Jacobs alumna Natalie Salzman releases first EP

Natalie Salzman, harp player and Jacobs School of Music alumna, recently released her first extended play, titled “Ebb & Flow.”

She said her main goal in release singles is to play music that people want to listen to.

“In the music world today, it’s better to release singles because people pay attention to singles more than an entire album,” Salzman said.

Salzman has been playing the harp since she was 7-years-old.

“I walked into a violin store and they had a harp for rent, and I didn’t want to leave the store until I took the harp home,” she said.

Her parents promised her they would rent the harp for the weekend, but the instrument ended up playing a huge part in the rest of her life.

“I loved music, and the harp has such a unique sound,” Salzman said.

She said the harp, which requires simultaneous hand and foot coordination from the player, is difficult to play.

“It takes an amazing amount of coordination and intellectual memory,” Salzman said. “It’s a real workout.”

Salzman lived in Boston for the majority of her life, but moved to Israel with her family as a teenager.

She originally planned to live in Paris during her college years, but said she got cold feet about living in a foreign country without any family or structured school system.

“If I went to school in America, I only wanted to go to Jacobs,” she said. “It was the only school I applied to.”

Because there are only a handful of harp teachers in the country, she said she was willing to sacrifice leaving her family to come to the U.S. to become a better musician.

During her time at IU, Salzman spent a lot of time with harp professor Susann
McDonald.

“Natalie was an exceptionally bright student,” McDonald said. “She was always eager to learn and practice hard.”

In addition to releasing her EP, Salzman has performed at several venues, including The Bitter End in New York City.

She has also found online success by posting adaptations of popular songs such as Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” on YouTube.

“I want to make music because I love it,” she said. “I want to touch and move people.”