4 Girls 4 Harps is a quartet of award-winning female harpists formed in 2000.
They play Salvi
concert harps and modern
electric harps.
As of June 2012, the members were Keziah Thomas, Angharad Wyn Jones, Harriet Adie and Eleanor Turner.
Radio
The group's music has been broadcast internationally on
ABC Classic FM
ABC Classic, formerly ABC-FM (also ABC Fine Music), and then ABC Classic FM, is an Australian classical music radio station available in Australia and internationally. Its website features classical music news, features and listening guides. I ...
and in the UK on
Classic FM, where their recording was
David Mellor's Recommended CD of the week in June 2009, on
Rob Cowan's Breakfast Show on
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also featuring. The st ...
in September 2009,
and on
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content ...
's ''
Melodies for You
''Melodies for You'' was a long-running BBC radio music programme, broadcast on Sunday mornings until 1992 and Sunday evenings subsequently, which presented works of light popular and classical music.
The show was merged with '' Your Hundred B ...
'' programme with
Alan Titchmarsh
Alan Fred Titchmarsh HonFSE (born 2 May 1949) is an English gardener, broadcaster, TV presenter, poet, and novelist. After working as a professional gardener and a gardening journalist, he established himself as a media personality through a ...
in March 2010.
In December 2013, 4 Girls 4 Harps performed live on BBC Radio 3.
In May 2015, the 15th anniversary of its formation, the group again performed live on BBC Radio 3 with the BBC noting, "Their upcoming concert at Temple Church in London features the world premiere of 'Tetra' -a four movement work based on the lives of four influential woman and composed by four female composers, commissioned by the quartet to mark the anniversary".
In the same month, they also performed live on BBC Radio Four's ''
Woman's Hour
''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946.
History
Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by ...
''.
In May 2017,
Classic FM's Lizzie Davis noted, "4 Girls 4 Harps
avemade a name for themselves with innovative arrangements of well-known works – from Piazzolla to Borodin. Harps don’t often get the chance to be centre-stage, but 4 Girls 4 Harps are changing that, with their creative and virtuosic arrangements of well-known works for harp quartet".
Television
4 Girls 4 Harps have also featured in several TV programmes including
S4C
S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking ...
's Nosen Lawen (March 2010) and
Wedi 7 (May 2009). The group were also showcased in an article in
''Classical Music'' magazine (August 2009) about upcoming new groups and in Muso magazine (Oct/Nov 2009 issue).
Critical reception
Reviews of 4 Girls 4 Harps' concerts include:
"...A varied and innovative repertoire and four engaging personalities: A star." - N2 Arts and Entertainment, May 2010
"... no gimmicks, no stunts, no fancy costumes beyond elegant evening wear – just engaging chat and rather lovely music." - ''
Lichfield
Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west ...
Gazette'', July 2011
"enriched their audience with floods of melody in an eclectic yet well proportioned selection of musical delights." - ''
South Wales Evening Post'', July 2012
References
{{reflist
External links
WebsiteFacebook pageBlogTwitter
British harpists
British instrumental musical groups
Women harpists