Patricia Carlson is a self-taught harpist. In 1991, she rented a Lyon & Healy 22-Grand pedal harp with full intent on eventually becoming a professional harpist...her childhood dream. She practiced 4 to 6 hours a day for 11 years, memorizing songs, working on fingering exercises, and dreaming of the day when she would play for audiences, write her own harp creations, and record CDs. She found the harp to be an incredibly difficult instrument to learn, especially not having a teacher. Patricia learned everything she knows about the harp by simply reading books, listening to recording artists, and by watching the techniques of other harpists. In the winter of 2002, she purchased a 40-string lever harp from a harpmaker in Duluth, Minnesota. It was at this time Patricia starting writing her own compositions for both pedal and lever harps. Her two CDs, Artist's Dream and Woodland Opus, are a compilation of her own creations, plus her own arrangements of traditional Celtic ballads.

Patricia is married to Steven Paul Carlson, a popular portrait and fantasy artist. Many of her songs are written about her husband's artwork. Together, Steven and Patricia have created art and music that go hand-in-hand. You can enjoy listening to Patricia's beautiful songs while at the same time viewing many of her husband's masterful pieces of artwork: Wolf Song, Soulmate, Nascence-The Celebration, Seasons of the Faeries, etc.

Patricia also writes much of her music about the trees, the pets, and the people she has loved throughout her life: Sentinel, The Elms of St. Ardmore, Song of the Willows, Prayer For the Birchwood, Timothy Skies, Timmie Cat Jig, Gabbie's Song, etc.

Patricia Carlson was born on the shores of Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin. She grew up in the north country amidst lakes, rivers and giant waterfalls. The inspiration for many of her songs comes from her love of Lake Superior and the beautiful country south of Superior, Wisconsin where the Black River flows over the Manitous. It is here, at the bottom of the 165-foot Big Manitou, where the Dance of the River Faerie was written. The shores of Gitchee Gummi (Lake Superior) inspired Reflections.

At five years of age, Patricia began piano under the tutelage of Nina Osbourne Batson of Boston, Massachusetts. By the time she entered college as a fine arts major, she was an accomplished keyboard artist. She has also been lead singer with several folk groups and rock bands, including The Antiquities, The Electric Renaissance, Easy Green and Odyssey IV.

Patricia is a martial artist and has a second-degree black belt in American Karate. She and her husband owned and operated a martial arts school in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Patricia also taught martial arts in the Minnesota public school system and women's self-defense classes in the Twin City area.

The harp, and writing music for this magnificent instrument, is where her true heart is.