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Harp

Harp Open Day - Check www.ram.ac.uk/harp

Head of Harp:
Professor Skaila Kanga LRAM, FRAM

Harp Administrator:
Louise Foley BMus

Telephone 020 7873 7320
Email harp@ram.ac.uk

Main sponsors: Victor Salvi Foundation and Holywell Music.

Professor Skaila Kanga LRAM, FRAM

(Picture: Photo of Professor Skaila Kanga)

Studied at the Royal Academy of Music. Composer, widely known as a soloist, chamber musician and recording artist. Principal with the Nash Ensemble for 25 years, as well as the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Sinfonia of London and the London Mozart Players. Alongside her classical career, Skaila has always been very active in the pop world, and has a long list of film and TV credits. Head of Harp since 1988. Gives masterclasses and lecture/recitals worldwide. Appointed Professor of the University of London in 2003.

The Course

The harp has played a major role at the Academy since the earliest days. In addition to studying solo, concerto and chamber repertoire, students also take part in regular classes in orchestral, operatic and contemporary performance, jazz and improvisation, technical advancement, art of teaching and harp ensemble concerts.

The Academy’s numerous orchestras and ensembles provide experience in all styles of performance from classical to avant-garde and jazz. In addition, the Academy regularly hosts master-classes—and many students have achieved major successes in national and international competitions. The harp department commissions new works annually, and its Harp Showcase concerts attract a wide audience.

The Teachers

Professor Skaila Kanga LRAM, FRAM (Head of Harp)
Daphne Boden Hon RAM, ARCM, FRSA
Alison Martin GGSMD (Opera Tutor) Principal, English National Opera
Thelma Owen BMus, Hon ARAM (Orchestral Studies) former Principal, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Charlotte Seale ARCM, Premier Prix, Brussels Conservatoire, Hon ARAM
Helen Tunstall GRSM, ARCM (Contemporary Music Studies) Principal, London Sinfonietta
Karen Vaughan ARAM, LRAM Co-principal, London Symphony Orchestra

Visiting Professors
Isabelle Perrin Co-Principal, Orchestre Nationale de France; professor of École Normale, Paris
Emmanuel Ceysson Double Premier Prix (Harp and Harmony) Paris Conservatoire; First PrizeWinner USA International Harp Competition 2004
Catrin Finch BMus, ARAM
Catherine White BMus, MMus

Visiting Professor of Jazz Harp
Park Stickney BM, MM

Your Audition (see p.56 for general details)

Two contrasting pieces, one of which must have been written after 1900, plus a study; requirements for scales and arpeggios are available on www.ram.ac.uk and from the Registry.

2006–2007 Highlights

Recitals by Isabelle Moretti Catrin Finch and Natalia Shameyeva.
Skaila Kanga Harp Prize: 2006 winner Stephanie Beck.
Gala Concert featuring Academy Harp Ensemble and Chamber Choir.
‘The Parisian Harp’ concert at Senate House.
Free on Fridays concert: English Chamber Music with Harp.
Holywell annual concert: ‘The Legend of Henriette Renie’.
New commissions: ‘Twisted Elegy’ by Richard Bissill for flute, viola and harp and ‘Air-Tight’ by Joby Talbot for six harps.
Masterclasses by Isabelle Moretti, Elinor Bennett, Isabelle Perrin, Emmanuel Ceysson and Park Stickney.
Academy Harp Ensemble performances for the Worshipful Company of Musicians
Concert at the European Harp Symposium.
30th November 2007: Showcase including Holst's The Planets arranged for Academy Brass and Harp Ensemble.


Past students include Anne-Sophie Bertrand, Victoria Davies, Catrin Finch, Catrin Morris Jones, Laurette Pope, Emma Ramsdale, Celine Saout, Julia Thornton and Suzanne Willison.


Stephanie Beck (MMus)

(Picture: Photo of Stephanie Beck playing the Harp)

For my postgraduate studies, the Academy has given me exactly what I was looking for. We’re prepared for the professional life with a wide range of activities, from one-to-one lessons to regular performance classes, from orchestral and contemporary music studies to technique classes and opera and jazz workshops.

In master-classes I’ve played for some of the world’s leading performers, such as Isabelle Moretti, Emmanuel Ceysson and Isabelle Perrin. I’ve played in concerts in and outside the Academy, including solo recitals and playing in various orchestras and ensembles, I have worked with composers and through all of this work I’ve had the privilege to get to know the most wonderful and inspiring musicians.

Life at the Academy is extremely varied and therefore challenging, but I feel that being exposed to so many influences and having to deal with a rather heavy workload has taught me to structure the work that I do carefully and has helped me to find my own way as a performer.’
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