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Nancy Hurrell performs on classical, celtic and historical
harps. She plays daily for Tea at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Boston. A member of
the
Gilded Harps of Boston, Nancy plays for
special events in the New England area. Nancy is the harpist in the early music
group,Renaissonics. She is a harp consultant for the
Musical Instruments Department at the
Museum of
Fine Arts, Boston. Nancy is a member of the collaborative harp department
at
The Boston Conservatory, specializing in early
music and Scottish/Irish music.
Nancy presents harp workshops at conferences and festivals
around the country. She serves on the board of
The Historical Harp Society of
America as chair of the Historical Harp Survey Project: to catalogue all
existing historical harps built before 1945.
Nancy began classical harp at The University of Texas at
Austin, completing a BFA in 1971. She lived in England and Wales for ten years
in the '70's. While abroad, Nancy studied harp with Glenis Gordon-Fleet,
harpist of the BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra. She received a Teaching
Certificate, with distinction, from Trinity College, University of Wales. Nancy
became interested in traditional music, dancing at ceilidhs and folk festivals
with her English husband, pipe and tabor player for the Bristol Morris Men.
Nancy received her Master of Music Degree in harp
performance from Texas Christian University, 1990. Her assistantship at TCU was
the position of radio broadcaster, the Music Voice of KTCU for weekly live
broadcast recitals, and she was a broadcast announcer for the Van Cliburn
International Piano Competition held at TCU ('89). Nancy maintained a
private harp studio in Texas ('88-'00), and directed a student harp ensemble,
the Sometimes Angels and an adult community ensemble The Lone Star
Folk Harpers. She performed, toured and recorded with Octavia Harp
Ensemble. She organized harp events at the Texas Scottish Festival
('95-'00) and has taught at the Ohio Scottish Arts School at Oberlin.
Nancy's interest in early music led her to attend the
Historical Harp Society classes, where her teachers have included Judy Kadar
and Andrew Lawrence-King. Since moving to Boston in 2000, Nancy now performs in
Renaissonics, directed by John Tyson. Her renaissance harp, made by
Catherine Campbell, is a replica of a harp in the Instrument Collection at the
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Nancy gives gallery talks at the MFA on the harp
collection. She continues to freelance as a member of the Gilded Harps of
Boston and she is the harpist for Tea at the Ritz-Carlton. Nancy teaches at the
Boston Conservatory as a member of the collaborative harp department. She
enjoys travelling around the country performing and leading workshops. She is
an arranger; her books of harp ensemble arrangements are popular with groups
around the country.
Her popular ensemble books,
A Harpers Play
Book and
A Circle of
Harps published by Afghan Press are used by harp ensembles throughout
America and Canada. Nancy's new book, Historical Harp Collection, Vol.
1 is now available from Melody's Music and other harp stores. |
