Siobhán Owen (born 4 October 1993) is a soprano and harpist from

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. Owen regularly performs at festivals, concerts and events around Australia and further abroad. She favours classical and Celtic/folk songs, but also sings pop and jazz on occasion.

Early life

Owen was born on 4 October 1993 in

North Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia N ...

and lived in the

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

village of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (or

Llanfairpwllgwyngyll Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, or Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll (), is a large village and local government community on the island of Anglesey, Wales, on the Menai Strait next to the Britannia Bridge and across the strait from Bangor. Both shortened (Llanf ...

for short) before moving to Australia with her family in November 1995. At a young age, Owen was encouraged to join the Adelaide Girls Choir (now Young Adelaide Voices) and the St Aloysius College) school choir, where she became a regular soloist. Owen began her classical voice training at age nine, with singing teachers Naomi Hede and Norma Knight. She entered her first

Eisteddfod In Welsh culture, an ''eisteddfod'' is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music. The term ''eisteddfod'', which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: , meaning 'sit', and , meaning 'be', means, ac ...

around this time winning an Honourable Mention in the nine to thirteen age group. It wasn't long before Owen started winning Eisteddfods, most notably the Classical Voice sections.

First performances

Owen's first solo performance on stage came just after her 10th birthday, in 2003, when she sang in a

Riverdance ''Riverdance'' is a theatrical show that consists mainly of traditional Irish music and dance. With a score composed by Bill Whelan, it originated as an interval act during the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, featuring Irish dancing champions Je ...

Style show called "Shades of Green", organised by the Adelaide

Irish Dancing Irish dance refers to a group of traditional dance forms that originate in Ireland, encompassing dancing both solo and in groups, and dancing for social, competitive, and performance purposes. Irish dance in its current form developed from vari ...

Association, which toured South Australian theatres. When she was 12, Owen gave her first major solo performance, singing a traditional Irish song at the

Adelaide Festival Theatre Adelaide Festival Centre, Australia's first multi-purpose arts centre and the home of South Australia's performing arts, was built in the 1970s, designed by Hassell Architects. The Festival Theatre opened in June 1973 with the rest of the cent ...

to an audience of 2,500. The same year, Owen received a Music Scholarship from St Aloysius College and a Choral Scholarship from St. Francis Xavier's Cathedral Choir, where she remained a soloist and chorister for over three years. In August 2007, aged 13, Owen gave her first solo concert for Recitals Australia. She continues to perform for Recitals Australia every year.

Harp

In 2008, Owen received media attention when asked to sing at the

Adelaide Fringe Festival The Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between mid-February and mid-March each year, i ...

with French singer/harpist

Cécile Corbel Cécile Corbel (born 28 March 1980, in Pont-Croix, Finistère, France) is a French and Breton singer, harpist, and composer. She has released five albums of original music and worked for Studio Ghibli as a composer for its 2010 film, ''The Borr ...

after they met on Myspace. Owen was so inspired by Corbel's harp playing that she decided to start playing harp. She had harp lessons from renowned Adelaide singer/harpist Emma Horwood, and was soon accompanying herself with harp in Celtic and Folk Festivals, concerts and recitals. Owen commissioned South Australian harp maker and luthier Tim Guster to build her a 36-string

Celtic harp 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 grea ...

with special carving. This harp has travelled with Owen all over Australia.

Festivals

Owen has performed at festivals around Australia and internationally, including the following:

Australia

Woodford Folk Festival The Woodford Folk Festival is an annual music and cultural festival held near the semi-rural town of Woodford, north of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is one of the biggest annual cultural events of its type in Australia. Every year ap ...

–

Woodford, Queensland Woodford is a rural town and locality in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Woodford had a population of 3,458 people. The town is noted for the Woodford Folk Festival that takes place over the New Year hol ...

National Folk Festival (Australia) The National Folk Festival (NFF) is an Australian family-oriented celebration that has been attended by over 50,000 people. Winner of the National Qantas Australian Tourism Award for Best Festival in 2009, it features over 20 stages with vibran ...

– Canberra,

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. I ...

National Celtic Festival
–

Portarlington, Victoria Portarlington is a historic coastal township located on the Bellarine Peninsula, 28 km from the city of Geelong, in the state of Victoria, Australia. It has a diverse population which includes a wide range of ethnic backgrounds, a high pr ...

Australian Celtic Festival
–

Glen Innes, New South Wales Glen Innes is a parish and town on the Northern Tablelands, in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the centre of the Glen Innes Severn Shire Council. The town is located at the intersection of the New England Highway an ...

Cygnet Folk Festival
–

Cygnet, Tasmania Cygnet is a town in the Huon Valley, south of Huonville, Tasmania. History The bay on which Cygnet sits was originally named by the Indigenous people who occupied a large territory in South East Tasmania, including Cygnet, Hobart and Bruny Isl ...

Tamar Valley Folk Festival
–

Tamar Valley, Tasmania The Tamar Valley is a valley in Tasmania, Australia. It runs north-west from the northern city of Launceston to the coast either side of the Tamar River The Tamar River, officially kanamaluka / River Tamar, is a estuary located in northern T ...

Celtica Festival
– Port Adelaide, South Australia
Kapunda Celtic Festival
–

Kapunda, South Australia Kapunda is a town on the Light River and near the Barossa Valley in South Australia. It was established after a discovery in 1842 of significant copper deposits. The population was 2,917 at the 2016 Australian census. The southern entrance t ...

Fleurieu Folk Festival
–

Willunga, South Australia Willunga is a town located to the south of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of Onkaparinga local government area, 47 km from the Adelaide city centre. This town has been considered a suburb of the Adelaide metropolitan area, and it i ...

International

Festival Interceltique de Lorient __NOTOC__ The (French), Emvod Ar Gelted An Oriant (Breton) or Inter-Celtic Festival of Lorient in English, is an annual Celtic festival, located in the city of Lorient, Brittany, France. It was founded in 1971 by . This annual festival takes ...

– Lorient, Brittany, France
Triskell Folk Festival
–

Trieste, Italy Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into pr ...

Demat! Kansai Celtic Music Festival
–

Osaka, Japan is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2.7 ...

Career

2009 – Owen won the Adelaide Eisteddfod Junior Vocal Championship. Also in 2009, she was voted the South Australia Folk Awards "Most Outstanding Emerging Artist". 2010 – Owen was one of ten finalists in the Australian National Young Folk Awards. Performances in 2010 included singing the National Anthem for the

Tour Down Under The Tour Down Under (branded as the Santos Tour Down Under under a partnership arrangement) is a cycling race in and around Adelaide, South Australia, and is traditionally the opening event of the UCI World Tour and features all 19 UCI World ...

, performing at the

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port ...

Awards in the grounds of

Government House, Adelaide Government House, located in Adelaide on the corner of North Terrace and King William Road, is the official residence of the governor of South Australia. History The original "Government Hut" was a thatched hut constructed by the seamen of ...

, presenting her own show Celestial Echoes at the

, and singing at Adelaide's Carols by Candlelight. On 7 May 2010, Owen was interviewed by BBC Wales for a feature on their website. 2011 – Owen won two Irish Music Awards – "Best New Irish Music Artist" and "Top Harpist". 2012 – March, Owen was soprano soloist in Ennio Morricone's debut Australian concert in Elder Park for the Adelaide Festival of Arts. 23 June, Owen sang the Welsh National Anthem (

Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau "" () is the official national anthem of Wales. The title, taken from the first words of the song, means "Old Land of My Fathers" in Welsh, usually rendered in English as simply "Land of My Fathers". The words were written by Evan James and ...

) at the Australia vs Wales Rugby Test Match at Allianz Stadium, Sydney. Also in June, Owen released her fourth studio album ''Storybook Journey''. The album was named BBC Radio Wales "Album of the Week" in September, and in December was awarded 2012 Classical Crossover UK "Album of the Year". 2013 – Owen made her UK debut in January, performing concerts in Wales, London and Devon. In March, Owen made her US debut, headlining the Los Angeles St. David's Day Festival. She presented her own Adelaide Fringe Festival shows "Storybook Journey" at Ayers House, Adelaide. 2014 – March, Owen was the voice of Yseult in Alan Simon's new Celtic/rock opera ''Tristan & Yseult''. The premiere show was at Zenith Nantes, France. Simon chose Owen for the part after finding her on YouTube. 2015 – February, Owen was guest lead singer in the Russian premiere of Alan Simon's ''Tristan & Yseult''. She appeared in the first 4 performances at Novosibirsk Theatre of Comeday & Music, Novosibirsk,

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...

. 2017 – February, French Magazine ''Le Figaro Culture'' ranked Owen as one of the top ambassadors of the six Celtic Nations. 2017 - May, Owen was awarded the ''Best Female Artist'' and her ''Entwined'' album won the ''Best Produced Album'' in the ''Australian Celtic Music Awards''

Discography

''Purely Celtic'' (released May 2008) #

(Land of My Fathers – Welsh) # Suo Gân (Lullaby – Welsh) #

My Lagan Love "My Lagan Love" is a song to a traditional Irish air collected in 1903 in northern Donegal. The English lyrics have been credited to Joseph Campbell (1879–1944, also known as Seosamh MacCathmhaoil and Joseph McCahill, among others).''Songs of ...

(Ireland) # A Lullaby (Ireland) #

The Skye Boat Song "The Skye Boat Song" is a late 19th-century Scottish song recalling the journey of Prince Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") from Benbecula to the Isle of Skye as he evaded capture by government troops after his defeat at the B ...

(Scotland) # My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose (Scotland) #

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both ...

(England) # Siúil A Rún (Walk My Love – Irish Gaelic) # She Moved Through the Fair (Ireland) # My Little Welsh Home (Wales) #

The Ash Grove ''The Ash Grove'' ( cy, Llwyn Onn) is a traditional Welsh folk song whose melody has been set to numerous sets of lyrics. The best-known version was written in English by Thomas Oliphant in the 19th century. History The first published version ...

(Wales) # Danny Boy (Ireland) # Lilium (Lily – Latin) ''Celestial Echoes'' (released September 2009) # Dark Iniseoghan # In a Garden so Green #

Ar Hyd y Nos "Ar Hyd y Nos" () is a Welsh song sung to a tune that was first recorded in Edward Jones' ''Musical and Poetical Relics of the Welsh Bards'' (1784). The most commonly sung Welsh lyrics were written by John Ceiriog Hughes (1832-1887), and have be ...

# Twilight Fancies # Nocturne # Down by the Salley Gardens # Pie Jesu (Fauré) # Ye Banks and Braes of Bonny Doon # Lisa Lân # En Prière # An Eriskay Love Lilta #

Ave Maria (Schubert) "" ("", D. 839, Op. 52, No. 6, 1825), in English: "Ellen's Third Song", was composed by Franz Schubert in 1825 as part of his Op. 52, a setting of seven songs from Walter Scott's 1810 popular narrative poem '' The Lady of the Lake'', loosely tr ...

# She Moved Through the Fair # Der Nussbaum ( Robert Schumann, ''Myrthen'', Op. 25, No. 3)) # A Fairy's Love Song # We'll Keep a Welcome ''Lilium'' (released December 2010) # My Little Welsh Home # Del Cabello Más Sutil #

Dafydd y Garreg Wen Dafydd y Garreg Wen is a traditional Welsh musical air and folk song. There is a tradition that the tune was composed by David Owen (1712–1741), a harpist and composer who lived near Porthmadog in Caernarfonshire. He was known locally as ''D ...

I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls", or "The Gipsy Girl's Dream", is a popular aria from ''The Bohemian Girl'', an 1843 opera by Michael William Balfe, with lyrics by Alfred Bunn. It is sung in the opera by the character Arline, who is in love with ...

# Cyfri'r Geifr # If I Were a Blackbird #

O mio babbino caro "" ("Oh my dear Papa”) is a soprano aria from the opera ''Gianni Schicchi'' (1918) by Giacomo Puccini to a libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. It is sung by Lauretta after tensions between her father Schicchi and the family of Rinuccio, the boy s ...

Gartan Mother's Lullaby "Gartan Mother's Lullaby" is an old Irish song and poem written by Herbert Hughes and Seosamh Mac Cathmhaoil, first published in ''Songs of Uladh lster' in 1904. Hughes collected the traditional melody in Donegal the previous year and Campbel ...

# Mondnacht (Robert Schumann) # Lilium #

You'll Never Walk Alone "You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ''Carousel''. In the second act of the musical, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and enco ...

Greensleeves "Greensleeves" is a traditional English folk song. A broadside ballad by the name "A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves" was registered by Richard Jones at the London Stationer's Company in September 1580,Frank Kidson, ''English Fo ...

Isle of Innisfree The "Isle of Innisfree" is a song composed by Dick Farrelly (Irish songwriter, policeman and poet, born Richard Farrelly), who wrote both the music and lyrics. Farrelly got the inspiration for "Isle of Innisfree", the song for which he is best r ...

May It Be "May It Be" is a song by Irish recording artist Enya. It was composed by Enya and Roma Ryan for Peter Jackson's 2001 film '' The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring''. The song entered the German Singles Chart at number one in 2002 a ...

It's Only a Paper Moon "It's Only a Paper Moon" is a popular song published in 1933 with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by Yip Harburg and Billy Rose. Background It was originally titled "If You Believed in Me", but later went by the more popular title "It's On ...

''Storybook Journey'' (released June 2012) # Cariad # Scarborough Fair # The Rose # A Ei Di'r Deryn Du #

Walking in the Air "Walking in the Air" is a song written by Howard Blake for the 1982 animated film ''The Snowman'' based on Raymond Briggs's 1978 children's book of the same name. The song forms the centrepiece of ''The Snowman'', which has become a seasonal fav ...

# Fields of St Etienne # Llangollen Market # Siúil a Rún # Bring Him Home #

Black Is the Colour "Black Is the Color (of My True Love's Hair)" (Roud 3103) is a traditional ballad folk song known in the US as associated with colonial and later music in the Appalachian Mountains. It is believed to have originated in Scotland, as it refers to ...

Nearer, My God, to Thee "Nearer, My God, to Thee" is a 19th-century Christian hymn by Sarah Flower Adams, which retells the story of Jacob's dream. Genesis 28:11–12 can be translated as follows: "So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because t ...

Dream a Dream ''Dream a Dream'' is the third album by Welsh soprano Charlotte Church, released in 2000. The album is principally a collection of Christmas carols but also includes the non-Christmas title track "Dream a Dream", Church's first foray into a mor ...

# Caledonia #

Calon Lân "" () is a Welsh hymn, the words of which were written in the 1890s by Daniel James (Gwyrosydd) and sung to a tune by John Hughes. The song was originally written as a hymn, but has become firmly established as a rugby anthem, associated with ...

# Prayer # Sora Wo Aruku (

in Japanese) # Storybook Journey ''Entwined'' (released 25 April 2016) # First Day of the World # An Hini a Garan # In a Blue Sky # Ardaigh Cuan # Dance of the Leaves # Suo Gân # Entwined #

The Parting Glass "The Parting Glass" is a Scottish traditional song, often sung at the end of a gathering of friends. It has also long been sung in Ireland, enjoying considerable popularity to this day and strongly influencing the style in which it is often ...

# Drums of Lochnager # Dacw 'Nghariad # Castlebar #

Ailein duinn "Ailein duinn" ("Dark-haired Alan") is a traditional Scottish Gaelic song for solo female voice, a lament that was written for Ailean Moireasdan ("Alan Morrison") by his fiancée, Annag Chaimbeul ("Annie Campbell"). Ailean Moireasdan was a sea capta ...

# Southern Heart # The Snow Goose Song # Auld Lang Syne

Illustration

Siobhan Owen has also been involved with several book projects and gallery exhibitions showing her artwork. Books include Welsh titles ''The Children's Voice: A Definitive Collection of Welsh Nursery Rhymes'', ''The Age of Saints'', and ''Welsh in the Old West'', to name a few.

References

External links

Official Siobhan Owen webpage

Youtube channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Owen, Siobhan 1993 births Living people Australian sopranos Australian classical harpists Welsh folk harpists Australian folk singers Opera crossover singers 21st-century Welsh women singers People from Anglesey 21st-century Australian women singers Welsh emigrants to Australia Australian harpists Women harpists