Janet Harbison

Janet Harbison
Born 1955 (age 60–61)
Dublin, Ireland
Genres Classical
Irish traditional
Folk
Occupation(s) Composer, Performer, Orchestra Director
Instruments Irish Harp
Years active 1970 – present
Labels RCA Victor
Polygram / Universal
Associated acts Irish Harp Orchestra, Belfast Harp Orchestra
Website www.irishharpcentre.com

Janet Harbison (born 1955)[1] is an Irish harper, composer, teacher and orchestra director.[2][3][4]

Early life and education

Born in Dublin in 1955, Harbison came to early prominence with the piano and the Irish harp. By 1981, she had won every national harp competition and a number of international prizes including the Isle of Man Millennium Competition and Festival International de l'Harpe Celtique (Awen Trophy).[1]

She had studied music at Trinity College Dublin, the Dublin College of Music and Cork University, with performance on a range of instruments, composition and conducting. In 1984, Harbison moved to Belfast, Northern Ireland to pursue doctoral research and was awarded a two-year Research Fellowship at the Institute of Irish Studies at Queen's University. She was also awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Ulster, a Flax Trust award for her work with Irish music and Education toward Mutual Understanding (Peace and Reconciliation) in Northern Ireland, and a number of other awards for her work with the Belfast Harp Orchestra.[5]

Career

In 1983, Harbison established Clairseoiri na hEireann (the Harpers' Association) to support traditional harping and oral teaching. The association organised monthly harp sessions in Dublin (at the Piper's Club, Henrietta Street), managed harp festivals and summer schools and established weekly or biweekly harp schools.

From 1986 to 1994, Harbison held the position of Curator of Music at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, where she organised an annual calendar of events, festivals and conferences. She made arrangements for the bicentenary of the Belfast Harpers' Assembly in 1992, including: the World Harp Festival, Belfast (a 12-day festival in May featuring over 40 international artists in Belfast concert venues); the Belfast Harpers' Bicentenary Festival (10 days in July comprising an international harp competition, an archiving project and summer school); and a 6-month exhibition at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum featuring artefacts dating from the original event in 1792.

From 1994, Harbison took up the position of CEO with the Harp Foundation until the organisation and its activities moved to Castleconnell, County Limerick in 2002.[4]

In 2002, Harbison established the Irish Harp Centre in Castleconnell, County Limerick, a residential harp school and college.[6] In 2006, she published her oral Irish Harp Method. Her teaching has been at the forefront of the Irish harp revival with many of Ireland's most prominent performers emerging from her school (including Michael Rooney, Gráinne Hambly and Laoise Kelly).[4] With her teacher and examiner training courses, her method is now in use throughout the harping world and her technique training (the "Chimes") is in universal use.

Compositions

Large scale works

Smaller scale works

Discography

References

  1. 1 2 Vallely, Fintan (2011-01-01). The Companion to Irish Traditional Music. Cork University Press. ISBN 9781859184509.
  2. ↑ "About Janet Harbison". Irish Harp Centre.
  3. ↑ Vallely, Fintan (1999). The Companion to Irish Traditional Musi. New York University Press. ISBN 0814788025.
  4. 1 2 3 Clark, Nora Jone (2003). The Story of the Irish Harp: Its History and Influence. North Creek Press. ISBN 978-0972420204.
  5. ↑ hAllmhuráin, Gearóid Ó (2012-10-04). O'Brien Pocket History of Irish Traditional Music. The O'Brien Press. ISBN 9781847175083.
  6. ↑ Folk Harp Journal. 2007-01-01.
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