Rachel Hair | |
|---|---|
 Hair in 2010 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Ullapool, Scotland |
| Genres | Folk |
| Occupation(s) | Recording artist, performer, music teacher |
| Instruments | Harp |
| Years active | 2007-present |
| Website | www |
Rachel Hair is a folk harpist from Scotland. She plays the Celtic harp, also known by the Scottish Gaelic word clarsach.
Of mixed Scots-Irish parentage, Hair was born and brought up in the village of Ullapool. At ten years old, she was exposed to the harp through the Scottish organization Fèis Rois, which organizes schools and festivals to teach traditional music and Gaelic. [1] She studied music at the University of Strathclyde, where she gained a first class honors degree. [2]
In 2007, Hair released her debut harp album, "Hubcaps and Potholes", and has since performed at many festivals including Celtic Connections, the Edinburgh International Harp Festival, and the Edinburgh Fringe. [2] She has traveled throughout Europe, the United States, and New Zealand performing and teaching. [3] According to music reviewer David Pratt, Hair "is recognised as the world’s leading expert in Manx Harp music." [4] She travels monthly to the Isle of Man, where she teaches for several days. She also teaches lessons in people's homes and teaches regularly in The Netherlands. [5]
Hair also helps coordinate the annual Edinburgh International Harp Festival. In 2020, the festival's 39th year, the festival was forced to cancel its in-person activities because of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading Hair to coordinate the Virtual Edinburgh International Harp Festival. Over five days, 18 different harpists performed and led workshops online. [6]
Also in 2020, Hair began offering free harp lessons via YouTube through her "Harp at Home" series, in which she teaches Scottish songs and sells the corresponding sheet music. [5] And she was nominated for "Music tutor of the year" in the annual Scots Trad Music Awards. [7]
In March 2021, Hair and Manx Gaelic singer Ruth Keggin launched a joint crowdfunding campaign to produce a debut duo album. They reached their target goal of £5,000 within 12 hours of launching the campaign and achieved a stretch goal of £10,000 after 48 hours. Some matching funds were provided by Creative Scotland. [8]
Additionally, Hair has published several books of music that she has arranged for the harp. [3]
The music of the Isle of Man reflects Celtic, Norse and other influences, including those from its neighbours, Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales. The Isle of Man is a small island nation in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland.
The modern Celts are a related group of ethnicities who share similar Celtic languages, cultures and artistic histories, and who live in or descend from one of the regions on the western extremities of Europe populated by the Celts.
The culture of Scotland refers to the patterns of human activity and symbolism associated with Scotland and the Scottish people. The Scottish flag is blue with a white saltire, and represents the cross of Saint Andrew.
The Celtic harp is a triangular frame harp traditional to the Celtic nations of northwest Europe. It is known as cláirseach in Irish, clàrsach in Scottish Gaelic, telenn in Breton and telyn in Welsh. In Ireland and Scotland, it was a wire-strung instrument requiring great skill and long practice to play, and was associated with the Gaelic ruling class. It appears on Irish and British coins, the coat of arms of the Republic of Ireland, Montserrat, the United Kingdom and Canada as well as the flag of Montserrat.
Vivienne Margaret 'Meg' Bateman is a Scottish academic, poet and short story writer. She is best known for her works written in Scottish Gaelic; however, she has also published work in the English language.
Julie Fowlis is a Scottish folk singer and multi-instrumentalist who sings primarily in Scottish Gaelic.
The Scots Trad Music Awards or Na Trads were founded in 2003 by Simon Thoumire to celebrate Scotland's traditional music in all its forms and create a high profile opportunity to bring the music and music industry into the spotlight of media and public attention. Nominations are made by the public and in 2019 over 100,000 public votes were expected across 18 categories.
Patsy Seddon is a Scottish harpist, violinist and traditional singer in Scots and Gaelic.
Mary Macmaster is a Scottish harpist and singer. She performs on the clàrsach and the Camac electroharp, and she sings in English and Gaelic. She has worked with Sting, Kathryn Tickell, Norma Waterson, Donald Hay, the Poozies, and in the duo Sìleas with Patsy Seddon. In 2013, she and Seddon were inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame.
Lori Watson is a fiddle player and folk singer who performs traditional and contemporary folk music. She is the first doctor of Artistic Research in Scottish Music.
Mary Ann Kennedy, is a Scottish musician, singer, choral director, composer, radio and television presenter, and music producer.
Joy Dunlop is a Scottish broadcaster, singer, step dancer and educator from the village of Connel in Argyll, who now lives in Glasgow, Scotland. Singing predominantly in Scottish Gaelic, she performs folk music, song and dance in a contemporary style rooted in the tradition. She is a weather presenter for BBC Scotland and BBC ALBA.
The Gaels are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in the British Isles. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languages comprising Irish, Manx and Scottish Gaelic.
Phamie Gow is a composer, singer, harpist, pianist, and recording artist.
Corrina Hewat is a Scottish harpist and composer who was awarded Music Tutor of the Year at Na Trads in 2013. She has worked with poet Robin Robertson and has written music for the Dunedin Consort. She sings with Karine Polwart and Annie Grace in what they describe as a 'girly trio' and also appeared with Polwart on Lau's 2009 Arc Light album. She has collaborated with Patsy Reid and others as The Unusual Suspects. In July 2008 she performed with Bella Hardy at London's Royal Albert Hall as part of the first Folk Prom. In 2006 she appeared on Kathryn Tickell's The Sky Didn’t Fall album.
Ruth Keggin is a Manx Gaelic singer-songwriter. She holds degrees from the University of York and the University of Cambridge.
Roderick Morison, known as An Clàrsair Dall, was a Scottish Gaelic poet and harpist. He was born around 1646 in Bragar, Lewis and educated in Inverness, but he also learned to play the clàrsach as a profession. Later on, he moved to the Isle of Skye where he died around 1713. Morison is best known for his songs of praise for Gaelic aristocrats, for example MacLeod of Dunvegan and Iain Breac, MacLeod of Lewis.
Rachel Newton is a Scottish singer and harpist. As well as playing both acoustic and electric harp she also plays viola, fiddle, piano and harmonium. She performs solo as well as in the bands The Shee, The Furrow Collective and Boreas and was formerly a member of the Emily Portman Trio. She was a member of the Lost Words Spell Songs project and is a co-founder of The Bit Collective, a group campaigning for equality in folk music.
The Edinburgh International Harp Festival is an annual harp festival held in Edinburgh, Scotland that includes concerts, workshops, and courses, as well as one of the world's largest exhibitions of harp-makers. Organized and promoted by The Clarsach Society, two staff members, and a team of volunteers, the festival is held in April of each year and attracts more than 500 harpists from more than 25 countries.
Isobel Mieras is a Scottish clarsach player. She is a member of the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame, and in 2020, she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire "for services to Music in Scotland and to the Revival of the Clarsach."
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