Savourna Stevenson (born 1961) is a Scottish

clàrsach The Celtic harp is a triangular frame harp traditional to the Celtic nations of northwest Europe. It is known as in Irish language, Irish, in Scottish Gaelic, in Breton language, Breton and in Welsh language, Welsh. In Ireland and Scotland, ...

player and composer. Her father is the Scottish composer

Ronald Stevenson Ronald James Stevenson (6 March 1928 – 28 March 2015) was a Scottish composer, pianist, and writer about music. Biography The son of a Scottish father and Welsh mother, Stevenson was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, in 1928. He studied at the ...

. Actress

Gerda Stevenson Gerda Stevenson (born 10 April 1956 in Peeblesshire, Scotland) is a Scottish actress, director and writer, described by ''The Scotsman'' in 1999 as "Scotland's finest actress". She has played many parts in the theatre, including the title role ...

is her sister. Her musical career began in the late 1970s; at the age of 15, she was already playing at the Queen Elizabeth Hall with folk artists such as

Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Martin Lamble after their first gig.) They started o ...

Ralph McTell Ralph McTell (born Ralph May, 3 December 1944) is an English singer-songwriter and acoustic guitar player who has been an influential figure on the UK folk music scene since the 1960s. McTell is best known for his song " Streets of London" (19 ...

and

Martin Carthy Martin Carthy MBE (born 21 May 1941) is an English folk singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in British traditional music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, and later artists such as ...

. Subsequent work involved her collaborating with

Dave Swarbrick David Cyril Eric Swarbrick (5 April 1941 – 3 June 2016) was an English folk musician and singer-songwriter. His style has been copied or developed by almost every British and many world folk violin players who have followed him. He was ...

Aly Bain Aly Bain MBE (born 15 May 1946) is a Scottish fiddler who learned his instrument from the old-time master Tom Anderson. The former First Minister of Scotland Jack McConnell called Bain a "Scottish icon." Career Bain was born in the town of Le ...

and

Davy Spillane Davy Spillane (born 1959 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish musician, songwriter and a player of uilleann pipes and low whistle. Biography Irish music At the age of 12, Spillane started playing the uilleann pipes. His father encouraged him an ...

. She started to receive commissions for new music for theatre, dance and concerts. She first came to national attention with the 1989 album ''Tweed Journey'', which describes a journey down the

River Tweed The River Tweed, or Tweed Water ( gd, Abhainn Thuaidh, sco, Watter o Tweid, cy, Tuedd), is a river long that flows east across the Border region in Scotland and northern England. Tweed cloth derives its name from its association with the R ...

– separating Scotland from England – from its source to its mouth at

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

. This album saw her experiment with the harp in an electric setting with rock and jazz musicians. On the album ''Tusitala: Teller of Tales'' (1994), she was joined by musicians from across the folk/rock/jazz spectrum in performing music she had written for the BBC television series '' Stevenson's Travels'' Later work saw her collaborate with the

Bhundu Boys The Bhundu Boys were a Zimbabwean band that played a mixture of chimurenga music with American rock and roll, disco, country, and pop influences. Their style became known as jit, and is quite popular across Africa, with some international succe ...

and Toumani Diabate and participate in

Womad WOMAD ( ; World of Music, Arts and Dance) is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance. History WOMAD was founded in 1980 by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, ...

festivals around the world. As a songwriter she has worked with writers such as

Michael Marra Michael Marra (17 February 1952 – 23 October 2012) was a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician from Dundee, Scotland. Known as the Bard of Dundee, Marra was a solo performer who toured the UK and performed in arts centres, theatres, folk clu ...

and singers such as

June Tabor June Tabor (born 31 December 1947 in Warwick, England) is an English folk singer known for her solo work and her earlier collaborations with Maddy Prior and with Oysterband. Early life June Tabor was born and grew up in Warwick, England. As ...

and

Eddi Reader Sadenia "Eddi" Reader MBE (born 29 August 1959) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, known for her work as frontwoman of Fairground Attraction and for an enduring solo career. She is the recipient of three BRIT Awards. In 2003, she showcased the wo ...

. Her Harp String Quartet featured in the American TV series ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City (newspaper column), newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the ...

'', while her orchestral work Misterstourworm and the Kelpie’s Gift was performed for the first time by the

Royal Scottish National Orchestra The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) ( gd, Orcastra Nàiseanta Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a British orchestra, based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of the five National performing arts companies of Scotland, national performing arts compa ...

in 2003. She was then commissioned by Children’s Classic Concerts to write a new work for children. The result, ''Hansel and Gretel'', was premiered and toured across Scotland during 2005. Her most recent album, ''Persian Knight Celtic Dawn'' (2006), is a mix of Celtic and Middle Eastern influences. It features song settings from ''The Prophet'' by

Khalil Gibran Gibran Khalil Gibran ( ar, جُبْرَان خَلِيل جُبْرَان, , , or , ; January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931), usually referred to in English as Kahlil Gibran (pronounced ), was a Lebanese-American writer, poet and visual artist ...

and lyrics by the Gaelic poet

Aonghas MacNeacail Aonghas MacNeacail (born 7 June 1942), nickname ''Aonghas dubh'' or ''Black Angus'', is a contemporary writer in the Scottish Gaelic language. Early life MacNeacail was born in Uig on the Isle of Skye on 7 June 1942. He was raised in Idrigil, ...

. The release of ''Hansel & Gretel'' on Circular Records has been announced for January 2009.

Discography

;Albums *''Tickled Pink'' (1985) *''Tweed Journey'' (1990) *''Cutting the Chord'' (1993) *''Tusitala, Teller of Tales'' (1994) *''Singing the Storm'' (1996) *''Calman the Dove'' (1998) *''Touch Me Like the Sun'' (2000) *''Persian Knight Celtic Dawn'' (2006) ;Compilations *''Celtic Harp'' (2000) ;Contributing artist *'' Unwired: Acoustic Music from Around the World'' (1999)

World Music Network World Music Network is a UK-based record label specializing in world music. The World Music Network website features news, reviews, live music listings, and guide sections on world music. It also features an online "Battle of the Bands" compet ...

References

Scottish folk harpists Scottish harpists Scottish composers 1961 births Living people {{scotland-musician-stub