I believe. To replace it now, in gold, would be around $64,000. A non-gold pedal harp can be purchased for around $17,000 to $45,000. Lever harps, or celtic harps (no pedals), can be purchased for less than $7,000. [You can] look up Vanderbilt Music Company in Bloomington, IN on the Internet — they sell harps and list the prices.
Shlepping your gear must’ve been quite a challenge. Organist Katherine Crosier in her Nov. 13, 2017 blog, “Brava, Connie! / Another Year of Insanity: Musings From the Organ Bench,” wrote: “When she met Glenn decades ago, he already knew that moving the harp was part of the relationship, which is one reason she said they never owned a sports car!” It’s a good thing you didn’t switch to playing jazz gigs. Do you have any fun anecdotes about the adventures lugging around a melodic, but cumbersome 75-90-lb. instrument?
I’m not sure about fun anecdotes…it is very cumbersome, and we always have a van and a back-up vehicle, in case something happens to the van! The 2018 Toyota Sienna is perfect for moving harps! We have made it a little easier by using a “harp board” in the back of the van — we rest the harp on that, then roll it into the van. And let’s not forget that I’m moving a harp bench too, and a bag of strings/music that is always by my side! I had to be sure my husband was/is muscular!
You’ve been a principal harpist with the Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra (HSO), formerly the Honolulu Symphony, for forever, and are planning to retire this year. How long have you performed with the orchestra, why are you retiring, what have been a few of your favorite moments, and what will you take away from those great times?
I first played with the Honolulu Symphony as a second harpist within weeks of arriving in the summer of 1978 — the Orchestra needed two harpists for “West Side Story.” In 1981, the principal harpist resigned and I auditioned for the job and won the position! It wasn’t great timing, as our children were one, three, and five years old, but as Glenn said, this opportunity might only come around once and you’d better grab it while you can, and try! Glenn said he would make it possible caring for the children, etc. I’m completing my 44th season at the end of August, 2025. One of the reasons I’m retiring is that a severe case of COVID-19 in the summer of 2023 left me a slightly different person….things are harder.
Connie with her beloved husband Glenn, post-concerto.
Over all these years, favorite moments remembered are when our children would be attending youth concerts (I would meet them outside with their classes), family times at the Waikiki Shell for Starlight Concerts/taking dinner along, Neighbor Island orchestra tours, performing with amazing artists, both on the podium and as soloists, and playing several solos myself with the Orchestra. My colleagues in the Orchestra have always been an inspiration…
You also teach harp to others. What special joy is in that?
There is joy, there is hard work, there is inspiring students to practice, watching them grow, meeting new challenges, etc.
What was your first gig in Hawai’i, was it playing churches — the Lutheran Church of Honolulu became a cornerstone for your collaborations — and what special performances stand out most to you now?
When we first arrived, I wrote letters to many churches, explaining I was a new arrival with a harp and eager to play around Honolulu. I didn’t know any of the other harpists. I got a letter back from Roy Hallman at Central Union Church, explaining that his wife was a harpist (Nyle Hallman) and he wouldn’t be needing me in the immediate future. I also heard from Carl Crosier and his wife, Kathy, whom you previously quoted. That was the first church I played in, even doing some recordings with them at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu. I also played frequently at St. Andrew’s Cathedral with John McCreary. Once I started to attend Central Union Church, I was asked to play there frequently, dueting with Nyle when she played harp or organ. I eventually started organ lessons with her in the mid-1990s and became her assistant until her retirement. [Nyle Hallman passed away on Feb. 14, 2024 at 95.]
For the lay listener, what does it take to play harp well, what are some unique aspects of the instrument itself, and what does the harp contribute to a piece that’s different from other instruments?
The first thing people think of about the harp are glissandi [an Italian/French term meaning “to glide” between notes]. No other instrument can do that, period! Everyone wants to hear a glissando! But! First you must start with an in-tune instrument! Tuning does take up a lot of our time, and temperature changes, moving the harp, etc., are a constant struggle. Clean playing is something I’ve always strived for — there’s not a lot of space between the strings to fit your fingers and sometimes unpleasant sounds can occur! And I haven’t even mentioned using the levers or pedals!
Who are the heroes and mentors who’ve made the most impact in your career and as a person?
Of course, my parents, the late Rev. Marvin Harding and my 97-year-old mother, Dorace Harding, in Reading, PA. Musically, my uncle, Emerson Harding, was my first piano teacher and a musical mentor for the rest of his life. Another piano teacher was Ruth Snyder, in Reading, PA. My harp teachers, Dorothy Knauss in Allentown, PA, Eileen Malone at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., and Marcel Grandjany, who was the most amazing performer and teacher at the Juilliard School, in New York City, until his death in 1975. He emigrated from Paris to the USA in 1936.
Can you name your favorite tunes to play and listen to, as well as what moves you about those tunes and classical music in general?
I really love performing many of the impressionistic, colorful pieces of Debussy, Ravel, and others. Gustav Mahler really knew what he was doing with the harp, writing beautiful parts that will be heard through the orchestra.
How long have you been a member of Local 677? What has long-time union membership meant to you?
I was a musicians union member in Reading, PA, while in high school. I also belonged to the Bakers and Confectioners Union in Reading, PA, as I worked at Luden’s for three summers during Eastman years! I immediately joined the union here upon moving to Honolulu. They have supported all of us throughout the years!
If you could realize any dream, for yourself as a musician and for Hawai’i’s music scene in general, what would it be? Maybe more acceptance by the general public of classical music in jazz clubs, Mozart, Bach, and Haydn piped in at the shopping mall instead of Top 40? The sky’s the limit.
The arts, in general, are always struggling for financial support. I wish that could change…
If you could do your life over again, what would you do differently? Would you try playing another instrument, like, say, trumpet, or drums?
I would not change anything about my life! And I played percussion instruments in school bands while growing up (mallet instruments and timpani!). I added the organ in 1994, and that instrument has certainly given me many opportunities. I played organ and piano with HSO in the past, when there was no harp part!
What does retirement look like for Connie Uejio?
I will continue to play at churches, at gigs, and I will continue teaching harp. More trips are in my future too…visiting family and other places. Our daughter and family are in CA, our sons live here in Honolulu with their families, and my mother is in PA with other family members.
WATCH:
- HSO Musicians present Constance “Connie” Uejio on “Shenandoah,” a Linda Warren arrangement, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Link: youtube.com/watch?v=OzB-yvJxBnk
- HSO Musicians: Uejio performs Edward MacDowell’s “To a Wild Rose,” arrangement by Daniel Burton. Link: youtube.com/watch?v=xgCtZGvZSJE
- “Dona Nobis Pacem (Grant Us Peace)” harp duet. Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1sAvUtWdG4
- Britten’s “Ceremony of Carols,” featuring Na Wai Chamber Choir director Jace Saplan and harpist Connie Uejio at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu, Jan. 8, 2017 performance (Katherine Crosier YT). Link: youtube.com/watch?v=0Xxl6aH2uMU
- Tuning Up with Iggy & Dave, Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra interview. Link: youtube.com/watch?v=8d1A0lD-QcQ
- Connie Uejio loves to serenade patients and staff on her harp, “Abby,” at the Spark M. Matsunaga VA Medical Center, alongside frequent volunteer, husband Glenn. He was among six “Heroes Next Door” chosen by Star-Advertiser editors from many reader nominations in 2018. Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8q1ELbvUJOg
From the Spring 2025 issue, Ke Ola O Na Mele