Fran Barsby

www.franbarsbyharpist.co.uk

Fran Barsby on Facebook

"I have never met anyone like her, she is just extraordinary; such an entrepreneur, fantastic musician, willing friend, generous spirit and an incredible composer."
​-​ Eleanor Turner 2016
Fran Barsby is a British harpist known for her passion and innovation. Fran made her professional debut in 2008 at St John’s Smith Square, London. Since then she has enjoyed performing in venues such as Royal Albert Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Birmingham Town Hall, Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester Minerva Theatre and many more. Fran has competed in and won many competitions including West Sussex Musician of the Year in 2011. Her solo and ensemble career with groups such as the International Harp Ensemble, and various chamber groups and orchestras has taken her around Europe.  
In 2015 Fran graduated from Birmingham Conservatoire of Music. During this time Fran enjoyed studying with teachers including Catherine White, Gabriella Dall'Olio, David Watkins, Skaila Kanga, Louisa Maria Cordell, Charlotte Seale, and Anne Hughes Chamberlain. 
"Fran is a passionate young musician. Her playing and enthusiasm are truly catching."
​-Gabriella Dall'Olio

Since 2015, Fran has enjoyed a flourishing career as a harpist. As Pilgrim Harps Online Marketing Coordinator and Resident Harpist, Fran enjoys performing and conducting masterclasses on behalf of the company. Fran particularly enjoys organising "Come and Try the Harp" events which offer the opportunity for anyone of any age and ability can try a harp and learn more about the instrument. ​
"Fran is our Pilgrim Harp whirlwind! she has so much passion and enthusiasum for everything harp! She is a consummate  performer and superb teacher. Everything Fran does, is done with such drive. It is going to be interesting to see where it takes her." 
​- Pilgrim Harps
Fran has been teaching the harp for 7 years. She currently teaches privately and in three schools in the Midlands; Kings High School for Girls, Warwick Preparatory School and The Blue Coat School Birmingham.  Fran ensures all her students have regular opportunities to perform and runs termly student concerts. Fran teaches privately from her harp studio in Warwick. The Harp Studio is the home of PoppyHarp. PoppyHarp is a lever harp showroom for Pilgrim Harps and a publishing company for young professional composers. Fran is Company Director of PoppyHarp Publishing. April 2015 brought the release of a new set of Harp tuition books for students of all ages, parental help guides and advice for teachers. As Company Director of PoppyHarp Publishing, Fran helps young professional musicians and composers publish their first compositions. From PoppyHarp Fran has launched the Future Blend Project. The project is now internationally renowned; it is a year long composition competition that pairs harpists and composers together in order to create some incredible new music. The project is now in its third year and has had two sell out concerts, published 18 new works and recorded 2 CD’s of brand new harp music. As Founder and Director of the Future Blend Project, Fran has enjoyed working with a wide variety of musicians such as Eleanor Turner, Kirsty Devaney, Dominic Sewell, Paul Lewis, Edmund Joillfe, Shelley FairPlay, Amy Turk and more. ​
"All of Fran's work, whether performing or teaching, is characterised by 150% commitment and enthusiasm. She performs with emotional intensity and a beautiful sound, and her teaching work equally benefits from her passion for sharing the joy of music with everyone."
​- Catherine White
Fran also enjoys working with various charities and projects such as the Harp On Wight Festival as a web-designer. PoppyHarp specialises in creating easy to use websites for young professional musicians. Fran enjoys her diverse career, performing in concerts, at weddings and events, as a music and health musicians at hospitals and hospices, teaching and running her companies. 

Rosanna Moore

Originally hailing from the UK, Rosanna Moore is currently pursuing the Doctor of Musical Arts program with a minor in theatre and an Arts Leadership Certificate at the Eastman School of Music. She is studying in the studio of renowned harpist Kathleen Bride, and is kindly supported by the Eileen Malone Scholarship. Rosanna graduated with honours from the Royal Northern College of Music in 2011, where she studied with the renowned Welsh harpist Eira Lynn Jones. Prior to this she attended the prestigious Chetham’s School of Music.
During her studies, she was the first harpist ever to become a finalist in the RNCM’s Gold Medal Weekend (the highest accolade offered for solo performance), the first harpist to be awarded the Stan Barker Memorial Prize for jazz improvisation, and was placed third Europe’s first Jazz and Pop Harp competition. Most recently she was awarded the Robert Wayne Barlow Award for excellence in harp performance and Eastman’s prestigious Performer’s Certificate.

As an avid chamber musician, Rosanna is a founding member of Trio Alexander (flute, viola, harp) and Sticks&Strings percussion and harp duo. Described as “daring and unconventional”, Trio Alexander has recently returned from their first UK tour having been supported by an Eastman Development Grant. As a rather novel duo, Sticks&Strings aims to build a repertoire for harp and percussion duos and often collaborate with other art forms. They are currently working on a new show titled God Complex which will premiere in 2018. They were recently awarded the UK Harp Association Bursary to help fund the project.
In addition to her house ensembles, Rosanna enjoys the challenge of working with eclectic ensembles such as Divinity (an Indian classical music group), jazz groups and even the US Army Band. Notably, she has performed for royalty in an ensemble of 60 harps for Prince Charles’ 60th birthday and recently shared the stage with five-time Grammy winning soprano, Kathleen Battle as part of her Underground Railroad tour. As an orchestral musician, she was recently appointed as Principal Harp with the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes and Second Harp with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.

Sophie Rocks

Sophie Rocks on Facebook

Sophie is a freelance harpist based in Manchester. Sophie has had several years of experience playing at a variety of functions, including weddings, corporate events and birthday celebrations. Whatever your occasion, music is an important part of it and to make your day as special as possible, Sophie will work with you personally to find the perfect programme that suits you. Sophie offers an extensive range of repertoire and music of any genre is available, be it classical, jazz, pop, traditional or anything else you may desire! If you have a particular song or piece in mind, Sophie is more than happy to arrange something of your choice.  
Sophie fell in love with the clarsach at a young age, and began lessons at the age of six in the Shetland Islands. At ten, she gained entry to one of Scotland’s National centres of excellence, Aberdeen City Music School, where she studied both clarsach and the Concert harp with Anne Macdearmid. Following this, Sophie went on to study further at the Royal Northern College of Music under the tutelage of Eira Lynn Jones where she gained a First class Bachelor of Music degree with honours. She is currently continuing her studies at the Royal Northern and pursuing a Masters degree in Music.

​As a soloist, Sophie gives recitals around the country and has performed in venues including the Glasgow Burrell collection, the Shetland museum, the Whitworth Art Gallery, the Gorton Monastery and King’s College chapel. She has also featured as a soloist on  BBC Radio 3 and is a finalist in the Royal Northern College of Music's 2017 Gold Medal competition, the highest award that the college gives for performance.  . Furthermore, out with her solo performances, Sophie thoroughly enjoys playing in Orchestras and Ensembles. As an orchestral player, Sophie has had the opportunity to tour Europe on a number of occasions, allowing her to perform in Bratislava, the Czech Republic, Italy and Germany. Within the UK, Sophie has performed in various prestigious venues including Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, The Sage Gateshead, Bridgewater Hall and The Royal Albert Hall.

Erica Sinclair

Erica Sinclair on Facebook

Originally from Caithness in the north Highlands, Erica Sinclair began studying clarsach with Bill Taylor aged seven, and then clarinet with Karen Anderson at the age of eleven. At school, she was involved in local music groups and the local music festival, as well as the Highland Region Youth Orchestra and the National Children’s Orchestra of Scotland. She also taught clarsach with Feis Ghallaibh as well as privately, and regularly performed as a soloist on both clarsach and clarinet. In 2009, she was runner-up in the Highland Young Musician of the Year competition on clarinet.
In 2009, she began the BMus programme at Edinburgh Napier University, studying clarinet with Alison Waller; she also began her studies in pedal harp at this time with Alina Bzhezhinska. During her time there, she was involved in university concerts both as a soloist and with the various university ensembles, including a performance of Malcolm Arnold’s Second Clarinet Concerto with the chamber orchestra in her final year, and as an accompanist for Britten's "A Ceremony of Carols" with the university’s Chamber Choir. She also performed regularly outside the university with other ensembles, and in 2010 won the Adult Open Clarsach Competition at the Royal National Mòd. She graduated in 2013 with First Class Honours. Also a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, she has performed in a variety of venues, including a joint Prom concert with the BBC SSO in 2012, and as principal bass clarinettist on the orchestra’s recent tour to China.

In 2013, Erica began her studies on the MMus programme at Birmingham Conservatoire, studying clarinet with Sally Harrop, Mark O’Brien and Michael Harris; she also continued her harp studies there with Catherine White. During her time there, she was regularly involved in the college orchestras and ensembles as well as local groups, not only on clarinet and harp but also on basset horn. She also auditioned successfully for the CBSO Training Scheme, and took part in the WNO Side-by-side Scheme. In 2015, she performed as a soloist alongside Catherine O’Rourke for Mozart’s Flute and Harp Concerto with the Highland Chamber Orchestra. She graduated with Masters with Distinction from Birmingham Conservatoire in 2015.
Erica regularly performs throughout the UK; recently, she performed at Pilgrim Harps' launch of their new Electroacoustic Malvern. In 2015 she composed and performed an instrumental accompaniment to Scottish poet Kenneth Steven’s “A Song Among the Stones”. A keen contemporary performer, she has performed as part of both the Future Blend and Contemporary Voices Projects, both projects which team composers and performers together in order to create new music. She works regularly with composer Yfat Soul Zisso. Erica is also a performer with the Mahler Players, a chamber orchestra based in the Highlands that perform chamber versions of Mahler alongside works from the 20th and 21st centuries and regularly commission new works.