The Harp Guitar Gathering

Please visit the new Harp Guitar Gathering^® web site

History of the Harp Guitar Gathering^® on the Internet

After Stephen Bennett held the first Gathering in November, 2003, and my creation of Harpguitars.net in early 2004, we decided that my "community" web site would be the ideal place for Stephen (and his subsequent volunteer hosts and assistants) to both publicize and archive the event (I wasn't fully involved until much later). Thus, a record can be found for each year's event, permanently archived on Harpguitars.net. I did most of the work (and so apologize for the quality!), and have tried many different formats (always including the participants' own contributions when provided). You'll find this history through the links below.

In January, 2020, Stephen Bennett spun off the Harp Guitar Gathering^® event into a new nonprofit. He and other staff retired from The Harp Guitar Foundation, which transferred the harpguitargathering.com domain and trademark ownership to the Gathering nonprofit.

The previous 17 years of Gathering events, photos, memories and stories will remain archived on Harpguitars.net for perpetuity. Going forward, the Gathering is now a separate entity that will manage its own web site and Facebook presence.

We know that the Harp Guitar Gathering^® will continue to thrive under the new nonprofit and we send congratulations to Stephen, Joe, Randall, the advisors and assistants, with our best wishes. - Gregg (Sir Gregory) Miner

Click on the first 7 Gathering links below for my archived articles, and click the image at right for the most recent Gatherings via the new blog Category.

Past Gatherings	HGG1 Williamsburg,VA	HGG2 Williamsburg,VA	HGG3 Salem, OR	HGG4 Naples, FL	HGG5 Williamsburg,VA
HGG6 Portland, OR	HGG7 Williamsburg, VA	HGG8 Indianapolis, IN	HGG9 Milford, CT	HGG10 Dallas, TX	HGG11 Hamden, CT
HGG12 Coeur d'Alene, ID	HGG13 Mooresville, NC	HGG14 Milford, CT	HGG15 Carlsbad, CA	HGG16 Milford, CT	HGG17 Mooresville, NC

Special thanks to the volunteer hosts throughout the years
Stephen Bennett	John Doan	Andy Wahlberg	Mike Doolin	Brad Hoyt
Stephen has given the harp guitar more visibility than perhaps any other touring performer in the last two decades. He founded the Harp Guitar Gathering in 2003 and has hosted years 1, 2, 5, 7, 9, 11, 14 & 16	John is a music professor at Willamette University in Salem, OR. Renowned performer on the modern 20-string harp guitar, he hosted the 3rd Harp Guitar Gathering.	Host of the 4th Harp Guitar Gathering, Naples, Florida resident Andy has been a popular harp guitarist / entertainer since the late 1970s.	Mike is a professional jazz guitarist and bassist living in Portland, OR. A professional luthier as well, the highly-regarded harp guitar builder hosted the 6th Harp Guitar Gathering.	Host of the 8th Harp Guitar Gathering, Brad is a busy Indianapolis pianist who also moonlights as a harp guitarist, on an instrument of his own invention.
John Thomas	Joe Morgan	David & Anthony Powell	Randall Sprinkle	Gregg Miner
John Thomas, who co-hosted the 9th & 11th Gathering, is a law professor, blues guitarist, and in-demand speaker and author on a vast array of subjects, including legal, technical and musical.	An indispensable Gathering volunteer from the very beginning, Joe finally took over the reigns for our important 10th Anniversary in Texas.	The Powell brothers both play and build harp guitars and other stringed instruments. A part of our Gathering family since #3, they were our hosts for HGG12.	Randall Sprinkle runs a music concert series at his church as well as performing constantly with his wedding music trio Musically Yours. He stepped up to host HGG13 after previously twice attending, and again hosted HGG17.	Gregg Miner created and maintains this web site, which now incorporates the Gathering and the Foundation within its pages. Since his invitation to speak at HGG1 in 2003, he has been active at every one, finally hosting HGG15 with his wife Jaci and the Museum of Making Music.

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