| Harp festival to celebrate life
of Edward Bunting THE EDWARD Bunting Harp Festival 2007 celebrates
the life and work of Armagh-born 18th century church organist and collector
of harp music and song Edward Bunting.
He was commissioned to note down the music from the last oral traditional
harpers at the famous 1792 Belfast Harp Festival.
The festival aims to encourage and facilitate the traditional arts community
through increasing awareness of Irish traditional harp culture.
It offers harpers/singers a platform to showcase their talent and skills.
The festival highlights the diversity of the instrument by warmly welcoming
for the first time new harpers from across Ireland, England, Wales, Scotland
and New Zealand.
Artists, tutors and facilitators involved are:
Paul Dooley
Paul is one of the very few Irish people who play the Irish harp in its
historical form and style using a metal-strung harp and playing with the
fingernails, damping unwanted string resonance with the fingertips.
Harriet Earis
Harriet from England has been classically trained reaching Grade 8 with
distinction and now specialises in Celtic harp.
She is a full-time professional harp player and was recognised as Harper
Of All-Britain in 2000 and 2002.
William Jackson
William has been at the forefront of Scottish music for many years. In
1976 he was a founding member of the top Scottish band Ossian.
Kathleen Loughnane
Kathleen from Nenagh in Co. Tipperary has a particular interest in arranging
traditional Irish dance tunes and airs for the harp and researching the
music of the Irish harpers and composers of the 17th and 18th centuries.
Cormac Cannon
Cormac is Kathleen’s son and they have toured extensively together.
Cormac plays uilleann pipes which makes for an interesting combination.
Laoise Kelly
Laoise has collaborated on projects such as Mícheál O’Suilleabháin’s
Lumen which was performed at the 1995 Eurovision Song Contest and Charlie
Lennon’s Famine Suite.
Steve Cooney
Born in Australia, Steve has been living in Ireland for many years. One
of Ireland’s leading guitarists he is also a much sought-after and
highly-regarded producer having worked with many of the big names in the
Irish music industry.
Patricia Daly
Patricia is a founding member of the Armagh Harpers Association and has
a life-long passion for promoting Irish traditional harp and song.
Paul Phillips
Paul’s style of playing is known as top end — an emerging
technique which takes the instrument to new heights of performance.
Flook
The virtuosity, exuberance and sheer joy of this group’s playing
regularly has audiences on their feet. They won the Best Group crown at
the BBC Folk Awards 2006.
Anna Dunwoodie
New Zealand harper and singer Anna has played harp and sung with a variety
of Celtic bands and ensembles and as a soloist on the pub scene. She currently
teaches 30 harp students and performs around Auckland.
Mary O’Neill
Mary is one of the new generations of Irish traditional harpers. She began
playing at the age of six and is a past pupil of the Armagh Harpers Association
and the Armagh Pipers club.
Armagh Harp Ensemble
Trained by Patricia Daly they have performed at numerous concerts home
and abroad — their most recent being the Piping Live Festival Glasgow
in 2006. |
