GLASBURY ARTS – 12th Harp Summer School
Harp Summer School 2024
From 21st – 24th August 2024
The 2024 Harp Summer School has a change of direction and structure from previous years as we include both music for the harp to accompany a violin as well as music for harp players across all teaching groups being taught in sessions with all our tutors listed below. Whilst the timetable when finalised will look similar in terms of timing to previous years, the first 2 days will be taught by Manon Browning (Co-Director of Music, Classical, Traditional folk and popular music), Eleri Darkins (Co-Director of Music, Classical and Welsh music); Alis Huws (Official Royal Harpist). Emily Harris (Classical Welsh Harpist) For the final 2 days they will be joined by Katherine Thomas (our first Director of Music and currently Principal Harp, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra) and together with Laurence Kempton are the dazzling, Enigma Duo. Because of the numbers of beginners likely to attend, an Assistant Tutor, Rose Graham, will work with these young people throughout.
Over the the course of four days there will be teaching groups as follows:
Group 1. Advanced – adults, teenagers
Group 2. Intermediate – adults
Group 3. Intermediate -Teenagers
Group 4 Beginners’ group for young people aged 8-18 and who have achieved grades 1-2 or who are learning music at those levels.
In addition, there will be an exciting evening concert on the Wednesday 21 August at 7.30pm in the Drama Studio, which will also be open to the public, featuring four of our Tutors in the first half with a second half performed by Ben Creighton Griffiths, exciting Jazz Harpist/Composer and Dr Ashley John Long, Base Player/Composer, Professor of Music Cardiff University.
As we enter the next decade in the history of our Summer School in 2023 you will see a mixture of new and familiar tutors and some new directions. At the end of the 10th Anniversary Concert this year our Director of Music Eleanor Turner stood down from the role as her family circumstances and the direction of her career would make continuing difficult. Over the years we have had three brilliant harpists fulfilling that role, Katherine Thomas, Harriet Earis and of course Eleanor.
As we move into a new decade, we have decided to split the role of Director of Music and appoint two Co-Directors. We have therefore invited Manon Browning and Eleri Darkins to work together to develop our musical future. The full tutorial line up will be Manon Browning (Classical, Traditional folk and popular music), Eleri Darkins (Classical and Welsh music); Anne Denholm (former Royal Harpist 2015 -2019 and recently appointed Section Principal Harp with the BBC Concert Orchestra); Adriano Sangineto from Turin (Continental, traditional dance music and composer); and Emily Harris (Classical Welsh Harpist).
In addition, Ben Creighton Griffiths will return to Glasbury Arts to lead a workshop of modern harp and jazz harp music on Thursday 24 August. 2023 will be quite a year for Ben because 19 March 2023 he will have his first Concerto for Jazz Harp & Symphony Orchestra premiered at Malvern theatre at 7.30-pm.
For further inforamtion please click here