By Dr. Katy Nichols, Lower School Music Teacher
Our Beasley third-grade musicians had a special opportunity last week during choir class to hear a live harp demonstration by Sunita Schlomka, professionally known as Sunita Staneslow. A professional harpist renowned for her harp arrangements, Mrs. Staneslow traveled from Scotland to visit her grandson, Logan S. ’35, a third-grade student at Beasley. As part of her visit, she planned a meaningful experience to share her love of music with the children.
Affectionately called “Mrs. Sunita” by the students, she arrived early with her harp and began playing as the children entered the classroom. The students were thrilled to see a harpist waiting for them, and their faces lit up with delight. It was a calm and magical way to transition into the Beasley Studio.
Logan helped lead the class through their regular choir warm-ups while Mrs. Sunita accompanied them on the harp. She adjusted her playing beautifully to each exercise—providing gentle, soothing music for the body warm-up and using glissandos to enhance their breathing exercises.
During her visit, Mrs. Sunita invited the students to observe her hands while she played. She asked them to notice which fingers she used—and which she didn’t. The students learned that harpists typically don’t use their pinky fingers because they aren’t strong enough to pluck the strings effectively.
She also explained the colors of the harp strings. Some strings are red, while others are white. The red strings help harpists visually locate specific notes, with each red string representing the note C. Students were also asked to identify the high and low ends of the harp, learning that shorter strings produce higher pitches while longer strings create lower tones. Mrs. Sunita even demonstrated that the harp can still make sound when turned upside down!
The musical experience continued with a special duet performance of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, featuring Logan on the violin alongside his grandmother on the harp. Logan then performed Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen on the harp— a song many students recognized from the movie Shrek.
At the end of class, Mrs. Sunita invited as many students as possible to play glissandos on her harp. It was a memorable and enriching experience for everyone.
We hope Mrs. Sunita will return next year to share her music once again with all of the students at Beasley!