CÉHI, in partnership with the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, is delighted to award Aisling Urwin & Niamh O’Brien a two-week harpers’ residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre.

This harper-composer duo plan to work on five to seven instrumental and vocal pieces at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre which will be recorded as an EP at a later date. Aisling and Niamh’s contemporary perspective of traditional harping has created a unique, exciting space for harp development, and we very much look forward to hearing how they get on.

Special thanks to all the applicants who brought a diverse range of interesting projects to us for consideration. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in 2024.

More information about the Tyrone Guthrie Centre: https://www.tyroneguthrie.ie/

Tá áthas ar CÉHI, i gcomhpháirtíocht leis an Tyrone Guthrie Centre faighteoirí na cónaitheachta seo a fhógairt: Aisling Urwin agus Niamh O’Brien.

Beidh na cruitirí agus cumadóirí seo ag obair ar idir cúig agus seacht bpíosa ceoil leis an sprioc taifeadadh a dhéanamh amach anseo. Tugann a gceol léargas nua ar ár dtraidisiún, agus tá muid ag dúil go mór le cloisteáil uathu sna céad cúpla mí atá romhainn.

Ár mbuíochas le gach cruitire a chur iarratas ar aghaidh chugainn le smaointe agus tionscadail suimiúla. Beidh muid ag leanúint ar aghaidh leis an chomhpháirtíocht seo an bhliain seo chugainn agus tá muid ag tnúth go mór leis seo.

Niamh O’Brien

Niamh is a harp player, composer, and singer from Co. Limerick. She has performed in
Ireland, Europe, and America as a solo artist, and with traditional groups such as The
Chieftains, An Tara, Alyth McCormack and Hoodman Blind. Since 2017 she has been active in
audio and radio, working as an editor and producer with the award-winning Grey Heron
Media and The Irish in New York Oral History Project. Her current compositional practice
combines traditional, folk and electronic music, with radio and audio arts. In 2021 she was
the winner of a Rising Award at the prestigious HearSay International Audio Arts Festival.
She is currently studying for a PhD in Arts Practice at UL. Her research is funded by the Irish
Research Council.
https://www.niamhharpmusic.com/

Aisling Urwin

Aisling Urwin is a harpist and songwriter from Co.Kerry. She grew up in a household of world music, folk music and traditional Irish music and has been playing the Irish harp for twenty years. She has been working as a harp teacher, composer and performer since finishing her degree in Music with Arts at UCC in 2015.

Aisling enjoys the craft of songwriting and was awarded a scholarship to attend a Richard Thompson songwriting camp in upstate New York in 2014.

She is also passionate about the healing properties of music and sound and has done collaborative work with GP Bryan McElroy in providing Heartmath meditation events combined with live improvised harp music.

In 2021, Aisling launched an online course platform, ‘The School of Harp,’ where students can take courses in combining harp and song.

Aisling enjoys working as session musician for artists across multiple genres, as well as composing for film and TV. One such recent project was harp & vocal composition for TG4 documentary, Cois Móire.

She has been touring with world music artist Ajeet since 2018. Ajeet’s album Indigo Sea rose to no.1 on the iTunes World Chart and Billboard Top Ten New Age Chart. Since 2018, they have toured together in the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe, China, Bali, Thailand, The Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand.

Aisling has released five albums to date. Her latest musical project is a contemporary folk collaboration with Siobhán Moore called Woven Kin. Their debut album, Hibernate was released in 2021.

Níos mó eolais faoin Tyrone Guthrie Centre: https://www.tyroneguthrie.ie/