Following a sold-out run at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and commissions from Hidden Door Festival and Celtic Connections last year, one of Scotland’s most sought-after harpists Esther Swift is to tour solo across Scotland this March with new original material.
A prolific, boldly innovative harpist, composer and singer, Esther works across genres as diverse as classical chamber music, traditional Scottish folk music and free improvisation. Having studied at Edinburgh’s St Mary’s Music School, the Royal Northern College of Music, and with harp pioneer Catriona MacKay, Esther has received numerous prestigious commissions and featured in many international collaborations.
As a composer, Esther explores ritual, connection, isolation, and the natural world. She has been likened to Kate Bush, Anna Meredith and Björk, her style drawing on her folk roots and taking influence from her love of jazz, minimalism and dance music. In recent commissions her work has centred around poetry, composing instrumental settings for work from poets such as Carol Ann Duffy, William Butler Yeats, Rachel McCrum, and Edwin Morgan.
From 11th-27th March Esther’s solo tour will see her perform across the length and breadth of Scotland, from the culture hotspot in Edinburgh to rural gems in Caithness, Letham, Skye, Uig, North Uist, Lochgilphead, and Mull. A number of the gigs are supported by Scotland on Tour, and The Touring Network’s Supported Programme, of which Esther is a supported artist.
In intimate spaces Esther will perform a programme of original and traditional compositions, with a mixture of instrumental and poetry settings for pedal harp and voice.
