One enchanted evening….

23 April 2021

Having not been able to perform live for the best part of a year, I enjoy occasionally looking back to memorable past events. In July 2018 I was delighted to be a part of London’s Art Night at the Southbank. A huge event taking place for one night across London, with different exhibitions and participatory pieces by lots of different artists such as Suzanne Treister, Prem Sahib and Miao Ying. I was invited to play the harp as part of Marinella Senatore’s ‘London Procession’ where performers, dancers and artists would move across London in a flexible and spontaneous performance gently directed by Marinella. Starting at Battersea Power Station and moving through Vauxhall, New Union Square, and the London Eye, the event finished in a finale at the Southbank.

As harps aren’t exactly portable I couldn’t join the whole procession, but instead waited for the performers to reach the Southbank where I was installed right next to the banks of the river Thames. The harp looked spectacular lit up in the night sky (we were also fortunate that it was a balmy night as I’m not sure what plan B would have been had it been wet) and I certainly provided a good distraction for the many revellers walking past – I don’t think a golden harp is something that many people see as they walk home after a night out! My performance started at 1am where I played pieces by Bach and Tournier on the harp whilst a dancer improvised steps in front of the audience. It was a magical evening and so unlike my usual harp bookings that it (almost!) made up for arriving home at 3am!