Edinburgh’s Harp Fest Returns in 2026 With “Hands” Theme

(headline image: Catrin Finch (Wales) on harp and Aoife Ni Bhriain (Ireland) on fiddle – Photo by Jennie Caldwell)

The Clarsach Society will present the 45th Edinburgh International Harp Festival from 10 to 14 April 2026 at George Watson’s College in Edinburgh.

The multi-day program includes concerts, courses, and workshops that spotlights harp traditions and contemporary approaches, with Scotland’s clarsach as a central focus. The 2026 theme, “Hands,” focuses on connection, community, and cross-genre collaboration.

The Galloway Agreement will appear with Wendy Stewart (harp), Ruth Morris (nyckelharpa), Beth Porter (cello), Gavin Marwick (fiddle), and Stuart Macpherson (double bass). The group will perform music from a theater project with writer Tom Pow and Japan’s Bird Theatre that explores rural depopulation through story, song, and memory.

Karen Marshalsay will perform pieces representing three Scottish harp traditions, with sets on lever harp, wire-strung clarsach, and baroque bray harp.

Rachel Hair and Ron Jappy will bring their harp-and-guitar duo to the festival for a home-soil appearance, with a program that mixes older and newer Scottish music and audience-facing storytelling.

Amy Turk will make her EIHF debut with a concert that features extended techniques and a percussive approach to pop, rock, and original material.

Laura Perrudin will also debut at EIHF, presenting a contemporary set that centers on an unconventional approach to the lever harp.

Marianne Gubri, a Brittany-born artist now based in Italy, will present a meditative performance that mixes music, science, and spirituality, with material drawn from ancient scales and celestial imagery.

Jazz harpist Park Stickney, a longtime EIHF regular who splits time between New York and Switzerland, will return with a set that weaves improvisation and humor.

Welsh pedal harpist Catrin Finch will perform with Irish violinist Aoife Ní Bhriain in a duo program that combines classical technique and traditional influences.

Paraguayan harpist Juanjo Corbalán will return with a quartet of harp, piano, saxophone, and drums, with originals that merge traditional harp language with jazz and Latin styles.

Wan Xing, a Hong Kong-based guzheng player, will join harpist Eleanor Dunsdon and percussionist Gregor Black for a concert that features a new commission by harpist-composer Maeve Gilchrist.

Edinburgh-born singer-songwriter and clarsach player Anna McLuckie will appear with material that combines contemporary folk writing and layered harmonies. McLuckie previously appeared on BBC’s The Voice.

Laura Penman, a finalist in the 2025 Young Traditional Musician of the Year Award and a Royal Conservatoire of Scotland graduate, will present arrangements of traditional music alongside original compositions.

“Hands in Harmony: Moods and Memories” will unite Clarsach Society ensembles and EIHF Festival Orchestra participants under directors Isobel Mieras, Rosemary McKerchar, and Wendy Stewart, with specially arranged music.

The EIHF Junior Ensemble will perform new music by harpist and storyteller Heather Yule based on The Adventures of Red Rory McGlip and the Fairy Harp, with Royal National Mòd prizewinner Isla Ovenstone also featured on the bill.

EIHF will host 32 courses taught by more than 20 tutors, with options for all levels. Subject areas include Scottish, English, Celtic, and pop repertoire; pedal and wire harp; jazz and improvisation; harp therapy; session playing; storytelling; and Festival Orchestra participation.

Beginner classes for adults and children will run with harps provided, and additional instruction will include bodhrán and ukulele.

Workshops will cover Paraguayan harp, therapeutic harp, historical styles, harmony, Gaelic singing, percussive techniques, the Chinese guzheng, and the modern electro-chromatic harp. A masterclass with Catrin Finch will also take place.

Instrument makers from the UK and abroad will exhibit harps that range from historical reproductions to contemporary designs.

Patsy Seddon & Katie Harrigan, Artistic Advisers to the EIHF shared: “We’re looking forward to a few magical days, where Edinburgh becomes a crossroads of sound, and harps from many cultures weave a tapestry of music that speaks to our shared humanity.”

Full program at www.harpfestival.co.uk