by Carol WrightGeorgia Kelly is a classically trained harpist and composer who began her music studies at the age of three. Years before American audiences had even heard of pop harpist Andreas Vollenweider, this West Coast musician was gaining considerable attention for her albums of spiritual harp performances, which she initially released and distributed through her own company, Heru Records. In the late 1970s, Kelly helped define both the New Age music style and its recording industry. Musical contemporaries in those spiritually charged early days were Steven Halpern, Iasos, Constance Demby, and fellow harpist Joel Andrews. Her 1978 Seapeace, recorded with Tony Selvage on electric violin, was an instant underground hit in New Age bookstores, and the album remains a classic with sales of over 250,000 copies. That same year, Kelly and Steven Halpern recorded Ancient Echoes, sensually mysterious improvisations on the spiritual essence of the ancient civilizations. The relaxing and inspirational qualities of her music, well grounded in impeccable technique, attracted the attention of hospitals, cancer clinics, drug-abuse programs, and massage therapists who regularly use her recordings for therapeutic purposes. In the late 1980s, Kelly renewed her links with her Yugoslavian heritage by recording A Journey Home with guitarist Dusan Bodganovic.