The Edinburgh International Harp Festival is an annual

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

festival held in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

that includes concerts, workshops, and courses, as well as one of the world's largest exhibitions of harp-makers. Organized and promoted by The

Clarsach The Celtic harp is a triangular frame harp traditional to the Celtic nations of northwest Europe. It is known as in Irish, in Scottish Gaelic, in Breton and in Welsh. In Ireland and Scotland, it was a wire-strung instrument requiring gr ...

Society, two staff members, and a team of volunteers, the festival is held in April of each year and attracts more than 500 harpists from more than 25 countries.

History and origins

Pilgrim Harps held the first iteration of the festival, then called the Celtic Harp Festival, in 1982 to coincide with the now-defunct

Edinburgh Folk Festival Ceilidh Culture is an annual festival held in Edinburgh, Scotland which incorporates folk music, song, dance and storytelling. There is currently a month-long programme of events which take place around Easter time. The current format first too ...

. After two years, the quick growth of what had become the Edinburgh Harp Festival necessitated additional funds and assistance to run it, and Pilgrim Harps continued to support the festival but handed the reins over to the Edinburgh branch of The Clarsach Society. In 1991, the Edinburgh branch in turn handed the festival over to their parent body, The Clarsach Society. The festival has been held every year since its founding, but was held virtually in 2020 and 2021 because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. In 2022, the festival will return in a hybrid format, offering both virtual and in-person events, and move after 20 years in its old location at

Merchiston Castle School Merchiston Castle School is an independent boarding school for boys in the suburb of Colinton in Edinburgh, Scotland. It has around 470 pupils and is open to boys between the ages of 7 and 18 as either boarding or day pupils; it was modelled a ...

George Watson's College George Watson's College is a co-educational Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Scotland, situated on Colinton Road, in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh. It was first established as a Scottish education in the eight ...

. In 2002, the festival changed its name to the Edinburgh International Harp Festival to recognize the increasing numbers of international performers and participants drawn to the event. In 2006, the festival set what was then the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for "largest harp ensemble" by having a group of 201 harpists play together.

People

Performers and teachers

Selected performers and teachers from recent festivals include: *2018: Nikolaz Cadoret, Gabriella Dall'Ollio, Sarah Deere-Jones, Maeve Gilchrist, Rachel Hair and

Ruth Keggin Ruth Keggin is a Manx Gaelic singer-songwriter. She holds degrees from the University of York and the University of Cambridge. Career In 2011, as a member of ''Nish As Rish'', Keggin won in the Best Newcomers category at the 2011 Festival Interc ...

, Ismael Ledesma, Catriona McKay and

Chris Stout Chris Stout (born 1976) is a Scottish fiddle/violin player from Shetland, now based in Glasgow. Stout grew up in Fair Isle and lived there until 8 years of age before moving to Sandwick on the Shetland Mainland, then on to Glasgow in the 1990s. ...

Rachel Newton Rachel Newton is a Scottish singer and harpist. As well as playing both acoustic and electric harp she also plays viola, fiddle, piano and harmonium. She performs solo as well as in the bands The Shee, The Furrow Collective and Boreas and wa ...

, Ailie Robertson, and Park Stickney *2019: Moussa Cissokho, Sixto and Juanjo Corbalan, Helen Davies, Elinor Evans,

Gráinne Hambly Gráinne Hambly is an internationally known Irish traditional harper, teacher and musician. Life and education Hambly was born to Michael Hambly and Mary Joyce in Knockrickard County Mayo, Ireland in 1975. She has 2 sisters who are also musi ...

, William Jackson, Delyth and Angharad Jenkins, Eira Lynn Jones, Mary Ann Kennedy, Rachel Newton,

The Poozies The Poozies are a British all-female folk music, traditional folk band formed in 1990. They were at the forefront of a wave that revolutionised traditional Scottish music, Scottish and Gaelic music in the 1990s. Throughout the years they have ...

, Pippa Reid–Foster, Rodrigo Romani, Freya Thomsen, and Twelfth Day *2020: Tom Daun,

Cormac de Barra Cormac de Barra is a harpist, singer and television presenter and is part of the Moya Brennan Band. Biography De Barra comes from a family of traditional musicians and singers from Dublin with roots in County Cork. He studied Irish harp with his ...

of the

Moya Brennan Band Moya Brennan (born Máire Philomena Ní Bhraonáin on 4 August 1952), also known as Máire Brennan, is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist, and philanthropist. She is the sister of the musical artist known as Enya. She began performing pr ...

Anne Denholm Anne Denholm is a Welsh harpist born in Carmarthenshire, who held the position of Official Harpist to the Prince of Wales from 2015 to 2019. Education Denholm was educated at Ysgol Gynradd y Dderwen and Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro Myrddin. She th ...

, Ben Creighton Griffiths,

Corrina Hewat Corrina Hewat (born 21 December 1970, Edinburgh) is a Scottish harpist and composer who was awarded Music Tutor of the Year at Na Trads in 2013. She has worked with poet Robin Robertson and has written music for the Dunedin Consort. She sings wit ...

, and

Lily Neill Lily Neill is an American harp player. She is recognised for her performances of original music and repertoire from various folk traditions. Neill was born in Maryland, United States and started playing the harp at the age of nine, after taking ...

*2021: Sixto and Juanjo Corbalan, Maeve Gilchrist, Rachel Hair and Ron Jappy, Ingrid Henderson and Iain Macfarlane,

Maggie MacInnes Maggie MacInnes (born 29 August 1963 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish folk singer and clàrsach player, who performs primarily in Scottish Gaelic. She is the daughter of two Barra-natives; lawyer Alister MacInnes and legendary Gaelic folk sin ...

, Corrina Hewat, Eira Lynn Jones and

Laoise Kelly Laoise Kelly is a traditional Irish music composer and harpist. She won the 2020 Musician of the Year Award. Biography Laoise Kelly is from Westport, County Mayo. Kelly learned music from her father and began learning the harp from when she wa ...

, Llio Rhydderch, Ailie Robertson, Adriano Sangineto,

Sìleas Sìleas (pronounced sheelis) is a Scottish harp duo. Patsy Seddon plays electric harp and gut-strung harp, and Mary Macmaster plays electric harp and metal-strung harp. They sing in Gaelic and English. The name of the band is explained on the bac ...

, Park Stickney, Esther Swift, and Tarab Trio

Festival organizers

As of 2021, festival organizers include Mary Scott (Festival Co-ordinator),

Isobel Mieras Isobel Mieras is a Scottish clarsach (Celtic harp) player. She is a member of the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame, and in 2020, she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire "for services to Music in Scotland and to the R ...

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(Artistic Advisor),

Patsy Seddon Patsy Seddon is a Scottish harpist, violinist and traditional singer in Scots and Gaelic. Biography Seddon was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. She was a member of leading folk band The Poozies from 1990 until 2012, and the duo Sìleas with Mar ...

(Artistic Advisor),

Mary Macmaster Mary Macmaster (born 22 November 1955, Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish harpist and singer. She performs on the clàrsach and the Camac electroharp, and she sings in English and Gaelic. She has worked with Sting, Kathryn Tickell, Norma Waterson ...

(Stage Management), and Rachel Hair (Press and Media).

Regular features

Each year, the festival includes three main elements: *Concerts - Concerts feature performances by harpists alone, in groups, or with other instruments. The 2019 festival featured 10 concerts. *Workshops and courses - These are opportunities for child and adult harp students to take classes (either with their harps, or with paper and pen) during the festival. Workshops consist of one single meeting while courses take place over two or three days. The 2018 and 2019 festival each included 62 workshops and courses. *Harpmakers exhibition - The exhibition offers attendees an opportunity to view and test out harps from different harp makers. In recent years, the festival has often included performances of pieces newly commissioned by the festival as well as performances by young, up-and-coming harp players and groups of school-aged harpists. Festival Artistic Advisor Isobel Mieras has stated that one of the festival's goals is to "encourage young talent" in addition to showcasing established musicians.

Reviews and media coverage

In 2018, ''The Edinburgh Reporter'' described that year's festival lineup as putting "Edinburgh at the centre of world class harping."

References

{{Authority control 1982 establishments in Scotland Annual events in Edinburgh Music festivals established in 1982 Music festivals in Scotland Festivals in Edinburgh Harp organizations Folk festivals in Scotland