Question 1

Wait, there's a harp in this band?"

Accepted Answer

There is! We incorporate quite a menagerie of sounds and base the instrumentation on what will best tell the story of the song. Ian tends to write on acoustic guitar or piano, and then Katie will add violin, viola, cello, harp, piano, harmonium, synths, and/or organ depending on what shapes the music into its ideal form.

Question 2

You guys seem...intense. Are you serious all the time?

Accepted Answer

While our music (and press photos) tend to bend to the serious side, we're otherwise two affable people who make a lot of jokes and have a lovely time in the world. As proof of this, I offer you this photo of Ian between gigs during a tour in New Zealand. Just look at that face! The utter image of delight at the little flightless weka that is trying to steal our snacks. Also, flightless birds 10/10.
 
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Question 3

How long have you been playing together?

Accepted Answer

For ONE MILLION years. Not really, but it has been a long time! We met over a decade ago and have worked on a number of projects together since then, including a band called The Thoughts that eventually grew into Glass Heart String Choir. Other projects have included Seattle Rock Orchestra, The Monday Mornings, and the touring band for French for Rabbits.

Question 4

How do you describe your music?

Accepted Answer

We live quite solidly between genres, so we're a little bit folk, classical crossover, alternative, experimental....Other people most often use the words cinematic, beautiful, and heartbreaking to describe our work, and we've experimented with labels like art-pop, baroque pop, and orchestral folk. Our goal in life is to come up with our very own genre name as awesome as the niche "Witch House" (which is totally a real thing that you should Google). If you have ideas, we want to hear them!

Question 5

Who are your influences? Who are you listening to now?

Accepted Answer

Between us, our influences are all over the map! We find a lot of common ground in Leonard Cohen, Enya, Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, Jocelyn Pook, JS Bach, Kate Bush, Claude DeBussy, Joanna Newsom, and August and Everything After by Counting Crows.

Right now, we’ve been discovering Kirin J Callinan, Mary Lattimore, My Brightest Diamond, Fishbach, Coco, as well as the amazing back catalogs of Vangelis and Yoko Kanno.

Question 6

Where are you based? Do you tour to other regions/countries?

Accepted Answer

We are based in Seattle, Washington. In the before-times, we used to tour extensively in the United States and New Zealand and had grand plans to extend the circuit to the UK, Germany, and Italy. Then 2020 happened....We haven't felt that it is safe enough for us or our audiences to be back on the road yet, but we literally cannot wait for that to happen. Join our virtual community to stay in the loop about when that exciting day will come, as well as streaming concerts that are in the works for 2022.

Question 7

Where can I learn more?

Accepted Answer

www.glassheartstringchoir.com

GLASS HEART STRING CHOIR

"Emotionally stirring"
"Intimately aching"
"Simply breathtaking"

GLASS HEART STRING CHOIR

"Emotionally stirring" "Intimately aching" "Simply breathtaking"

"Emotionally stirring"
"Intimately aching"
"Simply breathtaking"