3 Scottish Harps Solo Concert by Karen Marshalsay

Karen Marshalsay is a master of traditional Scottish harp music. One of the very few musicians who specialise on all three Scottish harps – both gut- and wire-strung and the baroque bray harp with its buzzing sitar-like tone – Karen has appeared throughout the UK, Europe, America and Australia.

International collaborations include working with African, Indian and Paraguayan musicians, participating in multi-cultural projects including Yatra, which premiered at the Edinburgh Mela in 2008, and appearing at Beethoven 2020 in Bonn.

A particular interest in pipe music has led to Karen working with piping master and Gaelic song authority Allan MacDonald in his acclaimed pibroch concerts, including the Edinburgh International Festival’s From Battle Lines to Bar Lines series (2004), and for the National Piping Centre’s 2013 Ceòl na Piòba concert. In 2018 Karen was honoured as an invited participant in Féile na Laoch, which is held every seven years in memory of composer-arranger Seán Ó Riada in Cúil Aodha, Ireland.

Having released her solo album, The Road to Kennacraig, in 2019, Karen releases the follow-up, Eadarainn a’ Chruit : Between Us the Harp in September 2025 and will feature music from both recordings in this concert.