Alice Rosemary Giles (born c. 1961) is an Australian classical

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 orc ...

ist.

Early life and education

She was born in

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 ...

,Australian World Orchestra
. Retrieved 25 February 2016 and trained with June LoneyJo Litson, "Heavenly gliss", '' ABC Radio 24 Hours'', June 2001, p. 12 at the

Sydney Conservatorium of Music The Sydney Conservatorium of Music (formerly the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music and known by the moniker "The Con") is a heritage-listed music school in Macquarie Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the old ...

. In 1982, aged 21, she won the 8th International Harp Contest in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. She was awarded a

Churchill Fellowship Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts (WCMT) are three independent but related living memorials to Sir Winston Churchill, based in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. They exist for the purpose of administering Churchill Fellowships, a ...

Harp Centre Australia
Retrieved 25 February 2016 and an

Australia Council The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austr ...

grant to study overseas. There she studied with

Alice Chalifoux Alice Chalifoux (January 22, 1908 – July 31, 2008) was the principal harpist with the Cleveland Orchestra from 1931 to 1974 and was its only female member for twelve years. Chalifoux learned to play the harp from her mother, studying music at loc ...

of the

Cleveland Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra, based in Cleveland, is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Se ...

, and also with Lydia Shaxson and Judith Liber.

Career

She has performed in many countries throughout Europe, the Americas, Israel and her home country. Her New York debut was at the

Merkin Hall Merkin Hall is a 449-seat concert hall in Manhattan, New York City. The hall, named in honor of Hermann and Ursula Merkin, is part of the Kaufman Music Center, a complex that includes the Lucy Moses School, a community arts school, and the Speci ...

in 1983, and she has also performed at the

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadi ...

in London.

Luciano Berio Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled ''Sequenza''), and for his pioneering work ...

described her as "the most intelligent, sensitive and technically accomplished harpist" he had ever met. Berio considered her the foremost interpreter of his ''Sequenza II''. After touring and living overseas (mainly in Germany) for some years, Giles and her husband, the Israeli pianist

Arnan Wiesel Arnan or Ernan ( fa, ارنان) may refer to: * Arnan, East Azerbaijan * Arnan, Kurdistan * Ernan, Yazd * Ernan Rural District, in Yazd Province {{geodis ...

, returned to Australia permanently in 1998. Giles and Wiesel both taught at the

ANU School of Music The ANU School of Music is a school in the Research School of Humanities and the Arts, which forms part of the College of Arts and Social Sciences of the Australian National University. It consists of four buildings, including the main School of ...

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

, Giles from 1998 and Wiesel from 2000 as Head of the Keyboard Department. In 2012 they were both made redundant as part of funding cuts. They were advised they did not have the requisite set of skills. She now teaches at the Sydney Conservatorium and the

Australian National Academy of Music The Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) is a classical music performance training facility situated in Melbourne. History ANAM was established in 1994, as part of prime minister Paul Keating's "Creative Nation" initiative. On 23 Oct ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

. She is the Artistic Director of the

Seven Harp Ensemble 7 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 7 or seven may also refer to: * AD 7, the seventh year of the AD era * 7 BC, the seventh year before the AD era * The month of July Music Artists * Seven (Swiss singer) (born 1978), a Swiss recording artist ...

. She is founder and director of the

Harp Centre Australia 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 orch ...

, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting the harp in Australia. In February 2011 she went to

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

as the recipient of an Antarctic Arts Division Fellowship, commemorating the centenary of the first Australasian Antarctic Expedition, becoming the first professional musician ever to perform in that continent.Emma Macdonald, "Frozen out: sacked ANU academics tell their stories", ''The Canberra Times'', 1 November 2012
Retrieved 25 February 2016 She developed a multimedia performance entitled "Alice in Antarctica" that was

live-streamed Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but no ...

directly from

Mawson Station The Mawson Station, commonly called Mawson, is one of three permanent bases and research outposts in Antarctica managed by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). Mawson lies in Holme Bay in Mac. Robertson Land, East Antarctica in the Austra ...

and later performed around Australia and internationally. Giles performs in master classes internationally, and has been a juror at numerous important harp competitions. She was the Chair and the Artistic Director of the 2014

World Harp Congress The World Harp Congress is a private nonprofit organization founded in 1981 as an outgrowth of the International Harp Weeks held in The Netherlands for twenty years under the leadership of Phia Berghout and Maria Korchinska. The organization h ...

in Sydney in July 2014. She is a member of the

Australian World Orchestra Australian World Orchestra (AWO) is a symphony orchestra based in Australia. History The Australian World Orchestra was established in 2011 by Australian conductor Alexander Briger AO and his sister, film maker Gabrielle Thompson AM. The i ...

. Giles was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the

2017 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...

for "significant service to the performing arts as a harpist, educator and mentor, and through contributions to Australia's musical landscape".

Personal life

She is the daughter of

Rosemary Madigan Rosemary Wynnis Madigan (5 December 1926 – 12 February 2019) was an Australian sculptor, stonecarver and woodcarver who focused on the human figure. Born in Glenelg to the geologist Cecil Madigan, she decided on a career as a sculptor at the ...

. She and her husband and children live on a property near

Yass, New South Wales Yass () is a town in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia in Yass Valley Council. The name appears to have been derived from an Aboriginal word, "Yarrh" (or "Yharr"), said to mean 'running water'. Yass is located 280 km ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giles, Alice Living people 1961 births Australian classical harpists Australian music educators Sydney Conservatorium of Music alumni Sydney Conservatorium of Music faculty Members of the Order of Australia Australian harpists Women harpists