• Brought to you by The CLARSACH SOCIETY

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  • Pre-Festival Workshop and Play-along Opportunity

    Some of the most-loved moments of our Festival are when we get to play the harp together: at the late-night sessions, in our courses, or, when the weather allows, under the blossoming cherry trees at Merchiston. 

    We’ve been missing these opportunities and so want, as part of our online Festival, to give you the chance to play along – whether you’ve signed up to a course or not.  

    A special version of the tune Rory Dall’s Port has been filmed for the double celebration of the 90th Anniversary of The Clarsach Society and the 40th EIHF and will feature at the end of all three “A New Generation” concerts (free to view at 1pm on Saturday 10th, Sunday 11th and Monday 12th April): we’d love you to join in and play along, too!

    To help you do so, harp teacher and performer Màiri Macleod has filmed a workshop, taking you through the tune, arranged by our own Isobel Mieras.

    You can download the sheet music for it here: HERE

    Please note p1&2 on sheetmusic are the individual parts, p3 onwards is the full score)

    We hope you enjoy learning the tune and can’t wait to have you play it with us during the festival!

    Rory Dall’s Port (arranged by Isobel Mieras)

    This wonderful, strong tune, believed to have been composed by the blind  harper Roderick Morison (1656- 1714), harper and bard to John Macleod of Dunvegan, is one of the few old Scottish harp tunes which have survived.  “Port” comes fom the Gaelic for a tune and it would have originally been played on the wire harp, while this arrangement, originally made for na Clarsairean, the harp orchestra  of the Edinburgh Branch of The Clarsach Society, is suitable for all kinds of harps. The tune was used by Robert Burns for his famous song of parting “Ae fond Kiss and then we sever.”

    A New Generation – Free Concerts!

    One of the principal aims of EIHF and The Clarsach Society is to encourage and support young clarsach students at every stage of development. 

    With this in mind, we’ve invited 17 young players, some still in full-time education and some professional performers, to record a short piece or a set for EIHF. Elinor Evans has compiled them into 3 vibrant performances, one of which she will introduce on each day of the Festival. 

    • These concerts are FREE to view and will be viewable on our YouTube channel (BE SURE TO SUBSCRIBE!) 
    • We will also share the links on Facebook
    • The links will be emailed out to all Concert Pass holders OR…
    • You can sign up for a link to be emailed to you, by adding adding them to your basket on our website, allowing you to get them for free!

    Concert 1: Saturday 10th April, 13:00

    Supported by the Royal Celtic Society

    • Brigitte and Clara Harrigan Lees
    • Grace Stewart-Skinner
    • Lucie Hendry
    • Luke Webb
    • Sophie Chapman

    Concert 2: Sunday 11th April, 13:00

    Supported by the Glasgow Branch of the Clarsach Society

    • Arabella Ayen
    • Breagha Charlton
    • Katie Heron
    • Lucy Gilmore
    • Neil Wood
    • Pheonix Zhang

    Concert 3: Monday 12th April, 13:00

    Supported by the Clan Donald Lands Trust at Armadale Castle

    • Hannah Shearer
    • Isabella Sommerville
    • Rebecca Hill
    • Sorcha Thompson
    • Stephanie Humphries

     

    The Iain Macleòid Young Composer Award Winner 2020: Yiota Myserli

    The Edinburgh International Harp Festival and the Clarsach Society are proud to announce that the 2020 winner of the Iain Macleòid Young Composer Award is the harpist Yiota Myserli.  Yiota’s winning composition will be premiered at our festival (online) as part of the evening concert on Saturday the 10th April. 

    Yiota studied music at the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki in Greece and she is currently studying Musicology and Music composition at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Classical singing/Opera at the Conservatory of St. Paul.

    She is the principal Harpist in MOYSA Youth Orchestra, Greecc, and is a member of “Perharps” Music Ensemble.

    Yiota has composed several pieces for solo harp, harp ensemble, chamber music ensemble and arrangements from well-known cinematic works. Her compositions have been recorded on CDs and used in theatre productions, and performed by ensembles, orchestras and choirs, both in Greece and in Italy.

    You can discover more about Yiota from her website and Facebook page.

    Congratulations Yiota!

    Discover more about the Iain Macleòid Young Composer Award.

    3 courses added AND update on course availability…


    We’re excited to announce another 3 courses that are repeating during the EIHF and therefore have new availability.

    We are opening up repeat courses for:

    • Fiona Rutherford – Scottish Music (Elementary)
    • Gwenan Gibbard – Welsh Music (Elementary/Intermediate)
    • Patsy Seddon – Exploring Modes Through Scottish Tunes (Mixed Abilities)

    The course content and level will be exactly the same as the originally advertised (and now sold-out course) and numbers will be capped at 15 participants to allow for maximum engagement with the tutor.

    We also thought we’d give you an update on what courses currently have spaces on:

    MORNING COURSES

    Children’s Course

    • Jessica Burton – Lever Harp for Primary Children

    Mixed Abilities

    • Patsy Seddon – Exploring Modes Through Scottish Tunes

    Elementary/Intermediate

    • Eleanor Hetherington – Tuneful TechniqueIntermediate
    • Esther Swift- Improvising and Composing (only 1 space!)
    • Anne Marie O’Farrell – Love those Levers!

    AFTERNOON COURSES

    Mixed Abilities

    • Eira Lynn Jones – Pedal Progress (only 3 spaces!)

    Elementary

    • Fiona Rutherford – Scottish Music

    Elementary/Intermediate

    • Cheyenne Brown – Funky Scottish Music
    • Gwenan Gibbard – Welsh Music

    Intermediate

    • Rachel Hair – Simply Scottish Harp

    Intermediate/Advanced

    • Ailie Robertson – Tunes in Unusual Time Signatures

    5 more courses added…

    We’ve decided to open an additional 5 courses INCLUDING another pedal harp course with Eira Lynn Jones – her first one sold out within 12 hours!

    The course content and level will be exactly the same as the originally advertised (and now sold-out course) and numbers will be capped at 15 participants to allow for maximum engagement with the tutor. 

    NEW COURSES ARE NOW OPEN IN OUR BOX OFFICE FOR:

    Anne Marie O’Farrell: Love those Levers!
    3-day course: 10.00-11.15 BST Sat/Sun/Mon
    Intermediate

    Cheyenne Brown: Funky Scottish Music
    3-day course: 16.00-17.15 BST Sat/Sun/Mon
    Elementary/Intermediate

    Eira Lynn Jones: Pedal Progress
    3-day course: 16.00-17.15 BST Sat/Sun/Mon
    Mixed Abilities

    Eleanor Hetherington: Tuneful Technique
     3-day course: 10.00-11.15 BST Sat/Sun/Mon
    Elementary/Intermediate

    Rachel Hair: Simply Scottish Harp
    3-day course: 16.00-17.15 BST Sat/Sun/Mon
    Intermediate

    NEW COURSES JUST ADDED!

    With many of our courses selling out in record time, we have arranged for 4 courses to be repeated during the festival.

    The course content and level will be exactly the same as the originally advertised (and now sold-out course) and numbers will be capped at 15 participants to allow for maximum engagement with the tutor. 

    NEW COURSES ARE NOW OPEN IN OUR BOX OFFICE FOR:

    Ailie Robertson: Tunes in Unusual Time Signatures 
    3-day course: 16.00-17.15 BST Sat/Sun/Mon
    Intermediate/Advanced

    Charlotte Petersen: Scottish and Gaelic Tunes
    3-day course: 16.00-17.15 BST Sat/Sun/Mon
    Intermediate/Advanced

    Esther Swift: Improvising and Composing
    3-day course: 10.00-11.15 BST Sat/Sun/Mon
    Intermediate/Advanced

    Laoise Kelly: Traditional Irish Music
     3-day course: 16.00-17.15 BST Sat/Sun/Mon
    Intermediate