tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20961420073963520442012-01-20T02:58:41.568-08:00New girls on the block 4 Girls 4 Harps are making waves in the Classical music world with their innovative mix of the old and the new - their own arrangements of well-known classical pieces and new compositions. Broadcast on Classic FM and BBC Radio 2, their music continues to attract an enthusiastic following across the board.4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.comBlogger441100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-60656068074771766792012-01-20T02:58:00.000-08:002012-01-20T02:58:41.577-08:00

We really enjoyed performing at Holywell Music Room last Sunday (15 January) - a beautiful setting and great acoustics, in the middle of one of the most beautiful cities in the UK! We were also very pleased to read this review in the Oxford Times about the concert :)

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-29488942420022206392012-01-12T07:00:00.000-08:002012-01-12T07:00:14.691-08:00

In a previous post we mentioned that Harriet had recently been interviewed about the quartet for the Jo in the Afternoon programme on BBC Radio Oxford. If you would like to listen to the interview then click here!

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-84500384735438738622012-01-05T09:08:00.000-08:002012-01-05T09:08:58.861-08:00

We are thrilled to be chosen as the January 'Camac Voice' by french harp makers, Camac and the interview is below in full for any who may not have seen it on Harp Blog, the wonderfully entertaining and informative Camac blog written by our former member Helen Radice. Camac Voice, January 2012: 4 Girls 4 Harps January’s Camac voice is the exhilarating finale to a substantial work for harp

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-25723290197461897252012-01-05T09:01:00.000-08:002012-01-05T09:01:42.390-08:00

Well the New Year is off to a great start with an article about us on Camac Voice (see separate post for the article in full), and a live interview with BBC Radio Oxford - both in the same week! We are also really looking forward to this month's concerts on Saturday, 14 January for South Holland Concerts in Spalding, Lincolnshire and Sunday, 15 January at Holywell Music Room, Oxford (the oldest

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-44405666570271857512011-10-28T02:31:00.000-07:002011-10-28T02:31:16.995-07:00

Well, it has been a busy year for us concert-wise and our final appearance was for the North Wales Festival on 28 September. Angharad inparticular was very pleased with this location as it was just down the road for her - a bit more of a drive for the rest of us but we will get our own back in 2012 with a series of concerts around the South and Middle of the UK! The concert went extremely well

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-57896042020478157812011-07-15T03:19:00.000-07:002011-07-15T03:21:24.626-07:00

“4 Girls 4 Harps” was what it said on the poster, and four girls with four harps was exactly what we saw on stage at the Lichfield Garrick. That was it: no gimmicks, no stunts, no fancy costumes beyond elegant evening wear – just engaging chat and rather lovely music. In fact, these performers - Keziah Thomas, Angharad Wyn Jones, Harriet Adie and Eleanor Turner – are quiet revolutionaries. You

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-56687712159702364062011-07-15T03:18:00.000-07:002011-07-15T03:18:05.235-07:00

Well, we have come to the end of our run of summer concerts, finishing with a fabulous concert for Chester Summer Music Festival. We played in the beautiful setting of St Mary's Centre with wonderfully atmospheric lighting effects and a packed hall - so packed in fact that the organisers had to turn people away at the doors! It has been a busy six weeks fitting in concerts for the Beaumaris

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-37149098799715536642011-06-22T10:53:00.000-07:002011-06-22T10:53:07.175-07:00

Some wonderful words of praise from the organisers following our concert for the Bramley and Little London music festival on 17 June this year....  'They were among the most accomplished of guest performers, and utterly charming to work with, and their visit will long be remembered and discussed. Indeed, I can think of no aspect that could have been improved -- and how rarely can one say that!  

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-69183545052503363502011-03-25T10:31:00.000-07:002011-03-25T10:43:52.541-07:00

Well, our final concert of the month took place last night at The Lights Theatre in Andover where we were performing the final concert of the season for Andover Music Club. To make this concert extra special, the club asked us to bring not only our four concert harps but also our pearlescent white electric harps! This was the first time we have combined both types of harp in one concert, and

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-90988420820434826542011-03-12T12:07:00.000-08:002011-03-12T12:07:33.551-08:00

We really enjoyed our concert last Sunday (6 March) for Rottingdean Spring Festival. We were in a beautiful village and performing in a very atmospheric church to a packed and very enthusiastic audience. We thought you might like to see a few pictures from the day: Wheeling in the harps Having a tea break during rehearsals Awaiting for our arrival on stage Hard at work Audience checking out

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-76699261172487926892011-02-24T05:41:00.000-08:002011-02-24T05:41:48.812-08:00

Well,  we are really looking forward to the run of concerts we have got coming up next month (March). We are trying out a new programme for the first time on 6 March at Rottingdean Music Festival. The music includes new arrangements of works by Mozart and Khachaturian plus a performance of Paul Patterson's Avian Arabesques and a freestyle jazz medley! Other concerts later in the month include the

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-88672361535941116982010-09-18T13:37:00.000-07:002010-09-18T13:38:18.488-07:00

Having had a couple of months off concerts (Harriet got married and Keziah went back to the USA for a bit) we are now back with a vengence for a new series of concerts over the 2010/11 season! Earlier this week we really enjoyed playing at the Brighton Pavilions in their beautiful music room. The music room is part of the Royal Pavilion built as a sea side retreat for the Prince Regent in the

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-81764609444458565022010-06-08T01:48:00.000-07:002010-06-08T01:48:33.236-07:00

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-88983607382390846082010-04-16T01:07:00.000-07:002010-04-30T10:33:44.979-07:00

We are so excited as our long awaited DVD recordings are now available to view on You Tube! You can watch them by clicking here - hope you enjoy them as much as we do :)

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-25951009013957099632010-03-29T01:51:00.000-07:002010-03-29T01:51:55.046-07:00

We are very pleased that Alan Titchmarsh has taken a liking to our CD, as he played it again on his BBC Radio 2 show last night. To listen to our arrangement of Saint-Saens' Aquarium from Carnival of the Animals being broadcast, click here - we are on at approximately 1 hr 19 mins and 55 seconds!

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-45118611936100023372010-03-15T11:04:00.000-07:002010-03-15T11:04:50.182-07:00

We recently blogged about our day spent recording for Noson Lawen on Welsh TV channel S4C where we had such fun getting dressed up and performing some of our favourite repertoire as well as collaborating on the well-known Welsh folk tune 'David of the White Rock' with tenor Gwyn Hughes Jones. We can finally share this music with you as, over the weekend, the recording was broadcast on the first

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-81005742457579001402010-02-18T08:13:00.000-08:002010-02-18T08:22:24.291-08:00

We recently enjoyed a weekend in Caernarfon, North Wales recording for the entertainment programme Noson Lawen. It was an action-packed day with full-on hair and make up followed by rehearsals and filming of close up hand shots and audio coverage before the live show that evening. We decided to play our funky version of Scottish tune 'Glenlivet' and we were also performing as accompanists for '

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-87852040085727876292010-02-12T01:52:00.000-08:002010-02-18T08:20:58.509-08:00

It has been a busy few weeks for 4 Girls 4 Harps. At the end of 2009 we bid farewell to Keziah who has moved to live in New York for a few years. However, amazingly, she will still be playing in the quartet as she will be commuting between America and the UK for work. We are really glad as it would have been very sad to have had to say good bye to her as a member of the group. 2010 is shaping up

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-74276758327236687282009-12-29T08:22:00.000-08:002009-12-31T09:14:15.641-08:00

Back in November we really enjoyed playing for the Surrey Care Trust helping to raise money for their Changing Young Lives Appeal. We thought you might like to see some pictures from the event where we were performing with the entertainer Richard Stilgoe.

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-17565588384669013742009-12-28T15:19:00.000-08:002009-12-28T15:27:23.422-08:00

With four harps, it is inevitable that we all spend a lot of time driving around the UK to perform. This concert was no exception, with two of us making the six hour journey from London to the Lake District to perform for Kendal Midday Concert Club. In spite of the long drive, it was well worth the effort as we were wonderfully looked after and most enthusiastically received by the Club's

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-10137530447736663122009-12-28T15:14:00.000-08:002009-12-28T15:19:04.408-08:00

We have realy enjoyed rounding off this year of concerts with some Christmas-themed performances, and were fortunate enough have some of them reviewed. Below is the review from our concert for Basingstoke Concert Club on 5 Decemer 2009:Four Girls Four HarpsBasingstoke Concert Club Trinity Methodist Church, BasingstokeMembers of the audience were greeted by an impressive sight as they entered. At

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-37902304569017272812009-11-30T09:30:00.000-08:002009-11-30T10:37:24.898-08:00

It has been a busy Autumn for us this year with lots of concerts - Machynlleth, Two Moors Festival, Great Bowden and Chobham, to name a few - and we have also been featured in two big name industry magazines.Back in the August issue of Classical Music magazine we were one of the ensembles written about in their cover story on young all-girl groups setting the Classical world on fire. It was very

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-90436028955461039082009-10-16T04:06:00.000-07:002009-10-16T04:20:07.420-07:00

Our latest concert for the Two Moors Festival featured the amazing Tabla player Sanju Sahai. We first met Sanju when recording our latest CD 'Fireworks and Fables', where he provided authentic Tabla sounds for the indian-influenced piece, Saraswati by Edward Longstaff. It was great to get the chance to play with Sanju again and we were so excited to perform with him live for the first time. The

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-80273567412496335852009-09-23T02:07:00.000-07:002009-09-23T02:10:32.633-07:00

We recently performed for the Tewkesbury Awaken Your Senses Festival and we thought you would like to see the review of the concert:ReviewsAwaken Your Senses Festival: 4 Girls 4 Harps - Watson Memorial Hall, TewkesburyMonday 14th September 2009Crackerjack rating: 8 / 10.Tewkesbury's Awaken your Senses Festival certainly fulfilled its promise in its grand finale. While the solo harp features

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-441859647758469802009-09-10T06:15:00.001-07:002009-09-10T06:16:44.311-07:00

We are very pleased to have been played on Rob Cowen's Breakfast show on BBC Radio 3 on Wednesday 09 September. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00mj63rIt is great to be played by such an institution as the BBC and to be able to show our music to an even wider audience!

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-85668781730338185802009-08-16T05:39:00.000-07:002009-08-16T05:47:46.062-07:00

Whilst we love the sound of the harp on its own (dramatic, versatile and powerful), at the same time, we like to experiment with new things. To this end, we have just recorded three new arrangements for harp with choir and strings. We spent the day at Dean Street studios in London recording the new tracks, first on our own, and then layering the strings and choir on top. We haven't heard the

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-52985899106641662062009-06-21T15:41:00.001-07:002009-06-21T15:45:49.538-07:00

Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals has had yet another outing on Classic FM, this time in the form of Aquarium on the monthly Magazine Show. If you'd like a listen click http://mediaweb.musicradio.com/player/default.asp?s=2&e=8415 . The programme also gives details of some of the concerts we have coming up in the next few months, so if they are being performed at venues in your area come and

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-60626805389393162472009-06-15T06:24:00.001-07:002009-06-15T07:21:50.397-07:00

Yet more evidence that Classic FM loves our new CD: we were recently played on David Mellor's New CD show this Saturday (13th June), where he played our arrangements of The Aviary and The Elephant from Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals. David apparently really admires the way we play and 'thoroughly enjoyed the CD'. Click on the link below if you would like to listen for yourselves! You can

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-14284047449661040642009-06-07T08:57:00.000-07:002009-06-07T09:24:13.699-07:00

We're very pleased to have been David Mellor's CD of choice this week on The Guest List on Classic FM. It's fantastic exposure for the group and it was great that he chose to play one of our original compositions on the programme: Eleanor Turner's Spanish-themed 'Rambla!'. Whilst we love arranging pieces by well-known composers, it is important to continue to develop new repertoire for the

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-21417096204204049342009-05-26T14:12:00.000-07:002009-05-26T14:15:03.903-07:00

We're very pleased that the lovely Alan Titchmarsh played some music from our new CD 'Fireworks and Fables' over the weekend on his BBC Radio 2 show. For any of you who missed it click on the link below (only available for the next 5 days so don't miss out!).http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00klky1

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-49557088056697796562009-05-19T08:05:00.001-07:002009-05-19T08:10:08.637-07:00

We are delighted to have had our new CD featured in the June issue of Classic FM magazine. We've uploaded a copy of the article but buy your own from national newsagents or visit http://www.classicfm.co.uk/shop/classic-fm-magazine/ to order your copy online!

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-72701156712014790982009-05-06T08:03:00.000-07:002009-05-06T08:09:01.290-07:00

We've just got back from a very exciting day in Wales performing live on the Welsh version of the One Show: Wedi 7. We had a brilliant time and were really well looked after by the team. We chose to play one of our signature pieces: Malaguena by Lecuona, which is a fiesty spanish-influenced dance where you really see the harps letting rip!As only Angharad speaks Welsh, she was the spokesman for

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-72306861270708027842009-04-17T07:42:00.000-07:002009-04-22T09:25:45.803-07:00

Here are some photos from last week's showcase for Universal Records. We're wearing dresses provided by http://www.thedresslounge.com/ which look lovely and really suit the beautiful setting we're playing in.

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-92069134562821984692009-04-16T15:03:00.000-07:002009-04-16T15:08:21.419-07:00

Well it's all go today! Keziah has just uploaded some clips from our showcase performance last week on You Tube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vGpUMvSlM8 . We think they give a nice glimpse of what an intimate and exclusive event it was AND you get to hear some of our music!Have a listen and tell us what you think, as we always love to get feedback.HA

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-78045874811276963012009-04-10T01:37:00.001-07:002009-04-10T01:38:39.779-07:00

Our new CD Fireworks and Fables is now available on Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_w_h_?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=4+girls+4+harps&x=17&y=17It is a great album with varied music to appeal to everyone who likes classical music or the harp! Do write a review of the CD as well as we always like to get feedback on what we do.

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-81796206193795321432009-04-08T08:36:00.001-07:002009-04-08T09:10:49.781-07:00

I can't believe today is over - all the hard work we put in over the past couple of weeks really paid off and the showcase went amazingly well! There were lots of interesting people in attendance including a representative from Universal Records and a journalist from the Mail on Sunday! Everyone really enjoyed themselves and remarked on how much interaction on stage there was between us when we

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-47635162186039870942009-04-06T09:29:00.000-07:002009-04-06T09:33:54.726-07:00

We are very excited to be performing live on Welsh TV Channel Wedi 7 on 5 May (see http://www.s4c.co.uk/e_index.shtml for more information).It will be really great to showcase the group to a part of the UK which has so many lovers of the harp. One downside though - only one person in the group speaks Welsh! Oh well, we'll just have to let our music do the talking for us :)

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-66025692375903942552009-04-06T01:02:00.000-07:002009-04-06T01:04:33.189-07:00

Win two tickets to our exclusive showcase this Wednesday 8 April by answering the following question: what is the total number of strings on four full-sized concert harps?Competition deadline is Tuesday 7 April at 6pm (UK time). One winner will be chosen at random from all correct entries.

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-35476610061476020482009-04-04T03:29:00.000-07:002009-04-04T03:39:34.950-07:00

Yesterday Ellie and I spent a happy couple of hours wading through ball gowns in order to choose four dresses for our showcase next week. The dresses are being provided by the London based shop The Dress Lounge http://www.thedresslounge.com/ and we are really excited about wearing them!It took a lot of debating and trying on (particularly because we were also trying on dresses for the other two

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-54018234423871311272009-04-02T03:03:00.000-07:002009-04-02T03:11:14.392-07:00

I have spent the morning sending out press releases about the group's new CD and forthcoming showcase next week on 8 April. It is amazing how much time self promotion can take up - forget memorizing the music for next week, one can expect to spend the whole day sending out info about the group and then following it up with photos and nagging phone calls to try and get some editor to like you!

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-47626557343033763652009-03-31T08:04:00.000-07:002009-03-31T08:11:57.368-07:00

I randomly sold a CD to the man behind the post office counter today. He happened to notice that I was sending a letter to that most hallowed of institutions, the Musicians' Union, and asked about what sort of music I played and whether I had ever recorded any cds. Not one to pass up an opportunity, I of course told him all about 4 Girls 4 Harps and how great we were and sure enough he has asked

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-5360461449110588792009-03-31T02:27:00.001-07:002009-03-31T02:29:00.316-07:00

We are very excited to be doing a showcase for Universal Records (amongst others) on 8 April 2009! Its been a bit frantic getting everything organised for it as we only found out about it last week, but we're on schedule and can't wait to show everyone what we can do.

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-29144643458311464312009-03-31T02:23:00.000-07:002009-04-01T13:09:18.432-07:00

Our new CD 'Fireworks and Fables' is now available and we're really excited. Its full of fantastic arrangements of music by composers such as Handel, Saint-Saens and Ravel, and also original compositions by our very own Eleanor Turner and Harriet Adie. As if that wasn't enough, we have also collaborated with internationally renowned Tabla player Sanju Sahai on our flagship piece Saraswati and

4 Girls 4 Harpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164850636933079868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096142007396352044.post-19446699356461908392009-03-31T02:21:00.000-07:002009-04-01T13:12:03.184-07:00

Follow our progress on this blog or you can find us on http://twitter.com/4Girls4Harps , http://www.myspace.com/4girls4harps and http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=2252298393&ref=ts - no one can say we are not internet-savvy!

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