by Cami Villanueva, CMN student editor

This month, we would like to invite the Cedar Mill Community to give a round of applause to one of our local musicians, Cindy Schaufenbuel. Schaufenbuel has recently published her original harp score, Bonny Slope, in the Folk Harp Society’s Spring 2021 edition of the Folk Harp Journal. Check out this YouTube video of Schaufenbuel playing her composition! 

“The main part of the melody just popped into my head one evening and stayed there until I decided to quit fixing dinner and write it down!” says Schaufenbuel. “’Bonny Slope’ is the first melody I’ve ever written… It was a bit of a surprise to have a unique tune given to me. The melody has a lot of ups and downs, which reminded me of the hills in my neighborhood, so the terrain itself was the inspiration for the title. There’s a part in the middle where the melody swoops up and drops back down that lifts my heart every time I play or hear it.”

Schaufenbuel and her family had moved from out-of-state to the Cedar Mill area in 2019. She explains how the local Portland area reminds her of heart’s home, “The area feels very familiar to me. Certainly feeling comfortable helps free the creative juices!” 

And she’s been quite creative —and successful— as of late. Since putting pen to paper in composing Bonny Slope, her goal had been to publish her piece in the Folk Harp Journal. It seems dreams really do come true. 

What’s Schaufenbuel’s advice for the aspiring artist? Just “go for it!” Many harpists don’t start learning the art until later in life, including Schaufenbuel herself, who started practicing in her late twenties. “This region is a great place to be for beginner harpers of all ages,” says Schaufenbuel, “There are major harp makers in Seattle and Corvallis, and at least a couple of stores in Portland that sell new and used harps, and rent harps, so instruments are not hard to come by here.” If anybody wants to learn how to play the harp, find one, and begin!

The success story doesn’t stop there. Schaufenbuel has been adjusting well to the Cedar Mill community and Oregon living. She’s been teaching harp to students, making connections with other local harp players, and meeting new people right in her neighborhood while walking her dog. She’s even kind enough to help the Cedar Mill News by organizing our Community Calendar!

Schaufenbuel says, “Thank you for welcoming me and my family to the neighborhood! We can’t wait for the pandemic to be behind us so we can go out and meet more of our new neighbors.”