Harp On Wight 2021
Concerts

HARPCATCHER

MERLYNNA JOHNSON

I came to play the harp in my mid forties over twenty years ago! I had studied piano and voice from an early age but was drawn to harp music when my own three children were studying various musical instruments.
Thinking it an impossible dream I found a secondhand harp and was put in touch with a local teacher who took me through harp technique.
Som I am living proof that learning the harp is possible at any age! Since then I have played for every occasion sometimes combining harp and voie. I am now based on the Isle of Wight and, apart from the Harp Festival, my main focus has been Harp for Healing visiting the many Retirement Homes on the Island in conjunction with Independent Arts.

HARPCATCHER

BETHAN WATSON

Welsh harpist Bethan Watson is a graduate of the Royal College of Music and Drama where she studied under the guidance of Meinir Heulyn.
While studying at the RWCMD Bethan was a member of the Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra and participated in master classes with renowned harpist’s such as Isabelle Perrin, Caryl Thomas and Frances Kelly.
Bethan has performed with numerous Orchestras and is happiest when performing with the Jersey Symphony Orchestra. For over twelve years Bethan worked for the World famous harp manufacturer Salvi Harps. After a UK company restructure, she embarked on a new challenge by establishing The Harp Studio.
In 2019 she was awarded dealer of the year by Salvi, Lyon & Healy Harps. Bethan is also an official authorised dealer for Welsh harp manufacture Teifi Harps and Surrey based harp manufacture Pilgrim Harps.

Concert information:

THURSDAY 21st OCTOBER 2021
Harp Dinner (Booking essential) £30

19:00 hours Michelangelo Restaurant
31 St. Thomas Street Ryde PO33 2DL
Telephone 01983 811 966

OPENING CONCERT

​MUSIC FOR HARP AND VOICES FROM THE BRITISH ISLES 
Our Festival Patron Anne Denholm joins forces with  the Voices of the Isle of Wight Choir. The choir, founded  and conducted by Linda Filby-Borrett, have been performing together for more than 20 years and have recorded a number of cd’s and a dvd. The choir has a broad age range from 7 to 80+ but they all have one thing in common – they love to sing !

ANNE DENHOLM

Anne Denholm is one of the leading British harpists of her generation and served as Official Harpist to HRH The Prince of Wales from 2015-2019. As a soloist and chamber musician, Anne enjoys giving regular recitals across the U.K. and further afield. Anne has also performed across the U.K. and internationally alongside her flute and harp duo partner, Alena Walentin ARAM. 
New music is a large part of Anne’s work; she has been recording and premiering new works for solo harp since 2006 and is a founding member of award-winning contemporary experimental quartet, The Hermes Experiment, who have commissioned over sixty composers in the last six years. In 2019 The Hermes Experiment won the Royal Over-Seas League Mixed Ensemble Prize, and their debut album of original commissions, HERE WE ARE, was released with Delphian Records in July 2020 to great critical acclaim. Their second album, SONG, will be released in Autumn 2021.
Anne freelances with orchestras and choirs across England, most recently working with the BBC Concert Orchestra, English National Opera and Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique. She has recorded for CDs with The Choir of St John’s College Cambridge, The Temple Church Choir, Ely Cathedral Girls’ Choir and The Carice Singers. 
    A dedicated teacher, Anne holds positions at Eton College, Windsor and the Dragon School, Oxford, in addition to her private teaching. She also hugely enjoys working as an Instrumental Tutor for the National Children’s Orchestras of Great Britain.
Anne studied at Newnham College Cambridge University and the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, after starting her harp lessons at school in South West Wales. She received her Master’s from the RAM with distinction, studying under Karen Vaughan, and graduating as the first ever harpist to win the historic RAM Club Prize. In 2020 she was elected an Associate of the RAM (ARAM).
Web: www.annedenholm.com

Concert information:

FRIDAY 22nd OCTOBER 2021
19:15
​Tickets: SOLD OUT - Thank you for your support. Keep scrolling for information on our other concerts. 
RYDE METHODIST CHURCH, Garfield Road, Ryde 
PO33 2PT

LINDA FILBY-BORRETT

Voices of The Isle of Wight Choir
Linda Filby-Borrett studied singing at the prestigious Guildhall school of music and Drama in London, after which she sang professionally for several years prior to moving to the Isle of Wight in the 1990 's with her young family. Linda soon established a successful singing school which was recognised in 2017 when she won Classic FM “Music Teacher of the Year” Lifetime Achievement Award.
To enable her pupils to experience many styles of music she formed VOICES OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT who are thrilled to have the opportunity to perform with the harpist Ann Denholm

PERFORMANCE PLATFORM

featuring two leading young international harpists.
Winner and runner up of the 2021 North London Festival Camac Harp Competition

TARA VISCARDI

Irish harpist Tara Viscardi hails from the Beara Peninsula, and is currently in the final year of her Master of Music in Performance at the Royal College of Music studying with Ieuan Jones, alongside completing a Postgraduate Diploma in Harp Performance at the Civica Scuola di Musica Claudio Abbado, Milan with Irina Zingg. She is also a 2021 Wigmore Learning/Open Royal Academy of Music Fellow as member of early music/folk fusion trio Nobody's Jig. 
First prize winner of the 2021 London Camac Harp Competition, Tara is a multiple prize-winner and has performed widely as a solo and chamber recitalist. Recent highlights include appearances at the Bloomsbury Festival London, Dublin Philharmonic Society recital series, the Irish Embassy in London, The Royal College of Music Chamber Music series and the Irish Cultural Centre, in association with Irish Heritage. Previous highlights include performing on the Young Artists Masterclass Programme at the 13th World Harp Congress Hong Kong, for HRH The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall in Hillsborough Castle, and for Irish President Michael D. Higgins and Mrs Sabina Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin. Since residing in London, Tara has performed in venues including the Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, St George's Hanover Square, and the Royal Over-Seas League's Princess Alexandra Hall as well as presenting performances at Goodenough College where she was the 2018/19 Music Scholar.
Tara obtained her Bachelor of Music (Honours) from TU Dublin Conservatory of Music and Drama, where she studied with Prof. Clíona Doris and Denise Kelly McDonnell. During her time at the conservatory, she was awarded first prizes for senior recital and concerto and made her concerto debut with the then DIT Symphony Orchestra. Further awards include the John Vallery Memorial Prize for the ‘best performance by a string player’ at the 2016 Irish Freemasons Young Musician of the Year, runner up for the 2018 Irish Heritage Music Bursary for Performance as well as being a finalist for the 2020 Cherubim Music Trust Harp Competition. Tara is a multiple prize winner at Irish classical Feiseanna (national music competitions), having won all major prizes for harp, and has been featured as soloist in the ESB Feis Ceoil Young Platform Series held at the National Concert Hall, Dublin. She was the overall winner of the Kerry Rotary Young Musician of the Year and a finalist in the Rotary International Britain and Ireland Young Musician of the Year held in the UK in 2013.
Tara was twice selected for the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra Mentoring Scheme, and has previously been principal harpist with the European Doctors Orchestra, Ulster Youth Orchestra and Irish Symphonic Wind Orchestra, as well as a past scholarship recipient of the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland. She has benefited from numerous masterclasses with leading harpist including Milda Agazarian, Mara Galassi, Anneleen Lenaerts, Sioned Williams, Claire Jones, Gwyneth Wentink, Gabriella Dall’Olio, Stephen Fitzpatrick, Judy Loman, Catrin Finch, Elinor Bennett and Elizabeth Volpe Bligh.
A passionate Irish traditional musician, Tara regularly performs her own arrangements and compositions. Having performed and toured extensively with the TU Dublin Harp and Traditional Music ensembles, she has performed Live on RTÉ Ceili House and Radio Kerry. In 2018, she was a finalist in the World Music Competition at the Wales International Harp Festival, accompanied by piper Fionn Ó hAlmhain and flute/bodhran player Jack Ó hAonghusa, winning the Confucius Prize. She has been special guest for a Retreat to the Harp workshop and recital, London, at the Cairde na Cruite (Irish Harp Association) Spring Concert, and also performed at the Rising Harp Stars series at the Cairde na Cruite International Irish Harp Festival. Tara plays a beautiful Killarney Harp hand-crafted for her by Tim O’ Carroll in her native Co. Kerry.
Tara is very grateful for the generous support of the Arts Council of Ireland and the RCM in the final year of her studies.

Concert information:

SATURDAY 23rd OCTOBER 2021
14:00
Tickets: £8 Children under 16: £4
​RYDE METHODIST CHURCH, Garfield Road, Ryde 
PO33 2PT

MARIA MCNAMEE

Maria McNamee is an Irish harpist from Newry who began playing the harp at the age of 9, embracing both traditional Irish and classical music. She is a current undergraduate scholar at Trinity Laban Conservatoire studying with Gabriella Dall’Olio and Frances Kelly. In 2011, Maria joined Chetham’s School of Music where she spent 6 years studying with Marie Leenhardt, Gabriella Dall’Olio and En Hudson.
Winner of the John Marson prize 2020, Maria was awarded 2nd prize in the London Camac competition 2021. In 2017 Maria became a runner up Irish heritage award winner with a performance at the Wigmore Hall. Solo engagements have included the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival, playing for London’s Irish ambassador at the Irish Embassy, for the Duke of Wellington at Aspley house, as well as regular performances at the Queen’s house and the ORNC Chapel in London.
As an orchestral Musician, Maria has gained invaluable experience playing under the baton of world-renowned conductors such as Micheal Seal, Paul Mann, Jac Van Steen, Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla, Franz Anton Krager and Ilyich Rivas. Maria has been a reserve member of GMJO and EUYO for two years and she is a current member of Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra who perform regularly. Before this, Maria was principle harpist of the Ulster Youth Orchestra and a member of the City of Birmingham Youth Orchestra for two years. Performing with many orchestras has brought Maria to venues such as the Royal Festival Hall, Symphony Hall (Birmingham), the Bridgewater Hall, Slovak Radio Hall, St John's Smith Square and the Stoller Hall. 
As a chamber musician, Maria's septet won 1st prize in the Fiona Ord chamber music competition 2017. Maria is currently enjoying part of several chamber groups, including The Maple trio (flute, viola and harp), The Marissa duo (flue and Haro) and a folk trio (fiddle percussion and harp).
Maria has taken part in masterclasses with the highly acclaimed harpists Fabrice Pierre, Marie Pierre Langlamet, Sylvain Blassel, Heidi Krutzen, Hugh Webb and Elizabeth Fontan-Binoche.
Other than playing music and teaching the harp, Maria enjoys painting embroidery and gardening. She is also a part time Nanny for two young children in her local area and loves teaching children to play the harp or piano. 
Maria is very appreciative of the support she receives from The Trinity College London Scholarship and Help Musicians UK. 

BEYOND THE HORIZON

Inspiring music from Lauren’s debut solo lever harp cd ‘Beyond The Horizon’ which showcases the unique qualities of the traditional lever harp – also known as the Celtic harp.  Interpretations of atmospheric works by 20th century composers ranging from John Cage and Peter Maxwell Davies to Lennon & Mc Cartney. During the concert, Lauren will be joint by Anne Denholm to play a duet piece entitled “Sea of Stars”.

LAUREN SCOTT

LAUREN SCOTT fell in love with the harp aged four after seeing a historic lever harp in a museum in Australia. After two years of pestering her parents she began harp lessons aged six when her family moved back to England. Lauren studied harp at Trinity College of Music and has a busy portfolio musical career. An established and in demand freelance player, she plays guest principal harp with many of the UK’s leading orchestras and chamber groups as well as pursuing her own projects. Her harp playing has led her to performing in venues across the UK from the Royal Albert Hall to West End shows to commercial recordings to live broadcasts on radio and TV. Lauren has recently embarked on a creative compositional journey having only started writing music in 2018. Since then she has published two volumes of music for lever harp, her music has received praise from harpists and harp societies worldwide and her music is used as set pieces on Trinity and AMEB syllabuses. In January 2020 she was a recipient of a PRS Foundation Women Make Music award to compose new harp music. In March 2020 her debut solo CD, Beyond the Horizon which features eight of her compositions alongside works by Peter Maxwell Davies and John Cage was released on the Avie Records label to critical acclaim. Her music has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, Scala Radio, included on BBC Introducing & Apple Music playlists and in January 2021 she was a recipient of a 'Developing Your Creative Practice' award from Arts Council England. Lauren is currently composer-in-residence with Harps North West. 
“Pre-eminently thoughtful and compelling, she draws sounds of deep soulfulness and will-o-the-wisp rustlings. Her Lever Harp sings sweetly and the recording is beautifully judged."  BBC Music Magazine 

Concert information:

SATURDAY 23rd OCTOBER 2021
19:15
Tickets: £ 14  Children under 16: £7
RYDE METHODIST CHURCH, Garfield Road, Ryde PO33 2PT

QUE LA TERRE LUI SOIT LEGERE...

Commemorating the centenary of Camille Saint-Saens (1921 -19411835-1921) who composed some of the finest and most enduring French music written for the harp. This programme also celebrates two other inspirational harpists who galvanised great composers to write for the harp: Micheline Kahn (1889-1987) and the tragic Doina Michailesco (1921-1941).

ALEXANDER RIDER

Alexander Rider has a fascination for the lore and history of the harp. His busy freelance career covers a wealth of projects ranging from period performance to the cutting edge of contemporary music. Highlights of Alexander's orchestral include the BBC Concert Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Ballet Rambert, London Chamber Orchestra, Schleswig Holstein Festival Orchestra and Chroma; extensive concert work in the fields of light music and music theatre; work on original instruments with the Academy of Ancient Music and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique.
As a recitalist, Alexander is known for his intriguing programmes that explore rarities of the harp's literature. Working on an original French Erard concert harp, he has given rein to his passion for the explosion of harp music in France at the turn of the last century, and in this field has given many acclaimed concerts and lecture recitals.
Alexander was a student of Frances Kelly and Gabriella Dall'Olio, before furthering his studies with Imogen Barford at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he later held a Guildhall Artist Fellowship.

Concert information:

SUNDAY 24th OCTOBER 2021
14:00
Tickets: £ 10 Children under 16: £5
RYDE METHODIST CHURCH, Garfield Road, Ryde PO33 2PT

LOVE IN SECRET

Expect an extraordinarily beautiful concert that promises be a joy to hear with gorgeous slow airs to percussive up tempo pieces with amazing dynamics  from a musician and composer of immense talent.
Catriona’s concert will include a premiere performance of music from her new album “Love in Secret”

CATRIONA MCKAY

Catriona McKay is from Dundee, Scotland. She is an award winning, fearless explorer of the Scottish harp who is widely recognised for her dynamic musicianship and innovative rhythm harp style. She embodies the strength and delicacy of her artistic imagination with the apparent simplicity of her wooden Starfish acoustic harp and its clear gut strings.
Common responses from her audiences include ‘she makes the harp sound like an orchestra!’ and ‘how can she make so many sounds with just 2 hands?!’ Even album reviewers ask if she has been double tracking!
Catriona has a hugely rewarding music partnership of more than 20 years with Shetland fiddler and composer Chris Stout. They have several recordings and have performed worldwide communicating their bold and adventurous dialogue of their native Scottish music. They have composed and scored their music for the Scottish Ensemble, Quatour Ébène, several international orchestras, bands and more.
In 2012 they premiered ‘Seavaigers’ the first ever concerto for Scottish harp and fiddle, written specially for them by composer Sally Beamish.
Catriona has 5 solo harp albums. Her recent recording ‘Love in Secret’ received 5 stars from the Scotsman and was hailed ‘one of best of 2020’ by folk radio.uk
Catriona created 3 albums of improvised music with composer and sound artist Alistair MacDonald. They will release a new album ‘When Feathers Appear’ in summer 2021.
Further albums include 2 with Swedish nyckelharper Olov Johansson, 3 albums with Shetland band Fiddlers' Bid and many guest appearances in many genres.
Catriona’s composition Swan LK243, written for a Shetland herring fishing boat that was built in 1900 has gone on to be played and recorded by musicians worldwide.
She has many awards including Scots Trad Music Awards Instrumentalist of the Year 2007 & 2014 and BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Best Duo 2018 with Chris Stout.

Concert information:

SUNDAY 24th OCTOBER 2021
19:15
RYDE METHODIST CHURCH, Garfield Road, Ryde. PO33 2PT
Tickets: £ 14  Children under 16: £7

IMPROMPTU HARP ENSEMBLE
​ADVENTURES FOR LEVER HARP

A  further performance by Lauren Scott together with students that have attended her festival workshop
​ “Adventures for Lever Harp”

LAUREN SCOTT

LAUREN SCOTT fell in love with the harp aged four after seeing a historic lever harp in a museum in Australia. After two years of pestering her parents she began harp lessons aged six when her family moved back to England. Lauren studied harp at Trinity College of Music and has a busy portfolio musical career. An established and in demand freelance player, she plays guest principal harp with many of the UK’s leading orchestras and chamber groups as well as pursuing her own projects. Her harp playing has led her to performing in venues across the UK from the Royal Albert Hall to West End shows to commercial recordings to live broadcasts on radio and TV. Lauren has recently embarked on a creative compositional journey having only started writing music in 2018. Since then she has published two volumes of music for lever harp, her music has received praise from harpists and harp societies worldwide and her music is used as set pieces on Trinity and AMEB syllabuses. In January 2020 she was a recipient of a PRS Foundation Women Make Music award to compose new harp music. In March 2020 her debut solo CD, Beyond the Horizon which features eight of her compositions alongside works by Peter Maxwell Davies and John Cage was released on the Avie Records label to critical acclaim. Her music has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, Scala Radio, included on BBC Introducing & Apple Music playlists and in January 2021 she was a recipient of a 'Developing Your Creative Practice' award from Arts Council England. Lauren is currently composer-in-residence with Harps North West. 

Concert information:

MONDAY 25th OCTOBER 2021
​14:00
Tickets: £5
RYDE METHODIST CHURCH, Garfield Road, Ryde PO33 2PT
“Pre-eminently thoughtful and compelling, she draws sounds of deep soulfulness and will-o-the-wisp rustlings. Her Lever Harp sings sweetly and the recording is beautifully judged."  BBC Music Magazine ​

ANNE-MARIE O'FARRELL

A very warm welcome to Anne-Marie, a leading lever harpist of her generation who has performed all over the world. She is highly respected for her unique levering techniques which she continues to develop. Expect a sparkling concert!

ANNE-MARIE O'FARRELL

Leading lever harpist of her generation, Dr Anne-Marie O’Farrell from Dublin has performed all over the world as a solo artist, accompanist and in ensembles, and is regularly featured in broadcasts. On lever harp, she is particularly recognized for her expansion of repertoire and levering techniques, as a result of which the world’s leading harpmakers Salvi Harps redesigned their lever harps to become concert instruments.  She has performed with numerous orchestras, including the Irish Baroque Orchestra, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, the Irish Memory Orchestra, and the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra with whom she premiered Ryan Molloy's Concerto for lever harp, Gealán. A prolific recording artist, she has released several CDs, including Just So Bach, Harping Bach to Carolan, The Jig’s Up and My Lagan Love; Double Strung and Duopoly with Cormac De Barra; and Harp to Harp with harmonica player Brendan Power. She is frequently invited to give recitals, workshops and masterclasses at international conferences and festivals around the world, in addition to performance at several World Harp Congresses. Dedicated to the expansion of repertoire for the lever harp, she has published critical editions for lever harp of Bach’s cello, keyboard and lute repertoire. Anne-Marie holds a PhD in composition with Piers Hellawell at Queen’s University Belfast and lectures in composition at the TU Dublin Conservatory of Music and Drama. She has recently completed several large-scale commissions featuring the harp, including a lever harp concerto, and a five-movement work for large harp ensemble. She held a three-year composition residency, funded by the Arts Council of Ireland, at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick.

Concert information:

MONDAY 25th OCTOBER 2021
​19:15
RYDE METHODIST CHURCH, Garfield Road, Ryde. PO33 2PT
Tickets: £14  Children under 16: £7