Harps by Wm. Rees - Our People

William and Pamela Rees

From the beginning, William has always had a very specific design philosophy. A biologist by training, William appreciates the natural beauty and voices in woods and instruments while constantly seeking to understand both within a scientific methodology. During his earliest years building instruments, he traveled to various music archives and libraries in an effort to understand what he could of luthiers who had gone before. Additionally, William imposed upon the gracious nature of numerous established luthiers by traveling to their shops for lengthy visits. A quiet, elderly violin luthier took special interest in William and guided him throughout these years. Between 1972 and 1977, William built a large variety of instrument types including harpsichords and clavichords, guitars, mandolins, lutes, mountain dulcimers and, most importantly, harps. William experimented with variations in materials and configuration, occasionally experiencing surprising and interesting results. While William's instrument designs are clearly modern in scientific basis and execution, without these initial years of broad experimentation, none of his current work could have evolved.
William tailors his instruments to meet the needs of the customer. A musician of excellence himself, William has a strong classical guitar background, put himself through college playing electric guitar, played bass for Bo Diddly on tour and picked the 5-string banjo for a successful bluegrass band. These days, William relaxes by playing traditional instruments like the mountain dulcimer on which his favorite piece is a complex, break-neck version of "Louie, Louie". Most recently, William has been writing arrangements for a collection of harp and psaltery duets. Because he is a musician himself, Rees instruments are built to be played. They combine a look of simple elegance with the rare gift of all fine luthiers, the ability to make wood sing. On a side note, if you get the chance, you might ask William about the first true love of his life... his accordion!
All that being said..., William is thrilled and honored to have the opportunity to build stringed instruments for a living. Rumor has it that fewer than ten percent of all luthiers are able to make a living solely from their instruments. For William, he is even more amazed that he has made his way not in mainstream instruments like guitars, but in Renaissance period instruments (harps, dulcimers, psalteries) where his own sentiments lie. Building a harp for each individual customers an aspect of his work which William continues to cherish.

Though William's business survived from 1972 until 1990 essentially without assistance, by 1990 when he started thinking about going full-time, help on the administrative side was definitely in order. Pamela has a technical background centered mostly around applied optical engineering. After too many years as a Defense contractor and a rude awakening in respect to her health, Pamela got out of optics for good. When introduced by a mutual friend, William and Pamela hit it off both in life and in business. While Pamela and William share goals, principles and some interests, their strengths and weaknesses are almost exactly opposite which (for the most part) is a nearly perfect pairing. As William says, "She does the paper. I do the sawdust."

William and Pamela have enough excitement in their lives with all that goes on at Rees Harps so it is no surprise that their hobbies are quiet, simple things. When not at work, William is most often found taking Eleanor, his golden doodle (half golden retriever and half standard poodle), on a play date with one of her many friends.

Why such and interesting dog? As some of you know Roosevelt, our loyal golden retriever, passed away. Many of you knew Roosevelt, because he went to work everyday with William and did a great job as our "in-the-way-dog." In January, William decided that he wanted to get a puppy. He researched quite a bit trying to decide between a standard poodle and a golden retriever. The perfect answer came in the very furry form of Eleanor, who greatly resembles a stuffed Boyd's Bears. Although timid, Eleanor is William's perfect sweet, fun-loving companion. Not everyone in Rising Sun knows the Rees family, but EVERYONE knows Eleanor. She has developed her own fan club and visitors are often seen in the showroom slipping her dog treats! If not at the park you can find William visiting with his human friends at The Courtyard Restaurant in Rising Sun.

Pamela loves music and concerts, cooking for dinner parties and her house rabbits; Hamilton, Madelyn, Mia, Moesha and Clover. We are sad to inform you that Thump (pictured on the right) suddenly passed away. Many of you will recall her as our long-time office rabbit. In recent years she and the love of her life, Hamilton had moved back home with William and Pamela where she continued to provide humor and love on a daily basis. She will be greatly missed. But we are happy to introduce Madelyn, Hamilton's new, lovely mate.

The bunnies are Pamela's fault (about which William has been very tolerant). She is a huge fan of all things hamster and is at work on a hamster travelogue featuring FB and Guenivere. You know... FB and Guenivere in Philadelphia, FB and Guenivere rescuing a reckless young man at Canyon de Chelly, FB and Guenivere rollerblading along the promenade at Idaho Falls, etc.... She collects art and reads profusely favoring, respectively, equine artist Judith Malinzak and author William Kinsella.

The Team

At Wm. Rees Instruments (WRI) the folks whom you are most likely to meet or talk to on the phone are the members of the Core Team. This team is lead, jointly by the owners, William and Pamela Rees.

If you walk through the doors of our harp showroom, Harps on Main, it is Darlene Walton who is most likely to greet you. Darlene is our Harps on Main manager and our in-house harp teacher. A native of Cincinnati, Darlene has lived on a farm outside of Rising Sun, with her husband, for the past thirty years. When we first arrived in Rising Sun, before the moving trucks were unloaded or the electricity was turned on in the building, Darlene, who had heard we were coming, was there to purchase her harp. As a long-time piano teacher and church organist, Darlene picked up the harp as if she had always played it. In addition to taking students, Darlene teaches workshops (including a great one on using Fake books.) As anyone who spends any time with her can tell you, Darlene is a joy and a gift and has a special sense of humor. On some days you'll catch her little dog, Maggie, joining her at work.

Anyone who has seen the ornamentation on Rees harps in recent years has seen the incredibly gifted work of Garen Rees. Garen started a part-time apprenticeship with his father in 1997, when he was still in high school. When Garen was five he was already painting itsy-bitsy, intricate figurines using paint brushes with five little bristles. He managed to inherit the art chromesome from his father and ended up being able to draw and paint more competently than most adults before he finished elementary school. He also has a sly sense of humor and a contagious giggle. After deciding to join us in the move to Rising Sun, Garen bought a home and he, his bride, Kristin, and their dogs, Kaiden and Tacoma, are in the midst of planning all kinds of improvements. In 2004, Garen was promoted to Clean-build Manager and in 2006, took over all web orders and web development of Harpsicle Harp Co. and is now buried in paperwork and Harpsicle orders!

In 2001, William's oldest son, Bryant joined the business as a shop apprentice. Bryant has been working side-by-side with his father, learning hard and teasing harder. Bryant is an awesome musician, having captured that musician gene from William, and has played both professionally and for fun for many years. His latest jones is his in-home recording studio and playing live locally in his band The B. Rees Band. Bryant has a beautiful baby girl, Shaylee, who was born in December of 2002. For those of you who attended HarpCon 2003, Bryant was the never-say-die Transportation Coordinator.

Melissa Irwin was our big find for 2002. Not only does Melissa have all the skills that allow her to fall prey to our office needs but she is attending art school which makes her the perfect apprentice for Garen. Because Melissa works both on the office and shop sides of the business, it is she alone who can manage to be in all places at one time. She is now most likely the one to answer your calls and, like Garen, is getting lost in paperwork. If you happen to see her at the store you'll probably see her dog, Dingo, not far behind. He comes to work with her everyday to play with Eleanor, his BEST friend. When you can't find her doing her artwork you can find her and Dingo at the dog park with William and Eleanor.

In 2004, Harpsicles nearly overran us. We all did all we could and when we couldn't do any more, we hired Joann Irwin. Joann is Melissa's mom and it is immediately apparent where Melissa gets her beauty and brains. Joann has also been Darlene's best friend for, well, forever, so the closeness of the WRI family continues. Joann is handling many of the shipping duties these days and our world has become much more sane as a result.

Larry Richison, a previous auto body owner, took a turn to the harp world in 2006. Larry is a great employee. He's always the first one here and the first one to crack a joke. He has been a great help in the shop and a great handy man. We are very fortunate to have him on the team. When Larry's not in the shop he is out riding his motorcycle or enjoying a cigar on the golf course.

Becoming swamped in Harpsicle Harps we needed some help fast in the shop, Shannon Brown came to the rescue in 2007. He moved to Indiana with his beautiful fiance, Rebecca Rees and adorable son, Isaiah, to work for his soon-to-be father-in-law, William Rees. Shannon is a fast learner and is a great addition to the shop. He brings us lots of laughs and even more hard work, which Bryant was in desperate need! Shannon is a very talented young man, musically and artistically. He has started his own clothing line "Madheart", which will be in stores very soon.

Also in 2007, Matt Smith shortly followed Shannon to help us out in the many orders we were receiving. Matt is sharp and catches on fast. We are very lucky to have him on the team. He's dedicated to his work, no matter the job we give him, he gives it his all without a complaint. Not only does Matt work well, but he also makes us laugh... which is very important here. Matt and Shannon work great together and have become the great workers for Bryant that we needed. Matt is also very very skilled as a video director on YouTube, as well as the master of Guitar Hero.

To make the Rees family complete, in 2007 Rebecca Rees, William's daughter, is now working in the office with Garen and Melissa. She is as helpful as she is sweet! She was hired to do all the jobs that Garen and Melissa can not find time for and learns so fast that she helps everyone in the building now! She is a great employee you can't help but love. Rebecca and Shannon moved from California to Indiana in 2007 with their polite and bright, little boy, Isaiah, and their cat, Peanut, who we all swear is actually a dog in disguise. Isaiah and Shaylee are the best of cousins and we love to have the youngsters visit to play. We are thrilled to have our family growing even larger and closer.

...and just so you don't go away thinking we are actually serious about what we do, allow us to illustrate.
First we have Garen showing how much fun it is to rock out on a harp!
Second, is Darlene and Joann arguing over who is the better harp stringer.
Third, is William and Bryant showing the improper ways of clamping a harp.
And last, is Matt demonstrating the air hose can be used for rocking out awesome hair photos.

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© Wm. Rees Instruments, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
222 Main Street, Rising Sun, Indiana 47040 • voice: (812) 438-3032 • web: http://traditionalharps.com
The address of this page is: http://traditionalharps.com/ReesHarpsBio.html

From the beginning, William has always had a very specific design philosophy. A biologist by training, William appreciates the natural beauty and voices in woods and instruments while constantly seeking to understand both within a scientific methodology. During his earliest years building instruments, he traveled to various music archives and libraries in an effort to understand what he could of luthiers who had gone before. Additionally, William imposed upon the gracious nature of numerous established luthiers by traveling to their shops for lengthy visits. A quiet, elderly violin luthier took special interest in William and guided him throughout these years. Between 1972 and 1977, William built a large variety of instrument types including harpsichords and clavichords, guitars, mandolins, lutes, mountain dulcimers and, most importantly, harps. William experimented with variations in materials and configuration, occasionally experiencing surprising and interesting results. While William's instrument designs are clearly modern in scientific basis and execution, without these initial years of broad experimentation, none of his current work could have evolved. William tailors his instruments to meet the needs of the customer. A musician of excellence himself, William has a strong classical guitar background, put himself through college playing electric guitar, played bass for Bo Diddly on tour and picked the 5-string banjo for a successful bluegrass band. These days, William relaxes by playing traditional instruments like the mountain dulcimer on which his favorite piece is a complex, break-neck version of "Louie, Louie". Most recently, William has been writing arrangements for a collection of harp and psaltery duets. Because he is a musician himself, Rees instruments are built to be played. They combine a look of simple elegance with the rare gift of all fine luthiers, the ability to make wood sing. On a side note, if you get the chance, you might ask William about the first true love of his life... his accordion! All that being said..., William is thrilled and honored to have the opportunity to build stringed instruments for a living. Rumor has it that fewer than ten percent of all luthiers are able to make a living solely from their instruments. For William, he is even more amazed that he has made his way not in mainstream instruments like guitars, but in Renaissance period instruments (harps, dulcimers, psalteries) where his own sentiments lie. Building a harp for each individual customers an aspect of his work which William continues to cherish.
Though William's business survived from 1972 until 1990 essentially without assistance, by 1990 when he started thinking about going full-time, help on the administrative side was definitely in order. Pamela has a technical background centered mostly around applied optical engineering. After too many years as a Defense contractor and a rude awakening in respect to her health, Pamela got out of optics for good. When introduced by a mutual friend, William and Pamela hit it off both in life and in business. While Pamela and William share goals, principles and some interests, their strengths and weaknesses are almost exactly opposite which (for the most part) is a nearly perfect pairing. As William says, "She does the paper. I do the sawdust."
William and Pamela have enough excitement in their lives with all that goes on at Rees Harps so it is no surprise that their hobbies are quiet, simple things. When not at work, William is most often found taking Eleanor, his golden doodle (half golden retriever and half standard poodle), on a play date with one of her many friends. Why such and interesting dog? As some of you know Roosevelt, our loyal golden retriever, passed away. Many of you knew Roosevelt, because he went to work everyday with William and did a great job as our "in-the-way-dog." In January, William decided that he wanted to get a puppy. He researched quite a bit trying to decide between a standard poodle and a golden retriever. The perfect answer came in the very furry form of Eleanor, who greatly resembles a stuffed Boyd's Bears. Although timid, Eleanor is William's perfect sweet, fun-loving companion. Not everyone in Rising Sun knows the Rees family, but EVERYONE knows Eleanor. She has developed her own fan club and visitors are often seen in the showroom slipping her dog treats! If not at the park you can find William visiting with his human friends at The Courtyard Restaurant in Rising Sun. Pamela loves music and concerts, cooking for dinner parties and her house rabbits; Hamilton, Madelyn, Mia, Moesha and Clover. We are sad to inform you that Thump (pictured on the right) suddenly passed away. Many of you will recall her as our long-time office rabbit. In recent years she and the love of her life, Hamilton had moved back home with William and Pamela where she continued to provide humor and love on a daily basis. She will be greatly missed. But we are happy to introduce Madelyn, Hamilton's new, lovely mate. The bunnies are Pamela's fault (about which William has been very tolerant). She is a huge fan of all things hamster and is at work on a hamster travelogue featuring FB and Guenivere. You know... FB and Guenivere in Philadelphia, FB and Guenivere rescuing a reckless young man at Canyon de Chelly, FB and Guenivere rollerblading along the promenade at Idaho Falls, etc.... She collects art and reads profusely favoring, respectively, equine artist Judith Malinzak and author William Kinsella.

The Team
At Wm. Rees Instruments (WRI) the folks whom you are most likely to meet or talk to on the phone are the members of the Core Team. This team is lead, jointly by the owners, William and Pamela Rees.

If you walk through the doors of our harp showroom, Harps on Main, it is Darlene Walton who is most likely to greet you. Darlene is our Harps on Main manager and our in-house harp teacher. A native of Cincinnati, Darlene has lived on a farm outside of Rising Sun, with her husband, for the past thirty years. When we first arrived in Rising Sun, before the moving trucks were unloaded or the electricity was turned on in the building, Darlene, who had heard we were coming, was there to purchase her harp. As a long-time piano teacher and church organist, Darlene picked up the harp as if she had always played it. In addition to taking students, Darlene teaches workshops (including a great one on using Fake books.) As anyone who spends any time with her can tell you, Darlene is a joy and a gift and has a special sense of humor. On some days you'll catch her little dog, Maggie, joining her at work.
Anyone who has seen the ornamentation on Rees harps in recent years has seen the incredibly gifted work of Garen Rees. Garen started a part-time apprenticeship with his father in 1997, when he was still in high school. When Garen was five he was already painting itsy-bitsy, intricate figurines using paint brushes with five little bristles. He managed to inherit the art chromesome from his father and ended up being able to draw and paint more competently than most adults before he finished elementary school. He also has a sly sense of humor and a contagious giggle. After deciding to join us in the move to Rising Sun, Garen bought a home and he, his bride, Kristin, and their dogs, Kaiden and Tacoma, are in the midst of planning all kinds of improvements. In 2004, Garen was promoted to Clean-build Manager and in 2006, took over all web orders and web development of Harpsicle Harp Co. and is now buried in paperwork and Harpsicle orders!
In 2001, William's oldest son, Bryant joined the business as a shop apprentice. Bryant has been working side-by-side with his father, learning hard and teasing harder. Bryant is an awesome musician, having captured that musician gene from William, and has played both professionally and for fun for many years. His latest jones is his in-home recording studio and playing live locally in his band The B. Rees Band. Bryant has a beautiful baby girl, Shaylee, who was born in December of 2002. For those of you who attended HarpCon 2003, Bryant was the never-say-die Transportation Coordinator.
Melissa Irwin was our big find for 2002. Not only does Melissa have all the skills that allow her to fall prey to our office needs but she is attending art school which makes her the perfect apprentice for Garen. Because Melissa works both on the office and shop sides of the business, it is she alone who can manage to be in all places at one time. She is now most likely the one to answer your calls and, like Garen, is getting lost in paperwork. If you happen to see her at the store you'll probably see her dog, Dingo, not far behind. He comes to work with her everyday to play with Eleanor, his BEST friend. When you can't find her doing her artwork you can find her and Dingo at the dog park with William and Eleanor.
In 2004, Harpsicles nearly overran us. We all did all we could and when we couldn't do any more, we hired Joann Irwin. Joann is Melissa's mom and it is immediately apparent where Melissa gets her beauty and brains. Joann has also been Darlene's best friend for, well, forever, so the closeness of the WRI family continues. Joann is handling many of the shipping duties these days and our world has become much more sane as a result.
Larry Richison, a previous auto body owner, took a turn to the harp world in 2006. Larry is a great employee. He's always the first one here and the first one to crack a joke. He has been a great help in the shop and a great handy man. We are very fortunate to have him on the team. When Larry's not in the shop he is out riding his motorcycle or enjoying a cigar on the golf course.
Becoming swamped in Harpsicle Harps we needed some help fast in the shop, Shannon Brown came to the rescue in 2007. He moved to Indiana with his beautiful fiance, Rebecca Rees and adorable son, Isaiah, to work for his soon-to-be father-in-law, William Rees. Shannon is a fast learner and is a great addition to the shop. He brings us lots of laughs and even more hard work, which Bryant was in desperate need! Shannon is a very talented young man, musically and artistically. He has started his own clothing line "Madheart", which will be in stores very soon.
Also in 2007, Matt Smith shortly followed Shannon to help us out in the many orders we were receiving. Matt is sharp and catches on fast. We are very lucky to have him on the team. He's dedicated to his work, no matter the job we give him, he gives it his all without a complaint. Not only does Matt work well, but he also makes us laugh... which is very important here. Matt and Shannon work great together and have become the great workers for Bryant that we needed. Matt is also very very skilled as a video director on YouTube, as well as the master of Guitar Hero.
To make the Rees family complete, in 2007 Rebecca Rees, William's daughter, is now working in the office with Garen and Melissa. She is as helpful as she is sweet! She was hired to do all the jobs that Garen and Melissa can not find time for and learns so fast that she helps everyone in the building now! She is a great employee you can't help but love. Rebecca and Shannon moved from California to Indiana in 2007 with their polite and bright, little boy, Isaiah, and their cat, Peanut, who we all swear is actually a dog in disguise. Isaiah and Shaylee are the best of cousins and we love to have the youngsters visit to play. We are thrilled to have our family growing even larger and closer.
...and just so you don't go away thinking we are actually serious about what we do, allow us to illustrate. First we have Garen showing how much fun it is to rock out on a harp! Second, is Darlene and Joann arguing over who is the better harp stringer. Third, is William and Bryant showing the improper ways of clamping a harp. And last, is Matt demonstrating the air hose can be used for rocking out awesome hair photos.