Karen Marshalsay profile picture

Karen Marshalsay

Traditional & Contemporary Scottish Harp

About Me


My music draws on a wealth of differing experiences, from work within the Gaelic and Scottish traditions to studies with Paraguayan harp master Rito Pederson, and has developed through the folk world of feisean, festivals and lessons with leading players such as Alison Kinnaird and Bill Taylor, rather than formal study, though I now teach in specialist music schools and conservatoires!
I play various types of harps, modern gut-strung clarsach, wire-strung clarsach, Renaissance bray harp and Paraguayan. Each has their own sound and techniques and I love experimenting with different textures, using centuries old nail techniques on modern music, or Paraguayan effects in my Scottish tunes. This has led me, like harpers through the centuries, to writing a lot of my own material, and from there to composing for other instruments and larger ensembles.
My repertoire ranges from modern, trad, Scottish, Latin, medieval and most things in between. I guess I just like a good tune.

"one of the leading contemporary performers on the instrument"
The Scotsman

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 5/3/2006
Band Website: karenmarshalsay.com
Band Members: Karen Marshalsay. I mostly play solo at the minute but have worked with Allan MacDonald, Iain Fraser, Gillian Frame, Mike Travis, Heather Yule, Seikou Sussou, Kakatsitsi and Elaine Rietvield.
Influences: Loads, from all over the place. The first albums I bought were Dusty Springfield and Louis Armstrong ... I still listen to a lot of jazz music, Renaud Garcia Fons, Esbjorn Svensson,Trygve Seim along with Omar Sosa, Radiohead, The Bills, Be Good Tanyas, Preston Reed, Nick Harper, Joni Mitchell, Tim O'Brien, Jarmila Xymena Gorna, Steve Reich and the Kronos Quartet.
Improvisation with Brian Irvine.
Harpwise, Alison Kinnaird and Bill Taylor have been really influential in my playing. Bill Morgan, Rito Pederson, Alfredo Rolando Ortiz, Ramon Romero and Andy Rigby have taught me a lot about Latin American harp music and techniques, and inspired me to have fun with the instrument. Andrew Lawrence King and Ann Heymann.
Tradwise, Allan MacDonald, Gordon Duncan, Jeannie Robertson, Alison McMorland, Christine Primrose, Iain MacFarlane & Iain MacDonald, Fiddlers' Bid, Fraser Fifield, Lunasa...
Sounds Like: A harp! Actually they all sound a bit different - a clear rich gut sound, the evocative wire clarsach, the buzzing brays and the vibrant Paraguayan.
Type of Label: None

My Blog

Artist interview on TradMusic.com

 Read all about it!  My artist interview is now up on TradMusic.com for anyone who wants to know a bit more about me and what I do! ...
Posted by Karen Marshalsay on Tue, 17 Apr 2007 11:34:00 PST

Back from Bonn

Well I got home from Bonn last night, tired but very happy (and weighed down by all the leibkuchen und dominosteine in my baggage!!) There were 8 people in my two day workshop at Michael Klevenhaus's ...
Posted by Karen Marshalsay on Fri, 24 Nov 2006 03:25:00 PST

Wester Ross Harp Weekend

Well I'm just back from the weekend harp course up at Mellon Charles, Wester Ross, where great fun was had by all. We were fully booked with 10 on the course, and they all managed to get there despite...
Posted by Karen Marshalsay on Tue, 31 Oct 2006 08:23:00 PST

Distil Showcase

Well this being a composer lark is hard graft and gremlins all round methinks!  So far I've been beset with computer sound problems, alarm clocks deciding to reset themselves on rehearsal days an...
Posted by Karen Marshalsay on Tue, 17 Oct 2006 05:14:00 PST

Harpless Travel!

Well, I have just organised my flights for the German gigs in November and am so ridiculously happy that I am going to be able to borrow  a harp over there and not have to take mine with me! ...
Posted by Karen Marshalsay on Sun, 15 Oct 2006 12:37:00 PST

Spanglefish websites free and easy

Hi folks Just thought I'd share this one with you - if you need your own website and want one that's  fantastically easy to set up and up date then check these guys out www.spanglefish.com  ...
Posted by Karen Marshalsay on Mon, 15 May 2006 06:05:00 PST

My space and music

Hi folksWell, I've really got into myspace now, tinkering with the site and looking at others', and meeting new friends. Someone warned me it could mean the end of a social life and now I know what th...
Posted by Karen Marshalsay on Sun, 14 May 2006 08:42:00 PST

Starting out

Hi there Getting started out here, so watch this space! Okay, a couple of hours on and I've got most things together except the mp3s. Hhm, might need some help on that one... This could be addictive ...
Posted by Karen Marshalsay on Wed, 03 May 2006 04:43:00 PST