Harpist

Sam MacAdam

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About Sam

'Sam's performance was stunning. We could not have dreamt of a better way to have our wedding ceremony started.' Award winning harpist!
Harpist
Glasgow
Public liability insurance of £10 million

Hello! I'm absolutely in love with the harp, and there's nothing more I enjoy than performing for people, and helping to make people's events perfect. Confetti Ceremony Performer Highly Commended 2023 Confetti Ceremony Performer Award Winner 2022 Scottish Wedding Award Finalist 2019 Featured in Tie The Knot Scotland in issues from 2019-2022 Compositions and pieces played on BBC Radio Scotland Graduating from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2018 with a First Class (honours) degree in both classical pedal harp and the Scottish clarsach, I'm a versatile player across multiple genres and pride myself on being able to match the mood and atmosphere of your event. My repertoire is extensive, stretching from Debussy to The Beatles, and I offer a completely bespoke and custom service for weddings where I will arrange/transcribe and learn all of your music for the ceremony itself. I've been playing weddings professionally for over ten years and I'm familiar with most of the venues in Scotland and Northern England. My experience means that I'm able to react to anything that happens on the day (as we all know weddings can be a touch unpredictable) so that your guests remain calm and the service moves smoothly. I'm also familiar with religious wedding ceremonies, can accompany hymns, and am always happy to offer advice on whether a particular musical idea you have will work well on the harp, or might need a wee bit of tweaking! I play solo, with orchestras across Scotland, as a core member of Women in Chamber Music and with a clarsach trio 'The Willow Trio'. Within the trio we explore contemporary folk music, original compositions, and arrange classical music for the trio. Most notably, our 2019 tour was our arrangement of 'The Nutcracker' with an award winning ballet dancer. We are currently working on a folk-ballet retelling the story of Swan Lake based on the parallel Gaelic legend of The Swan of Salen.

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3rd most booked musician of 2021!
Saved the day!
Booked for an Encore gig with less than 24 hours’ notice
Member of the Encore community forum
6th Anniversary
This act has been working with Encore for over 6 years
10 gigs
Experienced: 10 bookings through Encore
Musicianship
Genres:
Covers, Christmas, Traditional church music, Classical, Baroque, Classical crossover, Contemporary classical, Film / TV music, Medieval music, Renaissance, Musical theatre, Opera, Early music, 1990s era music, 1980s era music, 1970s era music, 1960s era music, 1950s era music, Folk, Traditional Scottish folk, Traditional Irish folk, Traditional English folk, Welsh folk, Country, Jazz, Easy listening, Light music, Pop, Disco, Bollywood, Scottish music
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Instruments:
See all instruments
Event types:
Wedding, Wedding proposal, Funeral / Memorial service, Church service, Hotel / Restaurant event, Recording session, Concert, Private event, Corporate event, Burns night, Birthday party, Christmas party, Theatre / Show, Bar / Club / Venue event
See all event types
Other skills:
Arranger, Transcription, Fluent sight-reader, Instrumental teaching, Theory teaching
See all skills

Sam's Song list

Modern
500 Miles – The Proclaimers
A
A Hard Day’s Night – The Beatles
A Thousand Miles – Vanessa Carlton
Africa - Toto
Aint No Sunshine – Bill Withers
Always Remember Us This Way – Lady Gaga
All Of Me – John Legend
All My Loving – The Beatles
All You Need is Love – The Beatles
As Long As You Love Me – The Backstreet Boys
Avril 14th – Aphex Twin
B
Be Alright – Lucy Rose
Better Off Alone – Alice Deejay
Better Together – Jack Johnson
Billie Jean – Michael Jackson
Bittersweet Symphony – The Verve
Blackbird- The Beatles
Blowin’ in the Wind – Bob Dylan
Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon & Garfunkel
Bring Me Sunshine
Brown Eyed Girl
Budapest – George Ezra
C
Caledonia – Dougie McClean
Can’t Help Falling in Love – Elvis
C’est La Vie – B*witched
Chasing Cars – Snow Patrol
Chasing Pavements – Adele
Children – Robert Miles
Clocks – Coldplay
Come Away with Me – Norah Jones
Cosmic Love - Florence and the Machine
D
Descpacito
Don’t Stop Believing - Journey
Don’t You Worry Child – Swedish House Mafia
Dreams – Fleetwood Mac
E
Everything – Michael Buble
Everything I do (I Do if For You) – Bryan Adams
Everlong – The Foo Fighters
F
Feeling Good – Muse
Fields of Gold - Sting
Fireflies – Owl City
Firestone - Kygo
Forget You
G
Gimme, Gimme, Gimmee (A Man After Midnight) – Abba
Grace – Donna Taggart
Greatest Day – Take That!
H
Hallelujah – Leonard Cohen
Halo - Beyonce
Here Comes The Sun – The Beatles
Ho Hey – The Lumineers
Hold My Girl – George Ezra
Home – Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Hoppippola – Sigur Ros
How Long Will I Love You – Ellie Goulding
Human – The Killers
Hymn for the Weekend - Coldplay
I-J
I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing - Aerosmith
I’m Yours – Jason Mraz
If I aint Got You – Alicia Keys
Intro – The XX
Isn’t She Lovely – Stevie Wonder
I Only Want to Be With You – Dusty Springfield
I Walk the Line – Johnny Cash
Jesus Christ – Brand New
K
Knowing Me, Knowing You – Abba
L
Lady - Modjo
Let It Be – The Beatles
Let Her Go – Passenger
Let’s Get Married – The Proclaimers
Living on a Prayer – Bon Jovi
M
Make You Feel My Love - Adele
Marry You – Bruno Mars
N
Nothing Else Matters - Metallica
New Born – Muse
O
One Day Like This - Elbow
One More Time – Daft Punk
One Thousand Years – Christina Perri
Only You - Yazoo
P
Perfect – Ed Sheeran
Photograph – Ed Sheeran
Proud Mary – Tina Turner
R
Riders on The Storm – The Doors
Rolling in the Deep - Adele
S
Sandstorm - Darude
September – Earth, Wind, and Fire
Shape of You – Ed Sheeran
Silly Love Songs – Paul McCartney
Signed Sealed Delivered – Stevie Wonder
Sky Full of Stars – Coldplay
Slow Dancing in the Dark – Joji
Somewhere Only We Know – Lily Allen
Songbird – Christine McVie
Stand By Me
Sweet Caroline – Neil Diamond
Sweet Home Alabama
T-V
Tears in Heaven – Eric Clapton​
The Dog Days Are Over – Florence and the Machine
The Greatest Day – Take That
Thinking Out Loud – Ed Sheeran
Time, As a Symptom of Love – Joanna Newsome
Titanium – David Guetta
Three Little Birds – Bob Marley
Toxic – Britney Spears
Use Somebody – Kings of Leon
Viva Forever – The Spice Girls
W
Walking on Sunshine – Catriona and the Waves
Wake me Up – Aviici
Walls – Kings of Leon
We Found Love – Rhianna
Where is My Mind – the Pixies
Wish You Were Here – Pink Floyd
Wonderful Tonight – Eric Clapton
Wonderwall – Oasis
World of Our Own - Westlife
Wouldn’t It Be Nice – The Beach Boys
Wuthering Heights – Kate Bush
Y
You Do Something To Me – Paul Weller
Young and Beautiful – Lana Del Rey
Your Song – Elton John
Yours – Ella Henderson
You’re Still the One – Shania Twain
Classics and Jazz
A
(Is this the way to) Amarillo
Always on My Mind – Elvis Presley
At Last – Etta James*
Autumn Leaves
B
Black Coffee
Bring me Sunshine – Arthur Kent
D-E
Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend – Jule Styne
Dream a Little Dream of Me
Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend – Jule Styne
Dream a Little Dream of Me
Everything – Michael Bublé
F-H
Fly Me to the Moon – Bart Howard
Golden Slumbers – The Beatles
Guilty
Have You Met Miss Jones?
How High The Moon
I
I’d like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)
I’m Beginning to See The Light
Isn’t She Lovely
It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Aint Got That Swing)
I Will Survive – Gloria Gaynor
L
La Vie En Rose – Edith Piaf
Leaving on a Jet Plane – John Denver
Lovin’ You – Minnie Ripperton
Lullaby of Birdland – George Shearing
M-P
Mack the knife
Moon River
Morning has Broken – Cat Stevens
My Way – Sinatra
Non, Je ne regrette rien – Charles Dumont
Over The Rainbow
Please Mr Postman – B. Holland
S
Senorita – Shaun Mendez
Signed, Sealed, Delivered
Smile – Charles Chaplin
Spanish Eyes – Kaempfert
Spanish Flea – Julius Wechter
Stella By Starlight
Summetime
T
That’s Amore – Dean Martin
The Air that I breathe – Albert Hammond
The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face
The Windmills of Your Mind – Michel Legrand
They long to be close to you – Burt Bacharach
Tijuana Taxi – Bud Coleman
Top of the World – Richard Carpenter
U
Unforgettable
Up, Up and Away – Jim Webb
W
Walk on By – Burt Bacharach
What A Difference A Day Made – Jamie Cullum
What A Wonderful World
What the World Needs Now is Love – Burt Bacharach
Y
Yellow Submarine – Lennon & McCartney
Yesterday – Lennon & McCartney
You’ll Never Walk Alone – From Carousel
Young at Heart
Disney
A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes
A Whole New World
Bella Notte
Can You Feel the Love Tonight?
Everybody Wants to Be a Cat
Feed The Birds
Hakuna Matata
He’s a tramp
I See The Light – Tangled
Let it Go
Let’s Go Fly a Kite
Married Life (Up)
Part of Your World
Someday my prince will come
Something There
Tale as old as time
The Bare Necessities
Under The Sea
When Somebody Loved Me
When You Wish Upon a Star
You’ve Got a Friend in Me
You’ll Be in My Heart (Tarzan)*
Classical
A
Adagio, Sonata Op.5, No. 10 – Corelli
Air from Water Music – Handel
Allegro A minor – Giulani
Aria from Sonata for Flute – Vinci
Au Matin – Tournier*
Ave Maria – Schubert
C
Caro Mio Ben – Giordano
Concerto Eb – O’ Carolan
D - F
Debussy – Premier Arabesque *
Finlandia (Theme) – Sibelius
G-J
Gymnopedies – Satie
Harpicide at Midnight – Chertok*
Hornpipe from Water Music – Handel
I Giorni – Einaudi
Jesu, joy of Man’s Desiring – Bach
L
Larghetto – Handel
Largo – Handel
Laudate Dominum
Le Printemps – Einaudi
O-M
O Mio Babbini Caro - Puccini
Menuet – Buttstedt
Minuetto E minor – Scarlatti
P
Pachabel’s Canon – Pachabel
Panis Angelicus
Pie Jesu
Prelude 2 – Tournier*
Prelude in C – Bach
Primavera - Einaudi
R-T
River Flows in You - Yiruma
Sheep May Safely Graze – Bach
Spring from the four seasons – Vivaldi
The Swan – Saint Saens
Traumerei – Schumann
Trumpet Tune – Jeremiah Clarke
W
Wedding March – Mendelssohn
Wedding March - Wagner
Folk – Scottish and Irish
Auld Lang Syne,
Caledonia,
Complainte de la blanche biche – Anonymous, 16th Century
Flow Gently Sweet Afton
Go lassie, Go
Greensleeves
Highland Cathederal
Leezie Lindsey
Loch Lomond
Marry Me Now
Molly Malone
My love is like a Red, Red Rose (Burns)
O’Carolan’s welcome
Sands of Hosta
Scotland the Brave
She Moved through the fair
The Fields of Atherny
The Old Reel/G minor Reel
Town I Loved So Well
Whiskey In the Jar
Will Ye No Come Back Again? (Burns)
Women of Ireland
Hymns
Abide With Me
All Things Bright and Beautiful
Amazing Grace
At The Name of Jesus
Dear Lord and Father of Manking
Give Me Joy In My Heart
Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken
Guide me O, Thou Great Redeemer
How Great Though Art
I, The Lord of Sea and Sky
Lord of All Hopefulness
Lord of the Dance
Love Diving, All Loves Excelling
Make Me a Channel of Your Peace
Morning Has Broken
One Small Step Along the World
Praise My Soul, The King of Heaven
Shine, Jesus Shine
Thine Be the Glory
Film / TV Music
Après le autre ete (Amelie)
Always With Me (Spirited Away)
A Million Dreams (The Greatest Showman)
Ashitaka and San (Princess Mononoke)
Babe (Saint-Saens Organ Concerto, theme from 3rd movement)
Bella’s Lullaby (Twilight)
City of Stars (La La Land)
Concerning Hobbits (LOTR)
For The Love of A Princess (Theme From Braveheart)
The Godfather (Love Theme)
Island Song (Adventure Time)
Love Actually (The Glasgow Love Theme)
Moon River (Breakfast At Tiffany’s)
One Summer’s Day (Spirited Away)
Rose Theme (Titanic)
River Flows In You (Twilight)
Up (Married Life)
Waltz of Chihiro (Spirited Away)
You’ve Got a Friend in Me (Toy Story)
Game Music
Final Fantasy
FFIV – Theme of Love
FFVI – Aria Di Mezzo Carattere
FFVII – Aeris Theme
To Zanarkland
The Legend of Zelda
Great Fairy Fountain
Lost Woods
Sacred Grove
Sheik’s Theme
Zelda’s Lullaby
Gwyn lord of Cinder – Theme
Kingdom Hearts – Clearly Beloved
Seasonal
Christmas songs including:
A la Nanita Nana
All I want for Christmas is You
Angels from the Realms of Glory
Angels We have heard on high
Away in a Manger
Baby it’s cold outside
Blue Christmas
Carol of the Bells (Home Alone Song)
Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire (The Chistmas Song)
Christ Child’s Lullaby
Christmas Lights -Coldplay
Come, All Ye Shepherds
Coventry Carol
Fairytale of New York
The First Nowell
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy*
Ding Dong! Merrily on High
Divinum Mysterium
Do They Know It’s Christmas?
Do You hear What I Hear?
Feliz Navidad
The First Noel
Frosty The Snowman
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Good King Wenceslas
Hallelujah Chorus
Hark The Herald Angels Sing
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
The Holly and the Ivy
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
I Wonder as I Wander
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring
Jingle Bell Rock
June in January
Last Christmas
Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!
Mele Kalikimaka
Merry Christmas Everyone
Merry Xmas Everybody
The Most Wonderful Time of the year
O Come O Come Emmanuel
Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree
Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
Santa Baby
Santa Claus is Comin’ To Town
Silent Night
Silver Bells
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?
White Christmas
Customer questions

What do your clients love most about your performances?

My ability to perform their chosen repertoire. I take pride in my range of music - from traditional to 90s dance classics. My repertoire has been built up over the years, and my arrangements are true to the originals. My professionalism and interacting with their guests. I love playing your niece's favourite Disney song, or Elvis for your grandma.

Which venues have you performed at in the past?

I've played at most of the wedding venues in Scotland, having played at over 200 weddings. I know the set up procedures, are comfortable with how the harp works best in the venue, and can advise you on which harp would be perfect for your venue.

Which artists have you been most influenced by?

A mixture of Grieg, Debussy, Radiohead, Belle and Sebastian, The Beatles, Frank Ocean. A pretty eclectic mix!

What is the most high profile gig you've performed?

I performed at Edinburgh's Hogmanay Street party with my ceilidh band! I still can't believe it!

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

If timings change slightly then just let me know! I try to be as flexible as possible. All timing changes need to be agreed in writing at least one week before the event.

How much time do you need to set up?

I take thirty minutes to set up, tune, and tidy my space away so it looks perfect! I arrive about one hour before the start of an event so that I'm all set up and ready to go in advance. If you'd like me to set up and arrive sooner than that then let me know. It incurs a slight fee, but I'm more than happy to help!

Is the transport of your harp included in your quote?

Absolutely! There will be no hidden costs in my quote, my final quote will contain performance, travel, amplification, and transport!

Do you need any equipment provided to play outdoors?

None at all - I use my own amp when playing outdoors as otherwise the sound of the harp might not reach all of your guests. My amp is battery powered and totally self contained. If it is raining then I will need full cover or to perform indoors as my instrument is valuable and could be damaged. Full cover includes ground cover.

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

The ceremony is entirely bespoke - you can choose anything (even from outwith my list!) - I just ask for at least one month's notice for any song choices. For the drinks reception I'm happy for you to pick pieces from my set list, and I'll form it into a set for the day. If there's something you don't see then definitely ask - I may already know it!

Can you learn specific pieces before the event?

The ceremony is entirely specific pieces that you choose, and this is included in the original quote. For any other events, if a song isn't included in our song list there may still be a chance I already know it. If you have a few requests then I'll do my best, although I can't guarantee learning or knowing your requests. Send me a message!

Sam'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)£100
Up to 1 hour£350
Up to 2 hours£400
Up to 3 hours£450
Packages
Full length drinks reception
Two performances of up to 45 mins each during your drinks reception. Personalised song choice from my song list.
£440
Wedding ceremony
This includes music before the service begins, music during the signing of the register, and music as guests leave. Entirely bespoke music choices, as long as I have one month's notice.
£440
Wedding ceremony + Short Drinks reception
- Music before the service begins, music during the signing of the register, and music as guests leave with bespoke song choices - 1 hour long performance during the drinks reception
£495
Wedding ceremony + Long Drinks reception
- Music before the service begins, music during the signing of the register, and music as guests leave. Totally bespoke song choices for the wedding ceremony - 2 x 45 min performances at the drinks reception. Choices chosen from my song list.
£550
Sam
Full starFull starFull starFull starFull star
5 out of 5
22 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

Sam's Reviews

From Encore customers:

MN
Melissa N
5 months ago
Full starFull starFull starFull starFull star
5 out of 5

Sam was fantastic and set precisely the right mood for our cocktail hour. She was very professional and easy to work with and I highly recommend hiring her.

LD
Louise D
10 months ago
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5 out of 5

Sam was amazing!! She played my entrance song perfectly and was great entertainment for our guests. Would highly recommend Sam for anyone's wedding 😊

LM
Laura M
1 year ago
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5 out of 5

Sam was great and everyone at the event commented on how lovely the music was. She was very professional and communicative which made the booking and organising process very simple. Thanks Sam!

AH
Anisa H
1 year ago
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5 out of 5

Sam was fantastic. I couldn't recommend her more for your special day. She listened to exactly what we wanted and curated an amazing playlist. She has such a wonderful talent and we are lucky to have had her at our wedding.

Reply from Sam
1 year ago

Thank you Anisa! I hope you both had a brilliant day, and thanks for having me. I'll definitely be playing Still DRE as often as possible!

Read all 11 reviews

From other customers:

SK
Sarah K
3 years ago, for a Wedding in Ingliston
Full starFull starFull starFull starFull star
5 out of 5

We always knew we wanted a harpist as part of our big day and were over the moon that Sam was available on our special date. We really can not recommend Sam highly enough. From the outset she was so friendly, welcoming and reassuring especially in the circumstances we found ourselves in. Having never planned a wedding before we were unsure of which songs would best suit our ceremony and style. Sam’s evident passion, knowledge and love for music is clear and she was fantastic at recommending songs for our ceremony. Being a bride who loves Disney, it was amazing to see what a wide selections of songs she had to choose from. She really does have a song for everyone! All of our guests commented on what a lovely touch having a harpist was and the beautiful playing created a lovely atmosphere and brought a tear to many guests eyes. For those of you in the midst of planning your big day, ask Sam to be a part of it. You won’t regret it! We really can’t thank Sam enough for helping to make our day so memorable.

RW
Robert W
3 years ago, for a Wedding in Loch Lomond Castle Estates
Full starFull starFull starFull starFull star
5 out of 5

Straight from the start, Sam was fantastic and explained the whole schedule, different types of music and was even willing to learn any song we wished to have. Any questions we had were well answered and allowed us to make the best decision for our day. On the day Sam arrived promptly and was extremely flexible to move the playing to outside the venue (we decided to switch to an outside wedding about 30 minutes before the scheduled start time as it was such a beautiful day) and every piece of music was absolutely stunning! Thankfully Sam was able to stay for our reception - due to the COVID restrictions, we could only have music for the ceremony unless it was outside - and was more than willing to extend her time with us. Although in the midst of the pandemic it may not have been the wedding we initially planned, everything came together perfectly, including Sams music. I couldn't recommend Sam enough, brilliant and stunning music!

Read all 11 reviews