Leslie McMichael

Well-known Vashon harpist Leslie McMichael will perform her new musical score for the 1924 silent movie version of "Peter Pan" at 4 pm Sunday, Oct. 14 at Vashon Theatre.

This event, co-presented by Vashon Film Society and Vashon Theatre, is recommended for all ages.

"Leslie was a natural choice for scoring Peter Pan. Everyone on Vashon knows that Leslie is one of the guiding lights behind the Vashon Film Society." said Liz Shepherd, Vashon Island resident and film curator for Northwest Film Forum (which commissioned McMichael to compose the score).

"The music, though traditional in many ways and entirely faithful to the film, is filled with razzle-dazzle and a sly mischief that is the perfect complement of Peter Pan's on-screen antics. Leslie's meticulous and heartfelt performance is not only a tremendous musical accomplishment; it is also an athletic feat as she seamlessly switches back and forth between Celtic, electric and concert harps during the 102 minute film." - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

"With three different kinds of harps, McMichael creates a soundscape that is both varied in texture and tone, alternating between the various sounds with cinematic panache. Her score shifts between a distinctly Irish rogue for Hook and his men, and Celtic soothsaying arpeggios for Peter, Wendy, and their families. The mermaids ... are given the lush, grainy sound of an electric harp, their glistening tail fins perfectly matching the shimmering, unorthodox sound that in effect is more like a pedal steel than anything else ... It’s hard to imagine what the more standard musical accompaniment would have been, now with the harp washing over all the sepia-toned images." - Rivet Magazine

Vashon Island harpist Leslie McMichael will perform her new musical score for the 1924 silent version of Peter Pan on Sunday, October 14, 4 pm, at Vashon Theatre, 17723 Vashon Highway SW, Vashon. This event, copresented by Vashon Film Society and Vashon Theatre, is
recommended for all ages! McMichael’s score, played on Celtic,
concert, and electric harps, comes home to Vashon following critically
acclaimed performances earlier this year in Seattle at Northwest Film
Forum and Los Angeles at REDCAT (Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theatre.

Liz Shepherd says: “Leslie was a natural choice for scoring Peter Pan. Everyone on Vashon knows that Leslie is one of the guiding lights behind the Vashon Film Society. I thought, ‘why not combine her love of film and her genius on the harp?' But her score turned out to be even more spectacular than I dreamed it would be."

- Vashon Loop

THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2010

1. The silent flick Peter Pan will screen tonight at 7 p.m. inside the Tacoma Library Main Branch. Harpist Leslie McMichael's will score the magic.

2. Tacoma Drinking Liberally will discuss recent political events and tip back a few brews at 7 p.m. inside The Hub.

3. Theater Artists Olympia will stage their interpretation of Shakespeare's classic, Othello, at 8 p.m. inside the Olympia Little Theater.

4. Chalet Bowl in Tacoma is throwing a luau with beer and food specials, prizes and contests at 9 p.m. to kick off their Flip-Flop Thursdays summer special.

5. The Go Hard Or Go Home MC Battle hosted by SP featuring DJ Travisty kicks off at 11 p.m. inside The Royal Lounge in Olympia. - Weekly Volcano

PETER PAN has been called one of the best silent films for the whole family. The film has been completely restored. Harpist Leslie McMichael's score uses three harps -- concert, Celtic and electric -- and ranges from sea shanties to Joplinesque ragtime. Since the Seattle premiere, the film and the harpist have toured to the REDCAT International Children's Film Festival in Los Angeles, performed as the closing event for the Astoria International Film Festival, and have been presented by the film curators of the Oklahoma City Museum of Art and the Houston Museum of Fine Art. A very special treat for young and old. - Tacoma Mama

Here’s one for your diary next week. Vashon-based harpist Leslie McMichael is ushering in a four-day national harp conference, held in Tacoma July 2-5, with a concert of her own: a free, family-friendly screening of the 1924 silent flick “Peter Pan,” accompanied by her own three-harp score at the Tacoma Public Library.

McMichael was commissioned to write this score four years ago by the Northwest Film Forum, and has since toured it to great success.

“Leslie’s score, though traditional in many ways and entirely faithful to the film, is filled with razzle-dazzle and a sly mischief that is the perfect complement to Peter Pan's onscreen antics,” says the NFF’s Liz Shepherd. “Her meticulous and heartfelt performance is not only a tremendous musical accomplishment; it is also an athletic feat as she seamlessly switches back and forth between Celtic, electric and concert harps during the 102 minute film.”

Yes, that’s right – three harps, one woman. Not all at the same time, of course, but McMichael says she has some pretty fast switching to do on the bench. The concert harp is the big 47-string instrument you see with orchestras, the Celtic harp is smaller and has levers to change string pitch, and the electric works like an electric guitar, plugged in. McMichael uses it to make bubbly underwater sounds for the mermaids.

The film is the first one made from the J.M. Barrie classic novel, and stars Betty Bronson as the cheeky Peter and Chinese American actress Anna May Wong as Tiger Lily. A wonderful silent fantasy, the tinted-nitrate film was lost for years until one deteriorating negative was found in the mid-fifties, and restored.

The film will screen 7 p.m. July 1 in the Olympic Room at the downtown branch of the Tacoma Public Library, 1102 Tacoma Ave. S., Tacoma. It’s free, and kids will love it.
- Tacoma News Tribune

This first film version of Frances Hodgson Burnett's beloved children's novel stars America's Sweetheart, Mary Pickford. Our festival presentation will boast a lovely new score performed live by Leslie McMichael on Celtic, electric and concert harps. - Northwest Film Forum

Northwest Film Forum is getting ready to roll out the red carpet for Children’s Film Festival Seattle — the largest international festival of its kind in the Pacific Northwest. This year’s 10-day extravaganza will include more than 100 films from 25 countries — a mind-blowing blend of live performances, animation, features, shorts, historical films and fantastic hands-on workshops, all crafted with care to appeal to the next generation of movie lovers.

Some of this year’s highlights will be an opening night kickoff to the festival by the rockin’ kids band, Casper Babypants; an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast; a program spotlighting the best in animation from China, curated by the acclaimed animator Joe Chang; screenings of the rarely-seen Mary Pickford silent film, “A Little Princess,” with a new live score performed by acclaimed harpist Leslie McMichael; a program celebrating the achievements of indigenous filmmakers worldwide, and more feature films and shorts than ever before!

It’s a one-of-a-kind chance to take a celluloid ride around the globe, to see films made by acclaimed filmmakers and up-and-coming new auteurs. Our programs are inspiring, magical and definitely not available on DVD. There are gentle, enchanting programs for tiny first-time movie-goers, chills and thrills for older, more adventurous viewers and films that will inspire young people to get involved and make a difference.?? What better way to spend a chilly day in January or February than to see the world and feed your mind at Children’s Film Festival Seattle? - Hotspice, a blog about cinema

At Northwest Film Forum, the Children's Film Festival continues through Sunday, with the weekend's highlight being two Saturday screenings of the rarely seen 1917 film version of Frances Hodgson Burnett's "A Little Princess," starring Mary Pickford. Leslie McMichael will provide live accompaniment on Celtic, electric and concert harps. - Seattle Times