Harpist

Iona Thomas

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(5.0)Read all 15 reviews
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About Iona

Professional Singing Harpist
Harpist
London
Public liability insurance of £10 million
Verified profile

After graduating university in 2011 Iona became a full time performer and within a year had won Sternberg Clarke's 'Next Big Thing' competition. Iona went on to perform at various events including the National Students TV Awards, Scarlet FM Awards and the Official Opening Event for the 2012 Olympic Games as well as having a resident performing spot at the Park Plaza Hotel Westminster. Iona then went on to tour with internationally with Laura Mvula between 2012 to 2016, with Karen Elson in 2017 and with Neneh Cherry in 2018 and now 2019. With these artists Iona has performed on various TV shows including Jonathan Ross, Graham Norton, Jools Holland, Jimmy Kimmel and The David Letterman show as well as on some of the world's biggest stages such as Glastonbury Main Stage, Coachella, The Nobel Peace Prize Concert, V Festival Main Stage, the O2 Arena and the Birmingham LG Arena. As well as touring with Laura Mvula, Neneh Cherry and Karen Elson, Iona has also done session work for such artists as Maxi Jazz, Tom Chaplin, Mr Jukes and Nakhane. Iona is now concentrating on her own path as a solo artist traveling Europe for various function gigs and writing her own original material. While Iona specialises in pop and contemporary covers she has also been classically trained making her set suitable for any occasion.

Iona
Full starFull starFull starFull starFull star
5 out of 5
15 verified reviews
Satisfaction
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5.0
Professionalism
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5.0
Communication
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5.0
Punctuality
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5.0

Iona's Reviews

From Encore customers:

CB
Carly B
6 months ago
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5 out of 5

Iona is so talented - i cant begin to explain how utterly amazing she was performing at our wedding - we had no end of guests saying how fabulous she was. Not only is she talented but shes lovely aswell. You made our wedding extra special and we cant thank iyou enough x

Reply from Iona
6 months ago

Ahhh Carly thank you so much for your lovely review 💜. Thank you for booking me - loved playing for you all! Hope you had an amazinggggg rest of the day xxx

OH
Olivia H
7 months ago
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5 out of 5

Iona was great at the ceremony and also with communication beforehand - would thoroughly recommend!

LS
Laura S
7 months ago
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5 out of 5

Lona was and is amazing she was all ready for our guests to listen too what a beautiful voice and boy can she play the harp The song list is great to choose from and I will be using Lona again and for sure would recommend her to everyone. Thank you so much Lona love Laura and Chris Wedding 1st September 13

AB
Adam B
8 months ago
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5 out of 5

Words don’t do her justice. Professional, artistic, guests loved her, couldn’t recommend highly enough.

Read all 9 reviews

From other customers:

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Oliver C
9 months ago, for a Wedding in Sarratt
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5 out of 5

Iona was the harpist for our wedding ceremony and reception. She was absolutely amazing, the perfect intro music for the bridal party and then brilliant music being sung as well as the harp for the reception. So many people commented to us how fantastic she was and it really added to the whole day! I would highly recommend booking her for your wedding or other occasion, she was so helpful on the run up to the day as well! Thanks so much for making our day extra special! Love Oliver and Lauren x

KM
Katie M
4 years ago, for a Wedding in Bishop's Ave
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5 out of 5

Dear Iona, Just wanted to say a massive thank you for Saturday. You were fantastic. We were so happy with how it all sounded. Particularly walking down the aisle to Norah Jones. It was divine. Thank you for helping to make our day so special. Katie and Simon

Read all 6 reviews
Encore badges
10 gigs
Experienced: 10 bookings through Encore
Saved the day!
Booked for an Encore gig with less than 24 hours’ notice
4th Anniversary
This act has been working with Encore for over 4 years

Iona's Song list

Adele - Someone like you
Adele - Rolling in the deep
Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
Amy Winehouse - Valerie
Alanis Morrisette - Ironic
Audrey Hepburn - Moon River
The Beatles - Here Comes the Sun
The Beatles - Let it be
Beyonce - Halo
Ben E King - Stand by Me
Bon Iver - Skinny Love
Bruno Mars - Marry You
Christina Perry - A thousand years
Coldplay - Fix You
Cyndi Lauper - Girls just want to have fun
Due Lipa - Be the One
Desree - Kissing You
Eagle Eyed Cherry - Save Tonight
Ed Sheeran - Shape of You
Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud
Ed Sheeran - Perfect
Ellie Goulding - How Long will I love you
Elton John - Your Song
Elvis - I can't help falling in Love
Elvis - Love me tender
Eva Cassidy - Songbird
Eva Cassidy - True Colours
Fleetwood Mac - Dreams
Gabrielle Aplin - The Power of Love
Harry Styles - As it was
Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah
John Denver - Annies Song
John Legend - All of me
Kings of Leon - Use Somebody
Lana Del Ray - Video Games
Lana Del Ray - Young and Beautiful
Louis Armstrong - What a wonderful World
Madcon - Beggin
Mumford and Sons - Little Lion Man
Nina Simone - My baby just cares for me
Norah Jones - Come away with me
Oasis - Wonderwall
One Direction - Little Things
Paolo Nuitini - Autumn Leaves
Rihanna - Love the way you lie
Robin Thicke - Lost without You
Rag and Boneman - Human
Rihanna - We found love in a hopeless place
Sam Smith - Latch
Sarah McLachlan - Angel
Sixpence none the richer - Kiss Me
Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars
Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition
The Calling - Wherever you will go
Westlife - The Rose
Welsh songs:
Elin Fflur - Harbwr Diogel
Traditional - Calon Lan
Traditional - Myfanwy
Traditional - Ar Lan yr Mor
(Email to receive full song list)

Iona's Prices

Note: prices may vary based on travel distance. For an exact quote, click “Check availability”.

Standard Prices
Performance durationPrice
Short performance (up to 15 min)£250
Up to 1 hour£450
Up to 2 hours£600
Up to 3 hours£750
Customer questions

What if my timings change after I've booked you?

That's fine. I will usually let you know if I have another booking on that same day or need to leave by a certain time. I know how events, specifically weddings can run a little late so I am happy to be flexible as long as I don't need to leave by a certain time to get to another gig.

How much time do you need to set up?

Depends on how many different locations i'm playing within the venue and how many people are attending, however I usually like to arrive to the venue about 2 hours before to set up and sound check. It takes anywhere between 15 minutes to 1 hour to set up.

Is the transport of your harp included in your quote?

Yes. The petrol expense includes the transport of my harp.

Do you need any equipment provided to play outdoors?

I have extension leads - as long as there is a socket within 15 metres of where I'm playing then that's fine.

Can I pick the pieces you play from the set list?

Of course :)

Can you learn specific pieces before the event?

Yes - for every booking i'm happy to learn 1 song as long as it's playable on the lever harp. This more applies to wedding aisle songs and bookings that are made with more than 3 months notice.
Musicianship
Genres:
Acoustic, Pop, Classical, Contemporary classical, Classical crossover, Covers, Welsh folk
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Instruments:
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Event types:
Hotel / Restaurant event, Wedding, Wedding proposal, Funeral / Memorial service, Private event, Corporate event, Charity event, Recording session, Birthday party, Christmas party, Virtual event
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