Marnie Walker

Although I have lived much of my life abroad, I was raised in the United States where I first encountered the harp as a young child. When I was 7, a touring harpist performed at my primary school and I instantly fell head-over-heels in love with the instrument. I was lucky enough to have kind parents who bought me a student harp when I was 11 so I could start lessons. I received my music training the US, studying voice and harp performance at Indiana University and in Los Angeles with Marcia Dickstein. At University of California Los Angeles I studied film scoring before going on to earn my Masters in Musicology at the University of Edinburgh. The harp naturally lends itself to songwriting, and I am always playing around with new song ideas. I have recorded two albums of my own pieces and collaborated on recordings with other artists. Singing with the harp is such a pleasure, and I love taking songs from different genres and arranging them to perform in my own way with my instrument. The results can be quite surprising. I also love bringing the harp into different environments, playing with bands or theatre groups or even in the wild. I have played for all types of events, from concerts, festivals, corporate functions, weddings, clubs, restaurants, and art openings. There is something innately magical about the harp, the way it sounds and looks and can make a person feel. If I can be a part of bringing the experience of this instrument into the lives of others, then I feel like I am doing good work.