• Brought to you by The CLARSACH SOCIETY

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  • YOUTH OUTREACH: FREE Children’s Easter Holiday Clarsach Course

    As part of the Edinburgh International Harp Festival Outreach Scheme, young players are invited to attend a 4-day course culminating with a FREE performance on Friday the 7th April, the opening day of the 42nd EIHF.
    The course will be by Isobel Mieras and Elinor Evans, both much-respected for their work in teaching, arranging and composing music for young clarsach players.

    The music, on the theme of Our Beautiful Planet, will be suitable for all levels; including simple melodies, musical patterns and improvisation as well as fun and some surprises!  The ability to read music is useful, but not essential.

    Course participants who attend this course can choose 1 concert to attend at the EIHF and attend it along with an accompanying adult FOR FREE.

    When?

    COURSE: Tuesday 4 April – Friday 7 April, 10.00am -12 noon, each day.

    CONCERT: Friday 7 April, 2.00pm – 3.00pm.

    Where?

    The Music School, George Watson’s College, 67-71 Colinton Road, Edinburgh.

    How much?

    The course is FREE, but places are limited. 

    How do I book?

    To book a place for a young player, please email the EIHF office: office@clarsachsociety.co.uk by Saturday 4 March. Should you require further information, call or email the EIHF office: 0131 554 0212.

    Many thanks to the Royal Celtic Society for supporting this event

    Box Office payment issues

    Monday 6th Feb: Some customers are experiencing payment failures within our online box office. It appears to be those who are making large purchases. 

    We are so sorry about this and are trying to sort it with the payment company. 

    WHAT YOU CAN TRY:

    – The system seems to be work for accepting smaller payments (up to £115), so you may attempt to book your courses separately. 

    – If you are worried your chosen course will sell out and are experiencing payment problems email our wonderful office team: office@harpfestival.co.uk and they will arrange an alternative payment method. 

    Please again accept our apologies about this situation. 

    Choosing a course: Isobel’s advice!

    We have 35 courses for you to choose from this year… and it can be rather overwhelming to choose which to book. Here’s some advice from EIHF Artistic Adviser Isobel Mieras on making that choice…

    “From our wide choice of topics, teachers and levels, I hope every single one of you can find something to your taste.
    Whether you want to add new tunes to your repertoire, improve your basic technique, learn to harmonise melodies, dip into music from a different tradition or sing to your own accompaniment, please take care to choose not just the topic, but the correct level to suit your ability.

    Fraya Thomsen teaching her ‘Funky Scottish’ course at the 41st Edinburgh International Harp Festival. © Chantal Guevara 2022. All rights reserved.

    On page 21 of the brochure you will find helpful explanations of what we mean by each level.  Brave souls among you may feel an irresistible urge to stretch or challenge yourselves  well beyond your comfort zone, or you might choose a course which will move at  a faster (or even slower) pace  than your comfort zone  just because you have the opportunity to work with a specific teacher. That’s okay, but in such a case please do be patient and understand that the teacher and other students will work at the appropriate pace for the specified level.

    Do you want to learn by ear, from written music or a combination of both? We aim to please, but do check out the teaching method before booking. The code, using E and M, is clearly indicated beside each course and the key is on Page 21. 
    If you have checked all this out and still want advice or have a query, call me on  +44(0)131 445 2022.

    Have a great Festival!”
    Isobel Mieras 

    The Iain MacLeòid Young Composer Award 2022 – The Winner!

    The Clarsach Society and the Edinburgh International Harp Festival are proud to announce that the 2022 winner of the Iain Macleòid Young Composer Award is Anna Eggersberger.

    We are thrilled that Anna will be with us in Edinburgh to perform her winning composition at our festival in April.

    About Anna:

    Originally from south Bavaria in Germany. Anna Eggersberger moved in 2018 to Ireland to study lever harp at the Irish World Academy in Limerick. She graduated with a Bachelors in Performing Arts last year (2022) and has returned to the Irish World Academy where she is currently studying a Masters in Irish Traditional Music.

    EIHF 2023 artwork

    We are proud to present our artwork for the Edinburgh International Harp Festival 2023. This year marks the 10 years of EIHF designs by local Edinburgh illustrator Jenny Proudfoot and the artwork reveal is now a much looked forward to annual event.

    This year Jenny’s piece celebrates the return of our International artists alongside our own Scottish talent. Can you work out the connection between the carvings and the countries represented by those performing this year?

    EIHF 2023 Artist / Tutor announcements

    The 42nd Edinburgh International Harp Festival will take place from the 7th -11th April, in George Watson’s College, Edinburgh. We can’t wait to welcome you back to our wonderfully friendly in-person festival. We will also be hosting a small number of courses on zoom.

     We’ll be updating this post daily from Saturday the 10th December with who you can expect to see performing and tutoring at the festival!

    • Our box office will open in January.
    • Full information on all concerts/courses/workshops will be available in January.

    2023 PERFORMERS:

    • KIM ROBERTSON (USA)
    • MICHAEL ROONEY (IRELAND)
    • GILLIAN FLEETWOOD (SCOTLAND
    • AILIE ROBERTSON (SCOTLAND)
    • DRÅM: Erik Ask-Upmark & Anna Rynefors (SWEDEN)
    • EVA CURTH (GERMANY)
    • GWEN MÀIRI (WALES/SCOTLAND)
    • NA CLÀRSIREAN (SCOTLAND)
    • HARPA (USA)
    • MUSIC GENERATION HARP COLLECTIVE (IRELAND)
    • NEIL WOOD (SCOTLAND)
    • RUTH KEGGIN & RACHEL HAIR (ISLE OF MAN & SCOTLAND)
    • HEAL & HARROW: Rachel Newton & Lauren MacColl (SCOTLAND)
    • LUNE BLEUE, featuring Clotilde Trouillaud (BRITTANY)
    • GRACE STEWART-SKINNER (SCOTLAND)

    2023 COURSE TUTORS

    *Course titles, content, level and schedule will be released in 2023

    4 DAY COURSES

    (90mins per day, Sat/Sun/Mon/Tue)

    • AILIE ROBERTSON
    • CLOTILDE TROUILLAUD
    • CORRINA HEWAT
    • ELEANOR HETHERINGTON
    • ELINOR EVANS
    • ERIK ASK-UPMARK
    • EVA CURTH
    • FIONA RUTHERFORD
    • GWEN MAIRI
    • HEATHER YULE
    • KIM ROBERTSON
    • NEIL WOOD
    • PATSY SEDDON
    • RACHEL HAIR
    • RACHEL NEWTON
    • WENDY STEWART

    WEEKEND COURSES

    (2x 90mins per day, Sat/Sun)

    • CHARLOTTE PETERSEN
    • MICHAEL ROONEY

    ZOOM COURSES

    (90mins per day, Sat/Sun/Mon/Tue)

    • CHEYENNE BROWN
    • FIONA RUTHERFORD
    • GILLIAN FLEETWOOD
    • GWEN MAIRI
    • NEIL WOOD


    The Iain Macleòid Young Composer Award –

    The Iain Macleòid Young Composer Award is an annual competition named in memory of John Macleod.

    Composers aged between 16 & 25 years of age are invited to submit an original piece of music (single movement or suite), 8-10 minutes in length, for either solo clarsach or clarsach and up to 3 other instruments and/or voices.

    The award is £500 plus a premiere performance at the Edinburgh International Harp Festival.

    The deadline for entries is 5pm on Friday 28th October 2022

    For more information on how to apply and the competition rules please visit The Clarsach Society website

    EIHF 2023

    We have some news for you … our 2023 Edinburgh International Harp Festival dates are now CONFIRMED, and we will be celebrating 4 days and 5 nights of all things harp from:

    ⭐️FRIDAY 7 – TUESDAY 11 APRIL

    So put them in your diary and as we can’t wait to see you again for our next festival at George Watson’s College in Edinburgh!

    EIHF On-Demand viewing extended

    IMPORTANT NEWS –

    We’re extending viewing access to allow you more time to enjoy (again and again!) our wonderful concerts and workshops that we filmed for you at the 2022 Edinburgh International Harp Festival.
    You’ll now be able to watch them until midnight on the 14th of May.

    f you’ve yet to purchase access to view our films you can continue to do so at our Box Office until midnight on the 30th of April.

    ? Have you been having trouble accessing the films? Remember to check out our Attending Online Help page.