Friday 26th October 2018

Opening Concert
Hermes Experiment
Anne Denholm (Harp), Heloise Werner (Soprano),
​Oliver Pashley (Clarinet) and Marianne Schofield (Double Bass)

The Hermes Experiment is a contemporary quartet made up of harp, clarinet, voice and double bass. Harp on Wight’s Patron Anne Denholm is a founding member. Their programme for this concert of Early and Baroque music will include Bach Preludes and Handels “Endless Pleasure” from his opera “Semele”.
‘Hermes Experiment’ is an ensemble of four young professional musicians passionate about contemporary and experimental music, inspired to create something innovative and unique. The four met whilst studying music at Cambridge University. The ensemble is co-directed by Heloise Werner and Hanna Grzeskiewicz. Capitalising on their deliberately idiosyncratic combination of instruments, the ensemble regularly commissions new works, as well as creating their own innovative arrangements and venturing into live free improvisation.
Winners of the Tunnell Trust Award 2017, Park Lane Group Young Artists 2015/16, and winners of Nonclassical’s Battle of the Bands 2014, the ‘Hermes Experiment’ has established itself on the London contemporary classical scene, with regular performances for organisations including Nonclassical, Kammerklang, Listenpony and Bastard Assignments.
Photo by http://www.thurstanredding.com
Recent highlights include a showcase performance at Tallin Music Week 2017 and the ensemble’s debut at London’s Southbank Centre, Kings Place and Spitalfields Festival.
The ensemble strives to create a platform for cross-disciplinary collaboration. In June 2015 they created a ‘musical exhibition’ with photographer Thurstan Redding and in September 2016 they developed a new interpretation of Shakespeare’s ‘The Winter’s Tales’ during an Aldeburgh Music Residency.
‘Hermes Experiment’ is generously supported by Art Council England, Aldeburgh Music, the RVW Trust, Hinrichsen Foundation, Britten-Pears Foundation, Future of Russia Foundation, Oleg Prokofiev Trust, Nicholas Boas Charitable Trust, PRS for Music Foundation and Help Musicians UK.
www.thehermesexperiment.com

Announcement of the winners
​of the
​Harp On Wight Music Competition
Music performed by Fran Barsby
Saturday 27th October 2018

Performance Platform
featuring winners of the 2018 North London Festival Camac Harp Competition:
MILO HARPER  (from UK)
NICOLETTE CHIN  (from SINGAPORE)

NICOLETTE CHIN

NICOLETTE is one of the leading Singaporean harpists of her generation, having performed internationally and around the UK. An avid solo performer, she is twice runner-up of the Camac Harp Prize in London. During her studies at the RAM, where she has been the first Singaporean harpist to be awarded a place, she has been awarded the Skaila Kanga Harp Prize, the Guy Magrath Harp Prize, a “Very High Commendation” for its Patrons Awards, and was a finalist in its historic Club Prize. Other recent notable achievements include being selected to perform in Hong Kong for the Focus on Youth concert series at the World Harp Congress, reaching the final of the 2018 Sir Karl Jenkins Award (in association with Classic FM) and winning the 2nd prize of the Asian Harp Chamber Competition 2016. in addition to solo playing, Nicolette enjoys work with opera groups, orchestras, choral societies as well as experimental, contemporary and popular music ensembles. Orchestras she has performed with include the Singapore National Youth Orchestra, all the various Royal Academy orchestras (including its Symphony Orchestra) and the Saffron Opera Group, under renowned conductors such as Semyon Bychkov, Oliver Knussen, Yan Pascal Tortelier and Christopher Warren-Green.
A great interest in contemporary and experimental music has led Nicolette to create the ‘4/12 Ensemble’, an ensemble dedicated to such music, alongside her fellow RAM colleagues.
Recent engagements include a concert at the Angela Burgess Recital Hall and an opening set at Kammer Klang. Nicolette is currently in her fourth year as a harp performance major at the Royal Academy of Music. London, studying with Catherine White, Karen Vaughan and Skaila Kanga. She also studied second study composition with Dr Patrick Nunn. Her studies would not be possible without the generous support she receives as a current full scholar of the Loke Cheng-Kim Foundation (Singapore), and as a Peter Simon scholarship recipient of the Royal Academy. This autumn will see Nicolette begin her postgraduate studies at the RAM on an entrance scholarship and as a “Help Musicians” UK postgraduate award holder. ​​

​MILO HARPER

MILO is gaining a reputation as one of the leading young harpists from the UK. Winner of the prestigious Camac Harp Competition (London, 2018), he has also been a prizewinner at international harp competitions in Italy (2017), Hungary )2016) and the UK and was one of two UK harpists invited to perform in the ‘Focus on Youth’ concert series at the World Harp Congress in Hong Kong 2017. He is currently in his 3rd year studying at the Royal Academy of Music with Head of Harp, Karen Vaughan (former co-principal, LSO) and Professor Emerita Skaila Kanga.
Milo attended the Junior department of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama from 2010-2015 and in 2013 he was appointed Principal Harp for the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain on application. In 2016 he became the harpist for the internationally acclaimed string orchestra LGT Young Soloists; described as “clearly one of the finest youth orchestras in Europe” (Fanfare Magazine). In December 2017 he toured with the orchestra as a concerto soloist in Hong Kong and Singapore and he is featured on the CDs “Russian Soul” and “Nordic Dream” for Sony/RCA Red Seal Records. Milo has performed numerous times in the UK’s top concert halls and freelances regularly as an orchestral and chamber musician across the UK.
Saturday 27th October 2018

LILY NEILL 
(from USA)

Lily returns to the Isle of Wight.
She has always been a popular visitor here, having played here previously seven times. Her highly original compositions along side her dynamic mixture of Irish jigs and reels, Lithuanian dances, Finnish tangos and American ragtime on a lever harp, have enthralled audiences around the world.
LILY was just three years old when she told her family that she was going to play the harp, and even made one for herself from a shoebox and rubber bands! She began her music education on the piano yet her determination to play the harp was unwavering and she soon became proficient at both instruments.​
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By the time she was thirteen, Lily had won numerous prizes at music competitions—including the All-Ireland— and had given her first solo concert. Lily’s teenage years were filled with everything from playing the harp in orchestral premieres, to collaborations with dancers and actors, and performances with the legendary Derek Bell and The Chieftains—whose leader, Paddy Moloney, noted her "... tremendous promise". Lily also performed for President Bill Clinton in Washington, D.C. and a decade later she performed in Moscow for President Mary McAleese, at the first ever visit by an Irish Head of State to Russia.
Collaborations with poets, rock n’roll artists, filmmakers, and dancers have all influenced Lily’s playing and today it is her solo performances that highlight the scope of her musicianship. From North America to Europe and Russia she has mesmerised and delighted listeners in concert halls and theatres, at clubs and festivals, and on television. Critics have praised her effortless technique, versatility, and the uniqueness of her style. Lily has released two solo CDs to strong acclaim, ‘Without Words’ in 2004— which was short-listed for a GRAMMY nomination—and 2011’s ‘The Habit of a Foreign Sky’. Lily’s firm understanding of the harp, coupled with the diversity of her experience, and an appreciation of music in the broadest sense, has contributed to her wholly rooted yet eminently distinctive and modern sound. Her concerts feature everything from original compositions and tangos to Elizabethan music, ragtime, and traditional tunes from across the globe. www.lilyneill.com
Sunday 28th October 2018

ANOUK PLATENKAMP
(from The Netherlands)

​Renowned healing music specialist, Anouk will be performing traditional European music including pieces from her home country of The Netherlands as well as tunes from Scotland, Ireland, Sweden and Brittany in addition to her own compositions on celtic harp.
Anouk’s love for the harp started at the age of three and has grown steadily ever since. She has a Bachelor degree in Classical Pedal Harp (Conservatory of Maastricht) and branched out into specialist studies in Jazz Harp and Therapeutic Harp Music in Holland and in the United States. At the moment she is following a post-Bachelor degree on Early Childhood Music Education. Anouk has been playing bedside harp music since the age of 12. She was one of the first therapeutic harpists in the Netherlands and has developed her own programme and method, instructing harpists on how to make music with therapeutic benefits.
Anouk performs a wide range of music, from classical to traditional, both as a soloist and together with other prominent Dutch musicians. She is dedicated to promoting the Celtic harp and determined to establish it as an instrument with its own repertoire and style, separating it from the wider known pedal harp.
Her repertoire encompasses a range of traditional music from many European cultures, such as Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, Bulgaria, former Yugoslavia and Sweden. Anouk’s interest in European traditional music also brought her to discover her own country’s roots. She is the first harpist to adapt Dutch music for the Celtic harp. As part of her goal to promote the instrument, Anouk organises workshops and festivals in the Netherlands. She is a Board member of the Dutch Harp Association.
Anouk is a well-loved teacher in the Netherlands and Germany, and at festivals all over Europe. She has taught in numerous countries, including Scotland (Edinburgh International Harp Festival), Sweden and Denmark (Nordic Harp Meeting), Belgium (Flanders Celtic Harp Meeting) and Germany (Harfentreffen). www.harpiste.nl
Sunday 28th October 2018

Pandit Budhaditya Mukherjee
 Sitar
Soumen Nandy
Tabla
 (from India)

A non-Harp evening… a celebration of Spiritual Tradition and Divine Creativity through the sound of one of the most popular Hindustani instruments: Sitar, played by virtuoso Pandid Budhaditya Mukherjee. Budhaditya’s music has blossomed into a unique magic that reflets the beauty of the sitar with its perfect clarity.
PANDIT BUDHADITYA MUKHERJEE’s name has long become synonymous with the sitar, upholding with great distinction the traditions of the Imdadkhani Gharana of Sitar.
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Considered as the leading sitarist of his generation, Budhadityaji received his entire training in Sitar and Surbahar from his illustrious father, the late Pandit Bimalendu Mukherjee, sitarist and doyen of the Imdadkhani Gharana of sitar. From the start, aged 5, Budhaditya’s music has blossomed into a unique lyrical magic. Despite becoming a Gold Medal Graduate in Metallurgical Engineering, Budhadityaji’s life has been dedicated to the Sitar. Through his immense love and his mastery of the instrument he has not only kept alive but also improved and furthered the creative concepts of Ustad Imdad Khan - after whom the Gharana is named, and in the process he has also popularised the traditions of Imdadkhani Gharana.
Having specialised in the disciplined development of the ragas based on the gayaki style of the Gharana, Pandit Budhaditya Mukherjee has enthralled audiences at over 1526 concerts within India and 1278 recitals abroad in 26 countries. Since 1979 he has performed in 26 countries including the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UAE, Armenia, and all over Europe. On June 30,1990, Budhaditya Mukherjee created history by becoming the first ever musician to perform at the House of Commons, London. Many students have benefitted from his teaching. He has made 46 commercial musical releases. Pandit Budhaditya Mukherjee has received a number of prestigious awards: in 1994, the Kumar Gandharva Sanman from Madhya Pradesh State government, the Sangeet Natak Academy Award in 2010 from the Government of India, and in 2016 the Sangeet Mahasanman Award from the West Bengal State government. www.budhaditya.com
SOUMEN NANDY was born into a musical family in West Bengal. He began playing tabla at 6 years of age. He first studied with Pandit Pankaj Chatterjee, renowned tabla maestro of Farukabad Gharana and later with his son Pandit Arup Chatterjee, also a renowned musician.

Soumen holds an India Government scholarship. He performs regularly on All India Radio and Doordarshan. He has accompanied many renowned musicians in concerts all over India, including Pandit Budhaditya Mukherjee at the concert of Dhawal Nisha in Mumbai and with Pandit Shyamal Chatterjee in Kolkata. He has also played solo at the Pandit Gyam Prkash Ghosh Memorial Foundation and Ustand Kermatullah Khan Memorial Conference. Soumen has been awarded the Jnana Pravaaha Scholarship from the Governor of West Bengal.
Monday 29th October 2018

Nikolaz Cadoret
(from Brittany)

Lost Influences (solo for acoustic and electric harp) Breton musician Nikolaz Cadoret’s innovative live performances present an exciting contrast, ranging from gentle airs and reels on the acoustic lever harp to slow building, dynamic and thunderous pieces on the electro-harp, incorporating looping effects.
Born in Brittany, Nikolaz Cadoret is a musician with a multiple identity. He started studying the Celtic Harp with renowned harpists Dominig Bouchaud, Katrien Delavier and Janet Harbison. He also graduated in Pedal Harp at the Zürich Musik Hochschule and studied with Professors Evelyne Gaspart, Catherine Michel and Xavier de Maistre.
Prize winner of several prestigious international competitions (Reinl Stiftung, Bloomington...), Nikolaz has worked as solo harpist all over Europe. He has also held the solo harp position at the Komische Oper Berlin, and collaborated with world class orchestras such as Berliner Philharmoniker, Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Opernhaus Zürich.
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Nikolaz simultaneously works on improvisation and trans-arts projects with Collectif Polop, FackZeDirtyCut (with Helen Breschand) or Meteoros (With Jérémie Mignotte). With ‘Descofar Trio’ (2 electric harps and percussion) he renews the celtic harp repertoire in the show ‘Finis Terrae’.

Nikolaz has brought the electric harp into unexplored fields with his chanson-rock band ‘JeanJeanne’ (first album released in 2016). Since January 2013 he has been teaching the harp and improvisation at the Brest Conservatoire (Brittany) and Imep in Namur (Belgium). Nikolaz offers a music at a crossing of his inspirations: a deeply tradition- rooted playing, coloured by all those encounters in the other musical fields, from classical music to improvisation, without restraint. www.nikolazcadoret.com
Tuesday 30th October 2018

THE MAGIC ISLAND
(from I.O.W.)

Local musicians and artists from Harp on Wight Elf’s workshop, will present an hour magical journey with story and harp for everyone who considers themselves still a child!
Tuesday 30th October 2018

HERMANOS CORBALAN
(from Paraguay)

Since 2007 Sixto Corbalan and his brother Juanjo have been performing as the harp duo Hermanos Corbalan. The duo have been gaining interest, not only in Paraguay, but also internationally, having a special focus on new compositions for the Paraguayan harp, and the mixing up of different musical genres. Both brothers are excellent harpists and innovative composers. Their musical versatility has gained them special attention as a harp duo. The brothers previously visited Ryde as part of their UK tour in the autumn of 2016. Their dazzling level of musical dexterity at the Methodist Church enthralled the audience and we are delighted to welcome them back to be part of Harp on Wight.
Since 2007 Sixto and Juanjo Corbalan perform as harp duo “Hermanos Corbalan”. This conformation is just unusual even in Paraguay where the harp is a national symbol of folk music. Each one has earned a place of privilege as soloist, so in the last years they are more and more required as harp duo en various venues in their country as well as abroad.
In their compositions they connect different genres with their folk roots achieving a great musical versatility with an actual and renewed repertoire and conferring the young feeling to the contemporary music for Paraguayan Harp. With their powerful harmonious but above all expressive music, they reach to draw images with all shades and contrasts which provide a magic very difficult to escape from.
Their investigations and excursions to other genres turn this harp duo into a perfect harmony with an amazing sound.
International Press Voices:
The Scotsman 2014: “…mix of folk-based material, national repertoire classics and contemporary compositions, some original, took in a thrilling sweep of dynamic, textural and emotional contrasts, from bare-knuckle bassy attack to exquisitely pretty playfulness, tangy jazz tones to country-blues licks, clamorous drama to shimmering serenity: his standing ovation was thoroughly earned.”
The Scotsman 2015: “…both players combined individual virtuosity with endless inventive elaborations in sensational fashion, and their interplay on the instrument simply amplified the pleasures of the music… The large audience liked it so much and demanded repeat when the encore came around….”
www.sixtocorbalan.co.py