Welsh harpist Eira Lynn Jones at St Chad’s Church Rochdale

Preview by Steve Cooke

Quite a coup for Rochdale Parish Church’s Saturday Lunchtime Concerts with Welsh harpist Eira Lynn Jones whose passion for all things harp makes her a true ambassador for this magical instrument. She combines the three strands of her illustrious career as performer, teacher and composer. Her two solo albums gained critical acclaim, showcasing her imaginative programming on both pedal and lever harp.

Eira is committed to introducing the harp to wider audiences, resulting in an eclectic range of work: recordings with the Black Dyke Brass Band and the heavy metal group Venom, tours with the Morriston Orpheus Male Voice Choir and with Aled Jones for Songs of Praise, playing in Spain for HRH the Prince of Wales … and appearing in two episodes of Coronation Street, watched by 16 million people.

She has performed solo recitals in Johannesburg, Copenhagen, New York, Seville, Athens, Reykjavik and Dublin, as well as on S4C, BBC Radio 3, Radio 4 … and Radio 1!

As an orchestral player she regularly plays with the Hallé, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC Philharmonic, appearing in concerts, recordings and at the Proms.

She was Principal Harp with Northern Ballet Theatre and has been a guest player with the BBC NOW, English National Ballet, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

Eira is widely recognised as one of the UK’s leading harp teachers and was Head of Harp at the Royal Northern College of Music for nearly 30 years. She has given workshops in South Africa, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Greece, USA and now gives online coaching to

harpists worldwide: from Newark to New Zealand!

As a composer she is inspired by the stories around her, from medieval tales to contemporary events. She was selected as composer for Illumine Theatre’s audio drama

Tremolo, now available on major podcast channels. She recently collaborated with the multi-award winning dance company, DanceSyndrome, whose members have Down’s Syndrome. They jointly performed her Sunken Forest Suite: a retelling of the Welsh legend Cantre’r Gwaelod, highlighting the rising sea levels of today.

“Sheer pleasure … ravishing sound … quite gorgeous … the playing is superb ”

MusicWeb International

Visit: www.eiralynnjones.com

Definitely one not to be missed! We are promised something for everyone with classical pieces by Britten and Debussy, traditional tunes and a jazz standard. A highlight will be Les Bistros de Paris: a new work by Martin Ellerby evoking Parisian memories.

Programme:

March – Pavane, Bernard Andrès (b. 1941) 

Interlude from Ceremony of Carols,  Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976)

From Les Bistros de Paris, Martin Ellerby (b.1957) , Saturday at Au Volcan, Sunday at Georgette du Luxembourg, Friday at Chez René, Thursday at Le Train Bleu

Glenlivet, trad. Scottish

Suo Gân,  trad. Welsh

Swan LK243, Catriona McKay (b. 1976)

La Fille aux cheveux de lin, Claude Debussy (1862 - 1913)

Scandinavia,  Monika Stadler (b. 1963)

I got Rhythm,  George Gershwin (1898 - 1937), arr. Ray Pool

Saturday, June 14th, 2025

£6 pay on the door

Refreshments from 11.30am

Concert 12 noon

St Chad's Church, Sparrow Hill, Rochdale OL16 1QT