Allegria Flute and Harp Duo

Allegria flute and harp duo have performed in numerous venues around the uk and abroad. Claire and Heather both studied at London Music conservatoires and formed the Allegria Duo in 2023. They enjoy offering a versatile and varied programme of background music to suit any occasion and also perform classical recitals in music venues alongside their events work. Claire is an extremely accomplished flautist, equally at home with solo performing and orchestral playing. Her individual vibrant playing style captures the passion, drama and emotion of the music. Claire studied music at Christ Church, Oxford, and in her first undergraduate year was awarded a music exhibition on the strength of her playing. After gaining her BA at Oxford, she went on to study for a Postgraduate Diploma in Performance at Trinity College of Music in London, achieving a distinction. Claire has continued to pursue an orchestral career and performs regularly with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, and the Royal Festival Hall. She has also performed at European venues such as Palau de la Musica Catalana in Barcelona, and at the Montreux Festival in Switzerland. She has worked with many distinguished conductors and soloists including Charles Dutoit, Martha Argerich and Freddy Kempf, and has performed in the BBC Proms, live on BBC Radio 3 and on Swiss television. She has also played for many other orchestras including The Hallé and the Britten Sinfonia. As a chamber musician, Claire is a founder member of the Métier Ensemble, encompassing trio repertoire for piano, cello and flute, along with duo repertoire with pianist Elspeth Wyllie. The duo was shortlisted for the Park Lane Group awards and the Métier Ensemble have performed in both trio and duo combinations for many music societies across the UK, including St Luke’s Music Society, Haddington Concert Society and Linlithgow Arts Guild. Claire has a love of Latin American and Spanish music, which led her to form her second duo partnership, ‘Rouge’, with guitarist Elena Zucchini, specialising in this repertoire. In June 2016 they were invited to the British Consulate in Jerusalem to play at the Queen’s birthday celebrations. Claire also performs at corporate and private events with her harp duo partner Heather Brooks as the Allegria Duo. Claire performs as a headline classical artist on Cunard cruise liners and enjoys combining performing with visiting new and exciting places in the world. Award-winning harpist Heather Brooks has just completed her final year on the Artists' Masters programme at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where she studied with Professor Imogen Barford.  She has won the Musicians' Company David Goldman Award and awards from the Tillett, Colin Keer and Robert Bouffler Trusts, as well as a Government Music and Dance Scheme Scholarship to attend The Purcell School for Young Musicians. In 2021, Heather performed as a soloist with the Guildhall Chamber Orchestra and conductor Joshua Weilerstein, presenting Roxana Panufnik's Harp Concerto Powers and Dominions at Milton Court Concert Hall. The following year she won the City of Szeged Prize at the Sixth International Harp Competition in Hungary and was chosen for the London Sinfonietta Academy 2022–2023. Heather was selected for the harp position at the Encuentro de Música y Academia de Santander 2023 and recently recorded with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra. She is also in demand as a chamber musician: in 2024 she was chosen to accompany the winner of the Guildhall Recital Prize, Ana-Carmen Balestra, in the Wigmore Hall, and she performed with her Chamber Group ‘Trio Farben’ in the Manchester Mid-Day Concerts at Bridgewater Hall. Recently the group have been awarded a place on the Britten Pears Young Artist chamber in residences course 2024/25 supported by the H Steven and P E Wood Bursary. In May 2024 Heather made her concerto debut in the Barbican Hall as a finalist in the Guildhall Gold Medal Competition.