Rachel Hair is a

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

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 ...

ist from

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 ...

. She plays the Celtic harp, also known by the

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

word ''clarsach''.

Early life and education

Of mixed Scots-Irish parentage, Hair was born and brought up in the village of Ullapool. At ten years old, she was exposed to the harp through the Scottish organization Fèis Rois, which organizes schools and festivals to teach traditional music and Gaelic. She studied music at the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

, where she gained a first class honors degree.

Career

In 2007, Hair released her debut harp album, "Hubcaps and Potholes", and has since performed at many festivals including Celtic Connections, the

Edinburgh International Harp Festival The Edinburgh International Harp Festival is an annual harp festival held in Edinburgh, Scotland that includes concerts, workshops, and courses, as well as one of the world's largest exhibitions of harp-makers. Organized and promoted by The Clar ...

, and the Edinburgh Fringe. She has traveled throughout Europe, the United States, and New Zealand performing and teaching. According to music reviewer David Pratt, Hair "is recognised as the world’s leading expert in Manx Harp music." She travels monthly to the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

, where she teaches for several days. She also teaches lessons in people's homes and teaches regularly in The Netherlands. Hair also helps coordinate the annual Edinburgh International Harp Festival. In 2020, the festival's 39th year, the festival was forced to cancel its in-person activities 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 ...

, leading Hair to coordinate the Virtual Edinburgh International Harp Festival. Over five days, 18 different harpists performed and led workshops online. Also in 2020, Hair began offering free harp lessons via

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

through her "Harp at Home" series, in which she teaches Scottish songs and sells the corresponding sheet music. And she was nominated for "Music tutor of the year" in the annual Scots Trad Music Awards. In March 2021, Hair and

Manx Gaelic Manx ( or , pronounced or ), also known as Manx Gaelic, is a Gaelic language of the insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, itself a branch of the Indo-European language family. Manx is the historical language of the Manx peo ...

singer Ruth Keggin launched a joint

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...

campaign to produce a debut duo album. They reached their target goal of £5,000 within 12 hours of launching the campaign and achieved a stretch goal of £10,000 after 48 hours. Some matching funds were provided by

Creative Scotland Creative Scotland ( gd, Alba Chruthachail ; sco, Creative Scotlan) is the development body for the arts and creative industries in Scotland. Based in Edinburgh, it is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. The o ...

. Additionally, Hair has published several books of music that she has arranged for the harp.

Discography

* ''Hubcaps and Potholes'' - 2007 * ''The Lucky Smile'' - 2009 * ''No More Wings'' (as the Rachel Hair Trio) - 2012 * ''Tri'' (as the Rachel Hair Trio) - 2015 * ''Sparks'' (as Rachel Hair & Ron Jappy) - 2019

References

External links

Rachel Hair Official Website
* Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Scottish folk harpists Women harpists {{scotland-musician-stub