Glain Dafydd

Glain Dafydd’s career includes winning the Bryn Terfel Scholarship, the Blue Ribbon at the National Eisteddfod, and the “City of Szeged Prize” in the Szeged International Competition, Hungary. She was a string finalist in both the BBC Young Musician and Royal Over-Seas League competitions. After winning the 4th Rencontres Internationales de la Harpe en Île-de-France, and performed at the Sunoi d’Arpa in Saluzzo, Italy. She also streamlived a recital on Salvi Harps Facebook page as part of the Virtual Harpissima. She will return as an adjudicator for the competition’s 5th edition.

Glain studied at the École Normale de Musique de Paris and at the Royal Academy of Music. As a soloist and chamber musician, Glain has played in venues such as the Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall, British Embassy in Paris, Foundling Museum, Cranleigh Arts Centre, Galeri Caernarfon, Pontio Bangor and has performed at the Fishguard International Music Festival, MusicFest and the Three Choirs Festival. Glain was a guest soloist with the European Union Chamber Orchestra and toured the US with the Penrhyn Male Voice Choir. Glain is currently an artist with “Live Music Now" and teaches both privately and at Queen's College London. 

Natalie Lurie

Hailed as a harpist “who really nail[s] experimental pop music" (Paste Magazine), Natalie Lurie is a classically-trained harpist with a versatile background in different genres. A recent recipient of a fellowship with the Philharmonia Orchestra, her classical freelance career in London has included engagements with ensembles such as the London Contemporary Music Festival Orchestra, the King’s College Boys Choir, and the Guernsey Symphony Orchestra. She has participated in international music festivals and masterclasses in France and was a featured performer at the 150th anniversary celebration of Lyon & Healy, the world's leading harp manufacturers. 

Natalie has had a long-standing interest in expanding the harp beyond its traditional classical genre. She studied with Jazz harpist Park Stickney, and has gained recognition for her instrumental pop arrangements on the harp. Her rendition of Adele's hit Rolling in the Deep received over a quarter of a million views on YouTube and she worked as a recording session harpist and singer/songwriter in Nashville, TN. In March 2016, Natalie released her debut EP No Mercy in the Night, of which The Huffington Post called the orchestration "remarkably luscious." Most recently, her newest single was featured on the season finale of Netflix’s Grace and Frankie.

Natalie began her studies on the harp when she was seven years old and has studied with many of the world's leading harpists, notably Germaine Lorenzini, Isabelle Moretti, Skaila Kanga, Sivan Magen, and Susann McDonald. Natalie holds a BMus from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University and an MA (Hons) from the Royal Academy of Music.  A passionate music educator, she teaches harp both privately and at South Hampstead High School for Girls and Channing School.