Wales Harp Festival 2021
The Eternal Muse
30 + 31 March 2021
Festival Director: Elinor Bennett

Festival President: Osian Ellis
(1928 – 2021)
A Message from Elinor Bennett
Artistic Director

The virtual version of the Wales Harp Festival aims to transmit the harp’s “eternal muse” to future generations.
Events will be held online to remember the Festival President, Osian Ellis, with contributions in word and music from Osian’s students and colleagues.
Covid will not prevent us from keeping traditions alive. In the middle of our troubles, the harp and its music can raise spirits and enrich lives.


Events
Course Teachers

Ann Jones

Ann was born in mid Wales and was inspired from an early age by her close neighbours Dafydd Roberts the blind harper and Nansi Richards who gave her the first harp lesson. Ann attended a Welsh school in London where she had harp lessons from Anne Ross and Gwendolen Mason. She then studied at the Royal Academy of Music, London with Professor Osian Ellis. Ann became principal harpist with the Icelandic Radio Orchestra and later freelanced with the BBC and London orchestras before joining the RTE Radio Orchestra in Dublin Ireland where she became permanent principal harpist in their Concert Orchestra. Now retired, she delights in teaching.

Elen Hydref

Welsh harpist Elen Hydref enjoys a career freelancing with some of the UK and Norway’s finest orchestras including Welsh National Opera Orchestra, Royal Ballet Sinfonia, Royal Opera House Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet Orchestra. Alongside her orchestral career she enjoys teaching and has tutored on the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain and Wales Harp Festival courses several times.
Elen studied with Elinor Bennett and Dylan Rowlands in North Wales before moving to London to study with Skaila Kanga and Catherine White at The Purcell School of Music and The Royal Academy of Music.
Whilst preparing for the Strings Final of the BBC Young Musician Competition in 2004, Elinor Bennett arranged for Elen to have a series of lessons with the late Osian Ellis.

Elinor Bennett

ELINOR BENNETT studied with Osian Ellis at the Royal Academy of Music, London, after completing a degree in Law, and played with major British orchestras in her early career. Elinor has made many recordings, ranging from 20th Century classics to Welsh traditional music on Triple Harp. Leading composers have written for her, and she directed harp studies at Bangor University. She was awarded OBE for services to music and Honorary Fellowships from the Aberystwyth, Bangor, Cardiff, Universities, Fellowships from Royal Academy of Music and Welsh College of Music and Drama, and an Honorary Doctorate in Music from the University of Wales. She has directed the Thai International Harp Festival, and the Wales International Harp Festival.
The Latest News
Launching our first “Virtual” Wales Harp Festival
A message from Elinor Bennett, the Festival's Artistic Director: The aim of this year's Wales Harp Festival is to remember and pay homage to the great harpists whom we have recently lost and to transmit their love of the harp to future generations....
Osian Ellis (1928-2021)
It is with sadness and regret that we wish to record the death of harpist and scholar, Osian Gwynn Ellis at the age of 92. He was a great friend and supporter of the work of the William Mathias Music Centre and the Wales International Harp Festival & he will be...
Let’s Stay in Touch

The Wales Harp Festival is organised by Canolfan Gerdd William Mathias (William Mathias Music Centre).
Canolfan Gerdd William Mathias provides high quality music tuition and experiences to people of all age groups at its centres in Caernarfon, Denbigh and Ruthin and through an extensive programme of education and community projects.