Anna Phillips, Harpist

I am a harpist based in Slough, near Windsor, and available across the south of England and Wales. I play weddings, drinks receptions, corporate events, hotel afternoon teas, private parties and concerts, and I take requests: if a piece matters to you, send it a few weeks ahead and I will arrange it for the harp. I have done everything from Bach to Jack Johnson that way. I grew up in Pembrokeshire and learned the harp through the medium of Welsh, which is why Welsh music runs through everything I do. I went on to the Royal Academy of Music, where I took an MA with Distinction under Catrin Finch, and in 2023 I won the Nansi Richards Award, the prize for Welsh harpists. I have performed at Wigmore Hall, the Southbank Centre and the Royal Festival Hall, and I am a Live Music Now musician, which means I play regularly in hospitals, care homes and schools as well as concert halls. I was a Southbank Centre Future Artist. My debut solo album, Rhapsodie, was released in August 2026. It moves from Bach and Rossini through the French harp repertoire of Renié and Grandjany to the Welsh composer William Mathias, and closes with my own arrangement of the folk song Ar Lan y Môr. You can hear it on every streaming platform. For a wedding I usually arrive about an hour before your guests, play as they take their seats, then your processional, gentle music during the signing, and the recessional. Most couples ask me to carry on through the drinks reception, and many through the wedding breakfast as well. I have played at venues including Great Fosters, the Sofitel London St James, the Chesterfield Mayfair and the Royal Automobile Club, and I am a recommended supplier at Great Fosters and The Tudor Barn. For a corporate event, a hotel or a Christmas party, a harp does something a playlist cannot: it fills a room without ever competing with conversation, it draws people in as they arrive, and it photographs beautifully. My Christmas programme threads carols and familiar Christmas songs through quieter classical pieces so it sits under the occasion rather than on top of it. Repertoire: classical (Bach, Handel, Debussy, Pachelbel, Renié, Grandjany), Welsh (Ar Lan y Môr, Suo Gân, Ar Hyd y Nos, Mathias), film and musical theatre themes, jazz standards and modern songs arranged for harp. Recent requests have included Better Together by Jack Johnson, So Easy to Fall in Love by Olivia Dean and the theme from Love Actually. I bring my own concert harp and stool. I need a level space of about two metres square, a chair without arms if I am not bringing my own, and roughly an hour beforehand to get in and tune. The harp travels in a padded cover and I am used to lifts, service entrances and tight get-ins. I hold public liability insurance and can provide a risk assessment on request. What clients say: "Anna played at our wedding and she was absolutely brilliant. She appeared effortless, graceful and had a smile throughout." (Mary and Sam, June 2025). "She even went out of her way to learn Better Together by Jack Johnson for the ceremony, which sounded stunning on the harp." (Lindsey and Gareth, Great Fosters, July 2026). "Her music helped create a really lovely atmosphere and I cannot recommend her enough." (Waterstones, High Street Kensington).