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ROBIN HUW BOWEN
The Triple Harp is the only true Welsh harp. Unique to Wales, and still an unbroken oral folk tradition for over three hundred years, the ‘shimmering’ voice of its three rows of strings is truly as unique as the Welsh language itself. And Robin Huw Bowen is recognized world-wide as its leading exponent.
Robin’s repertoire reflects many of the varied aspects of Welsh harp and folk tradition, from historical airs and variations researched by him from 18th and 19th century manuscripts and publications, to melodies and arrangements learned from living sources. Perhaps the most important of these was Eldra Jarman, the last of the Welsh Romany Gypsy harpists. But far from merely demonstrating dusty relics from the past, Robin’s inspired playing ensures that he rekindles the very soul of the music and delivers it as a living entity to his listeners.
Photograph by Keith Morris, Aberystwyth
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GLENDA CLWYD
Glenda Clwyd, one of the UK’s most well respected harpists, has guest taught at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, represented the European Harp Symposium and gained Salvi sponsorship for her “Magic of the Harp” Masterclass which is held twice a year at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay. Glenda is a very experienced harpist who has worked across the globe playing for Royalty, politicians, corporate contracts and on the Royal Viking world cruise as the main entertainment. Most recently, Glenda has performed private and public recitals aboard the exclusive yacht ‘The World.’Glenda is incredibly versatile with her repertoire including classical, welsh, folk, blues and jazz. She has also recently published ‘Top 10 Wedding Tunes for Pedal Harp’ and is due to publish a selection of Welsh Folk Dance Music for the Harp in the Autumn courtesy of Alaw Publishing. www.glendaclwyd.co.uk |
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HARRIET EARIS
HARRIET EARIS is a full time Celtic harpist based in Aberystwyth. She has performed solo in the Royal Albert Hall in London and in the Millenium Dome to 25000 people as part of "Young Voices" 2007 and has a busy touring schedule as a soloist with regular tours of the USA (to over 25 states), Germany, France, Holland, Belgium, Ireland and Canada. She was a winner of the Open Stage Award at Celtic Connections Festival 2007 in Glasgow, chosen from over 80 acts competing. With The Harriet Earis Trio (harp, bass and drums), she represented Wales in the Festival Interceltique in Lorient, France in 2008 and she is just back from performing and teaching at the Harfentreffen Harp Festival near Frankfurt, Germany. She was one of a handful of young musicians in Wales to gain a place on the prestigious Live Music Now scheme which has led to 100s of performances in community venues and festivals across the UK. She has two solo albums, an album of Celtic music called "Jumping Ahead" and "From the Crooked Tree" which mixes Celtic music with jazz backing. After reaching Grade 8 with distinction in classical harp she then had a religious conversion to Celtic music and has never looked back since! She has a degree in medieval Celtic Studies from Trinity College, Cambridge. |
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CATRIN FINCH
Described as “The Queen of Harps”, Catrin has delighted audiences with her performances in the UK and worldwide. Inspired to learn the harp at the age of five, her rise to prominence started almost immediately, achieving the highest mark in the UK for her Grade VIII exam at the age of nine. She studied with Elinor Bennett for eight years before entering the Purcell School. Catrin graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in 2002 where she studied with Skaila Kanga and received the Queen’s Award for the most outstanding student of her year.
Her first major competition success came in 1999 winning the Lily Laskine International Harp Competition in France, one of the premier harp competitions in the world. On winning the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York, Catrin went on to play in over thirty states in the USA, including recitals and concerto debuts in New York, including the Lincoln Centre and Weill Recital Hall, Boston and Washington D.C. In May 2004 she was nominated for a Classical Brit Award and has also received an “Echo Klassik” in Germany.
Catrin is the former Royal Harpist to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales. Holding the appointment from 2000-2004, she had the honour of reviving this ancient tradition last held in 1873. During her period as Royal Harpist she played regularly at the Royal Palaces and performed to Royalty from around the world.
She has performed extensively throughout the U.S.A., the Middle East, Asia and Europe. She has appeared with many of the world’s top orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Pops, the Philharmonia, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the London Mozart Players, the English Chamber Orchestra, the Charlotte Symphony, the Lake Charles Symphony, the North Carolina Symphony and the Manchester Camerata. Festival appearances include Salzburg, Edinburgh, Spoleto, Smithsonian Folklife, MDR Musiksommer Festival in Leipzig, Le Domaine Forget and Lanaudiere Festivals in Canada and the Gödöllő Harp Festival in Hungary. |
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GWENAN GIBBARD
Gwenan, from the Llŷn peninsula, stands at the forefront of today’s thriving Welsh traditional music scene. Having graduated in music from the University of Wales Bangor, and gaining a masters degree in performance and research in the field of Welsh music, she went on to further her studies at the Royal Academy of Music, London. She has won many harp and singing competitions at The National Eisteddfod of Wales, The Cerdd Dant Festival and The Pan Celtic Festival, and has performed at several festivals, at home and abroad, including The Lorient Interceltic Festival (Britanny), The World Harp Congress (Dublin), The North American Festival of Wales, Celtic Colours Festival (Nova Scotia, Canada), The Edinburgh International Harp Festival and Celtic Connections (Glasgow). She has released two albums, to much acclaim, ‘Y Gwenith Gwynnaf’ in 2006, and, most recently, ‘Sidan Glas’, both of which include her own exciting, contemporary arrangements of Welsh traditional music and songs, the playing firmly rooted in the heart of the tradition, yet showing a fresh and innovative approach. |
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MEINIR HEULYN
Meinir Heulyn is one of Wales’ most proficient and versatile harpists and is a highly respected and dedicated teacher. Classically trained, she enjoyed thirty years as Principal Harpist for the Orchestra of Welsh National Opera where she performed internationally and recorded extensively.
She is Head of Harp Studies at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Since 2002 she has been able to develop her solo career in international festivals and music clubs. Her performances display superb musicianship and her passion for traditional music: she is a prolific arranger and has published over thirty volumes of harp music, sixteen of these being volumes of Welsh traditional music. |
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CLAIRE JONES
Official Harpist to HRH The Prince of Wales, Claire Jones and percussionist Chris Marshall have recently launched their new duet; C2 Duo. This unusual combination of various instruments is bursting in energy, style and originality. Claire, who is by Royal appointment, and Chris who plays in the Westend join forces to deliver a spectacular, unique approach by performing famous works which have been arranged by Chris, ranging from Bach to Bernstein, Classical to Jazz. They have already represented Wales at the Best of Britain Show at London's Excel Centre and are well known for their innovative approach towards interacting with their audiences.
Claire as one of the country's leading young harpists and has performed over 100 times for Royalty, and as a concerto soloist with World class orchestras such as the Philharmonia, and the English Chamber Orchestra. She will be the soloist on a new CD with the Philharmonia Orchestra, which will also feature harp solos, released in September (Universal & Classic FM label), and concerto album with the English Chamber Orchestra in October (SIgnum Classics) with her London debut and CD launch in Cadogan Hall London on the 4th of November 2010. Claire had the honor of opening the International Rugby Games in the Millennium Stadium Cardiff last year for an audience of 75,000 and 4 million viewers, she also recently performed solo in an electrifying concert with Bryn Terfel, recorded a duet with Julian Lloyd Webber, performed a recital at Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, and made duo appearances with Shan Cothi and Rhydian Roberts (X Factor). She will tour the Mediterranean with the English Chamber Orchestra and Joshua Bell in October, and looks forward to a special concerto performance under the baton of Sir Neville Marriner in 2011.
Percussionist and arranger Chris Marshall is one of Wales' bright young talents, and has performed on many of the Westend shows in London such as 'We Will Rock You', 'Carousel', 'The Mask of Zorro', and 'Evita' the European tour, along with performances with many of the country's leading orchestras such as the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Shakespeare Company, English National Ballet, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. He has recorded on various albums including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and more recently the Radio 1 live lounge. Chris travels frequently on pop tours across Europe, with more recent performances in Dubai and Monte Carlo. His ensemble 'Floating Points' is currently signed with the EMI label. |
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GWENLLIAN LLYR
Gwenllian began her musical studies at the age of two on the violin, but naturally gravitated towards the harp. She started lessons with her mother at the age of seven, and enjoyed performing and competing in local and national competitions as a soloist and in chamber music. Gwenllian spent three years as a member of the NCO, and then joined the NYOGB where she met and started studying with Susan Drake. After two years, Gwenllian began lessons with Caryl Thomas, who continued to teach her throughout her studies at RWCMD. During her studies she has received numerous awards and prizes, including the Salvi Scholarship and the Nansi Richards Scholarship, and in 2010 she was named co-winner of the RWCMD Concerto Trials. Gwenllian has also participated in many master-classes with world-renowned harpists such as Catrin Finch, Sivan Magen, Isabelle Moretti, Marisa Robles, Nancy Allen, Isabelle Perrin and Ieuan Jones, with whom she also studies. In addition to local and national competitions, Gwenllian also competes internationally and last year was a semi-finalist in the prestigious 17th International Harp Contest in Israel. This year has been a busy year for Gwenllian with her achieving a place in the semi finals of both the First International Harp Competition in the Netherlands and the recent 8th USA International Harp Competition in Bloomington, Indiana. Gwenllian has just graduated from the BMus course at RWCMD with a First Class Honours degree and has been accepted to study in Paris with Isabelle Perrin. |
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ELERI TURNER
At present, I’m a peripatetic harp teacher for Ceredigion Education Authority. I also run harp group sessions at the Harp Centre of Wales (Telynau Teifi) and have produced a series of on-line lessons for beginners on YouTube. I really do enjoy teaching the harp and to do this in a group session is a bonus. I believe that such sessions can be supportive, a healthy challenge, and fun! I do hope you will take this opportunity to come along and enjoy. |
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HEATHER YULE - traditional Scottish harp and story
Heather specialises as a traditional storyteller using harp music in a unique and exciting way to illustrate and enrich her stories. A vivacious storyteller, she is in great demand in schools and libraries throughout Scotland as well as performing and leading workshops at major international storytelling festivals. Heather began storytelling at a very young age inspired by her mother, who is both a folklorist and a professional storyteller. As a teenager she started learning the traditional Scottish harp (clarsach) with Savourna Stevenson. Heather then went on to study classical pedal harp and, after gaining a BMus in harp performance, began a career playing and teaching the clarsach professionally. However, she did not forget her love of storytelling. In 1998 she was selected as an apprentice storyteller within the Scottish Storytelling Centre's National Training Initiative Mentoring Scheme and since then has been developing and honing her skills as a storyteller/musician. Traditional Celtic folktales, stories featuring musicians, Traveller tales and international wonder tales form the basis of Heather's repertoire. Heather enjoys telling stories to children of all ages and adults. |
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SHELLEY FAIRPLAY - Summer Harp Festival Advisor
I am thrilled to be working with David Hardy and all staff at the National Botanic Garden of Wales on the Summer Harp Festival and I am delighted that so many wonderful harpists and students are taking part this year. I attended a harp course when I had just begun learning the harp in 1991 and found the workshops, master classes and concerts to be overwhelmingly inspiring, informative and enjoyable. I was also lucky enough to be part of a harp ensemble for many years and the experience of seeing what more advance players were achieving whilst helping newer students in the group proved invaluable both for inspiration and for assimilating teaching skills. I am passionate about creating similar experiences for current harp students that will help to promote the harp in Wales, inspire and enthuse all involved. This festival aims to do just that and I hope you all have a wonderful time. www.harpwales.com |