Esther Beyer

Esther Beyer is an award-winning professional harpist based in London. Competition successes include first place in the inaugural Royal Academy of Music Bicentenary Prize (held at Wigmore Hall, 2020) and reaching the final of the 2020 Sir Karl Jenkins Music Award (in association with Classic FM) Esther is also a yeoman of The Musician’s Company. Notable solo highlights include performing for HRH Duchess of Cornwall on the Royal Harp at Clarence House. A passionate orchestral musician, Esther has worked under the batons of renowned conductors such as Sir Mark Elder, Edward Gardener and Ilan Volkov, has premiered works by Tansy Davies, Unsuk Chin and Iris ter Schiphorst and performed in venues across the UK, including the Royal Albert Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall, and Royal Festival Hall. Esther is currently a London Philharmonic Orchestra Foyle Future Firsts Associate and was the harpist for the 2021 London Sinfonietta Academy. Esther is also an avid chamber musician and is having particular success with her flute and harp ensemble, the Equinox Duo, who are performing regularly across England. Appearances include the Barnes Music Festival (2022), Buxton International Festival (July 2021), and a recital of recent works for flute and harp at the RAM (2020), including a world premiere by David Nunn. Excited by contemporary music, the duo aims to continue performing new music for the ensemble, working with emerging composers and broadening the repertoire. A keen advocate of the importance of music in the community, Esther devotes time to working in learning and participation. She has recently worked with the London Sinfonietta and Musician’s Company learning departments to deliver composition workshops in Primary Schools across London and has been an Assistant Creative Tutor and Assistant Harp Tutor for the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. She is passionate about sharing the joy of creativity and the necessity of providing access to music and music education for everyone, no matter their circumstances. She will be a Royal Academy of Music Open Academy Fellow for 2022-23. Esther is in currently the final year of her Master of Music degree at the Royal Academy of Music, studying with Karen Vaughan and Susan Blair. In 2020 she graduated from the RAM with a first-class Bachelor of Music degree and was a recipient of the Regency Award for outstanding contribution. Her postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music are generously supported by a RAM Entrance Scholarship, The Musician's Company, and Help Musicians UK. Esther is a grateful recipient of a Wolfson Foundation Grant (2018), which allowed her to purchase her Salvi Iris harp.