Introducing Gráinne Hambly and Maeve Gilchrist!

Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, we are thrilled to welcome two new Celtic-inspired lever-harp artists to Harp Column Music! Both need no introduction, but we’re going to tell you a little bit about them anyway…

Gráinne Hambly

First up—coming to you straight from County Mayo in the West of Ireland—is Gráinne Hambly, a specialist in Irish traditional music. Gráinne started on the tin whistle before moving on to the concertina and then the harp. She encourages aspiring Irish harpers to learn in the traditional aural tradition of playing by ear, so you might be wondering why we’re selling her sheet music here. The music “provides an example of how these tunes could be played and arranged,” she says. “It’s intended as a support for learning in the Irish aural tradition.” We are thrilled to let you know that Gráinne is a master teacher at Harp Column Academy, where she explains and performs different traditional Irish techniques and repertoire so you can learn in the aural tradition! We’ll be adding all these tunes and more to Gráinne’s Harp Column Academy studio in the coming weeks. Here’s a snippet of what you can expect:

“A Fig for a Kiss” excerpt

Listen to a snippet of Gráinne’s lesson on “A Fig for a Kiss” from her studio at Harp Column Academy

Gráinne’s Music

Maeve Gilchrist

Next, please welcome Maeve Gilchrist! Maeve’s music is equal parts jazz, Celtic, Americana, modern, folk—we could go on but you get the point. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Maeve now lives in Brooklyn. She has released five albums, including her most recent recording Vignette with Nashville legend Viktor Krauss. (Check out our rave review in Harp Column magazine!). Maeve is a visiting artist at the Berklee College of Music, and she’s also a Harp Column Academy master teacher! You can check out her creative arranging and improvisation tips in her HCA studio. Maeve also has HCA tutorials on repertoire, including these three pieces now available at Harp Column Music. Look for more repertoire tutorials coming from her soon.

“Fin and Sarah’s Wedding Waltz” excerpt

Listen to an excerpt of Maeve’s original composition “Fin and Sarah’s Wedding Waltz,” from her studio at Harp Column Academy:

Maeve’s Music

More for St. Patrick’s Day

Check out these other great Celtic-inspired collections!

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