In light of all the jobs that are flooding out of the US and all the poorly made harps coming in from overseas, we are pleased to let you know that harps made by the Harpsicle™ Harps Co. are made in the United States by people who are paid a living wage, have full medical coverage and benefits. The Harpsicle™ Harps Co. is a tasty little division of Wm. Rees Instruments, LLC. To see our full line of concert lever harps, click the link. ReesHarps.com

Company History

The Harpsicle™ Harps Co. began with the product launch of the original Harpsicle™, in July of 2003 but that is not the beginning of the story. In 1972, following in the footsteps of great luthiers, William Rees began building stringed instruments. now, over thirty-five years later, Rees instruments are in the hands of musicians and collectors around the world and are a testament to the skill and craft with which each piece is designed and constructed. Wm. Rees Instruments, LLC,parent of the Harpsicle™ Harps Co., continues to build concert lever harps considered by professional performers world-wide to be among the very best lever harps available.

Unlike the many avant garde and folk lutheries which emerged from the home-grown ethic of the sixties and early seventies, Rees instruments have always been classical in nature. Company founder and master luthier, William Rees, grounds his designs equally in art, craft and science. The experience that comes from having built thousands of instruments has allowed William to continue to refine his hand. "The hand of the master" is a term of art used to define a certain sense for the individual instrument and feel for the wood. This is acquired through a combination of time and immaculate, quality work. As a scientist, his initial profession, William's increasing understanding of the attributes which set great stringed instruments apart, combined with the results of his own continual process of experimentation and improvement, plant his work on strong empirical foundations. All of this seams rather grandiose when one is considering the design of a Harpsicle™ Harp but all of it applies. There is a reason that no other harp lutherie in the world builds a harp of the quality of the Harpsicle™ Harp at the price-point at which the Harpsicle™ Harp is offered. Building a small harp that sounds great and is extremely inexpensive is much harder than it looks.

After twenty-eight years of building harps in the Sierra mountains of California, William and his wife Pamela, relocated the business to Rising Sun, Indiana in 2000 becoming, quite probably, the only people in history to move from just outside Yosemite National Park to the Ohio River Valley. William and Pamela selected Rising Sun because it is central to seventy percent of the Wm. Rees Instruments, LLC customer base. The building which houses the business was built in 1891 and expanded shortly thereafter to total 7000 square feet. Today it houses the harp construction shop; Harps on Main, our harp gallery and gift store; our offices; and, upstairs, a performance hall which seats 200. Wm. Rees Instruments, LLC has more than quintupled in size since arriving in the Midwest, so it looks to have been a good move.

An ever growing band of amazing employees have joined the family to bring their own brand of excellence and craft to all that they do in an effort to be sure that your Rees harp, be it a Harpsicle™ Harp or a concert Aberdeen Meadows, is the harp of your dreams. Meet our team...

William 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. William tailors his instruments to meet the needs of the customer. William's instruments 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. Building a harp for each individual customers an aspect of his work which William continues to cherish.
When you can't find William in the shop making sawdust you can surely find him at the park with Eleanor, his Golden Doodle (half golden retriever, half standard poodle). William and Eleanor are unseperable. Everyday she goes to work with him then he goes to the park with her for her playdates with Hope and Dingo.

Pamela Rees

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." Pamela loves music and concerts, cooking for dinner parties and her house rabbits; Hamilton, Madelyn, Mia, Moesha and Clover. Many of you may have met two of the long-time office rabbits, Hamilton and Thump. Pamela's Rabbit Crew continues to provide humor and love at home on a daily basis.

Garen Rees

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 wife, 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 the Harpsicle Harps Co. and is now buried in paperwork and Harpsicle™ Harps orders!

Bryant Rees

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 Atticus. Bryant has a beautiful little girl, Shaylee, who was born in December of 2002. Shaylee visits alot and brightens our day. For those of you who attended HarpCon 2003, Bryant was the never-say-die Transportation Coordinator.

Darlene Walton

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 at the store, Darlene also started a Harpsicle™ Harp choir. 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.

Melissa Irwin

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 attended 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.

Joann Irwin

In 2004, Harpsicle™ Harps 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 mother 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. Joann is a huge animal lover. Any animal you name she has bottle fed it and raised it!

Larry Richison

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, leaving him pushed and pulled all over the building when something needs to be fixed. 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.

Shannon Brown

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 is now being sold in stores.

Matt Smith

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.

Rebecca Rees

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 now doing most of the shipping as well as levering Harpsicle™ Harps. 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.

Chris Smith

As the Harpsicle™ Harps Co. grows busier by the day, we quickly found we needed more hands in the shop, which is where Chris Smith came to our rescue. Chris, Matt's younger brother, has been doing excellent work and learning quickly in the shop, which time is a huge priority here! Chris had been good friends with Garen prior to working with us, and with Melissa, as they had gone to high school together, on top of that he is Matt's younger brother, so our Harpsicle™ Harps family grows closer and closer!