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Kathleen performs the beautiful and haunting music of ancient and contemporary Ireland on her Irish Lever Harp. Singing in both Irish and English with her rich mellow voice, she takes you to a world of myth and magic in the misty emerald hills of Erin. |
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Line Up & Instrumentation: |
Kathleen Hartshorne: Irish Lever Harp, vocals, folk tales Kathleen can perform solo or with an ensemble that fits your venue. She can be acoustic or amplified. She can prepare a show that includes a variety of performers: Irish dancers, Ceili band, and/or a variety of Irish musicians playing instruments such as mandolin, guitar, whistle, banjo, fiddle, bodhran, or Uillean pipes. |
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Biography: |
"In my youth, I was a classical musician with the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra Festival Choir. But after a brief trip to Ireland in 1999, to seek out my "roots", I fell in love with the Irish lever harp. I then spent the entire summer of 2000 traveling all over Ireland playing and studying the harp, studying the ancient sean nós singing, and the Irish language. Traveling with two children, nanny, 10 suitcases, harp, equipment, and a 15 passenger van: the Irish countryside will never be the same again! But in the midst of all the green, and the sheep and cottages, and the magnificent landscape; I found my Irish Soul." The inspiration to become a "ceoltóiri" (singer of songs and keeper of ancient memory) for the beautiful and haunting traditional music of Ancient Ireland actually came to me in the loveliest of spots in County Antrim, Ireland. On windswept mossy cliffs that dropped a thousand feet into the pristine blue and wild Irish Sea, I leaned against a faery tree in a timeless faery ring, and I could see myself dancing a two-hand reel to music sung by the very rocks themselves. While in Ireland, I studied Celtic harp from Janet Harbison, director, and Gráinne Hambly, principle harpist, for the Belfast Harp Orchestra. I also had the chance to study Sean Nós (ancient) singing and modal harp styles from Gráinne Yeats at the Termonfeckin Harp Workshop in County Louth, Ireland . Traveling the Irish countryside, learning the local lore, playing for drinks and food at the local pubs, drinking in the beauty of the land, I felt I had found the soul of me. My performances became an opportunity to tell the ancient stories, teach a bit of the beautiful Irish language, weave a web of myth and magic with the mystery of ancient music. Old men came to tears and said they had not heard the old music in 60 years. One young woman brought me her mother who listened and pronounced me "Irish". It was a gift to my soul that yearned to connect to my ancestors. |
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Discography: |
"Ancient Echoes, Harp and Song" released November 2003Kathleen Hartshorne: harp and vocals; Tim Britain: fiddle; Bill Lee: mandolin. Available on CDBaby.com and in local stores. |
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Set List: |
Buachaill ón Éirne, Star of the County Down, The Voyage, Gentle Maiden, The Water is Wide, An Ghaoth Aneas / Southwind, Nach Cloíte an Galar an Grá, Caoineadh Luimní, Trip to Skye, The Shearin's No For You, Téir Abhaile Riú, Miss Rowan Davies, Thugamar Féin, An Rógaire Oráisteach, Believe Me, A Mhíle Grá, Red Is the Rose, Lark in the Clear Air, Danny Boy / Derry Air, Uir-Chill A'Chreagáin and more... |
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Basic Requirements: |
I can provide a small acoustic sound system that is self-powered and ideal for smaller settings and where electricity is not available. I also have an excellent concert sound system for larger venues that will require power outlets. I prefer to use my own head mic and harp pick up which can be easily connected to your own sound system as well. |
