PoppyHarp
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  • About
  • Contact
  • Online Harp School
  • Harp Tuition
  • Harp Clubs and Ensembles
  • Examinations
  • Weddings and Events
  • Harp Competition
  • Composers Project
  • Sheet music
  • Inspire Podcast
  • Harp Insurance
  • Harps for sale
  • Shop

Event History

Thursday, 25th July 2019


The Software Jam
​Garden Concert
Our first official gig was at the Lord Leycester Hospital in Warwick on the hottest day of the year! The audience were lovely, we only melted a little but had an absolute blast! We hope you enjoy our arrangement of Glenlivet (trad.) and Andrew Smiles by Karen Marshalsay. (Recorded on an iPhone) A huge thank you to the guys at Accusound for helping us with amping up our harps!
We love that our harps still sound exactly how they do acoustically but all of Warwick could hear them!
https://accusound-shop.com

We are a harp duo based in France and England. We met at Edinburgh Harp festival about 5 years ago and have jammed ever since. This year (2019) we finally decided this is so awesome we have to make more time throughout the year and so 'The Software Jam' was born. We are two friends that love playing together and haven't let distance stop us! We have a few events booked each year but mainly create awesome harp jam videos from across the sea...

​
https://www.thesoftwarejam.com

Fran Barsby
https://www.franbarsbyharpist.co.uk
Tamsin Dearnley
http://tamsindearnley.co.uk
Time: 6:30pm
Location: The Lord Leycester Hospital, Warwick

11th/12th May 2019


Medieval Inspire Weekend
​​with
Bill Taylor
What a fantastic day we have had.
Bill introduced our budding adult group to the world of Medieval Harp and wire strung harp. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed looking at the ancient ways of writing music and Bill was a kind a patient teacher. Everyone walked away knowing two new pieces and all about the alternate harp world of the medieval harps. 
Bill is a fantastic teacher, kind and patient - we all loved working with him.
Location: PoppyHarp Showroom, Warwick

Saturday, 27th April 2019


Inspire Day ​with Sioned Williams
"Here are some photos from yesterday’s Poppy Harp Inspire Day in Warwick. Fran Barsby is totally wonderful.. she hosts the friendliest, most colourful (look at her vibrant shop!) harp days. I spent a happy hour telling tales of my harping life and playing a selection of harp solos to a most generous audience. Then, room re-set, some of Fran’s students played to me, and I gave whatever words of encouragement I could to them. It was great to have them work in a non-competitive, happy environment, and some even played their own little compositions. The young players also drew photos of what they were thinking of as others played their pieces—and we had fun. 
Thank you Fran for a wonderful day, a kind audience and receptive students, and a bright bunch of flowers is now taking pride of place in my living room to remind me of happy times! 
Anyone in Warwick should pop in on Fran, whose bright shop window is full of everything ‘ harpy’. You will find a warm welcome."

- Sioned Williams
Location: PoppyHarp Showroom, Warwick

Saturday, 12th January 2018


Hidden Gem Harp Concert

5 exceptional harpists are coming together to perform 10 new works from composers from around the world.
​The composers are the finalists to this years Future Blend Project Composition Competition. 
Click Here for more information
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Location: The Lord Leycester Hospital, Warwick

Jess Hartshorn
​Student Christmas Harp Concert

Saturday, 22nd December 2018 - Time: 11:30am - 12:15pm

We are incredibly proud of Jess for performing her first ever solo concert here at the showroom. It was a fantastic way to start celebrating Christmas!

Welcome to Jessica Hartshorn’s debut solo concert. Jessica is 11 years old and has been playing the harp since August 2017, she has played in many concerts and competitions and has also played at a wedding.
When Jessica is not playing her harp, she enjoys playing the flute, piano and saxophone. As well as music, horse riding is Jessica’s other passion and she love show jumping with her pony Tommy.
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Concert programme:
1.       The First Noel
2.       Islay Jig
3.       Miss A. Kingsnorth of Temple
4.       Ding Dong Merrily on High
5.       Glenlivet
6.       Jingle Bells
7.       Baroque Flamenco

The PoppyHarpers Christmas Concert 2018


Saturday 15th December 2018
St Nicholas Church, 
Warwick.
​5:30pm
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The PoppyHarpers 2018
Evie Davis, Teagan Eivers, Jessica Hartshorn, Caitlin Liew, Tamira Surendra-Kumar, Imme Toft, Willow Whitley

Special thanks to 
Lucy Bishop, Anne Clarke

Conducted by Fran Barsby
Purchase the CD (COMING SOON)
The Butterfly
Brian Boru’s March
Silent Night
performed by Nerissa Kyneswood
Chaconne by Jeremiah Clarke 
performed by Willow Whitley
Party Time Rag by Skaila Kanga 
performed by Teagan Eivers
The First Noel arr. Fran Barsby
Jessica Hartshorn
Concerto
Performed by Imme Toft​
Havanna arr. Fran Barsby
Shule Aroon by Kim Robertson
performed by Caitlin Liew
Christmas Medley

Thursday 29th November 2018

Warwick Victorian Evening
What a lovely evening introducing people to the harp! Selling cute Christmas gifts and enjoying all the costumes! 
​We are looking forward to next year!

More about Amy

Inspire day
with
Amy Turk


Saturday 10th November 2018
​10am - 2pm
PoppyHarp Showroom, Warwick
Pop Harp Workshop with Amy Turk
A Jam packed day of
Africa - Toto
Love Me Like You Do - Ellie Goulding
Stand By Me - Ben E. King
Shape of you - Ed Sheeran
and more!
Thank you for coming Amy it was fab!
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More about Amy
We were lucky enough to have the incredible Amy Turk visit the PoppyHarp showroom for a 'Couch Concert and Cake' on 10th November 2018. If you missed it we have a few videos for you here but make sure you don't miss it next time it was fantastic!
Thank you for coming Amy! We hope you will come again soon for another masterclass and lessons!
Youtube/amyturkharp

Couch Concert and Cake
​with
Amy Turk


Friday 10th November 2018
6:30pm - 7:30pm 
PoppyHarp Showroom, Warwick

Concert Programme:

Against all odds - Phil Collins
Stand by me - Ben E King
Music from computer games - including music from Zelda
Love me like you do - Ellie Goulding
CAKE BREAK
Africa - Toto
Into the ocean- Andy McKee
Courage - Amy's own creation that you will hear early next year! Keep your eyes open!
Encore - Beauty and the Beast - Alan Menken

Couch Concert and Cake
​with
Fran Barsby


Saturday 22nd September 2018
4:30pm - 5:30pm 
PoppyHarp Showroom, Warwick
PoppyHarp's Director, Fran Barsby is showcasing the harp for a day! The eclectic programme, means there is something for everyone and you will really learn what the harp can do. Hear all  about the pedal harp, medieval harp, the lever harp and the electric harp and maybe even have a go yourself! 
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More about fran

Inspire day
with
​Shelley Fairplay


Friday 3rd August 2018
​10am - 4:30pm
PoppyHarp Showroom, Warwick


Shelley came to Warwick for an inspire day. And inspire us she did!

Shelley Fairplay is one of the WORLDS leading harpists and we were incredibly lucky for this opportunity. Shelley was fun, encouraging and inspirational. It was the ideal first masterclass for many!
More about SHELLEY

Couch Concert and Cake with
​Erica Sinclair


Saturday 30th June 2018
4pm - 5pm 

PoppyHarp Showroom, Warwick

Concert Programme

Stevenson- Emily’s Calling
Mathias- Santa Fe Suite
Sinclair- The Harper from Dundee
Stevenson- Dug’s Lugs
Yee-Paulson- The Child at Sunset
Renié- Contemplation
More about Erica
Thank you so much to Erica for coming and delighting our audience with an eclectic mix of pieces showing us the true versatility of the harp. 

Pilgrim Harps
​Harp Servicing Day


Friday 22nd June 2018
​
The lovely Piglrim Harps team visited for some Pedal and Lever harp servicing. The day was such a success they have decided to come back! If you would like to book in your harp for servicing please email [email protected]. Your harp will recieve a day of pampering with our incredibly experienced team of service agents. You can drop your harp off at flexible hours during the week and collect it when it is convenient to you. 

PoppyHarp Student Concert 

Saturday, 9th June 2018
4pm - 5pm

PoppyHarp Showroom, Warwick

Well done to all of the students who performed so beautifully at todays concert!

Concert Programme

Lavenders Blue - Chloe Whitehall

Couch Concert and Cake
​with
Sophie Rocks


Sunday 22nd April 2018​
4:30pm - 5:30pm    
PoppyHarp Showroom, Warwick

Concert Programme

The Slockit Light - Tom Anderson,
Suite Galactique - Caroline Lizotte,
3 Welsh Dances - Dylan Henshall,
Pour Le Tombeau d’Orphee - Marius Flothius,
From the Eastern Gate - Alexina Louie,
The Swan - Catriona McKay,
​Gitana - Alphonse Hasselmanns.
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More about Sophie

Couch Concert and Cake with
Award Winning Composer
Ben Parkinson-Atherton


Saturday 7th April 2018​
5:30pm - 6:30pm
PoppyHarp Showroom, Warwick CV34 4DH
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Award winning composer Ben Parkinson- Atherton is visiting Warwick to perform his debut concert in England and showcase his stunning collection of harp music. 
His music has won competitions such at the International Composition Competition the Future Blend Project and The Harp On Wight Composition Competition. His music is a emotional melodic journey through folk inspired minimalism.
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Concert Programme

May Pole
Charge of the light brigade
Foreign Halls
Dune
Sculpture Waltz
Sunday Morning
Edge of the earth
Macalania
Into the woods
Watch the concert

Hidden Gem Concert

Saturday January 7th 2018​
5:30pm - 7:30pm 
Lord Leycester Hospital
​Review by Paul Lewis​
For the third consecutive year, the indefatigable Fran Barsby, harpist, proprietor of PoppyHarps harp shop and music publishing company, website designer and all-round human whirlwind, has masterminded and carried off with her usual panache the Future Blend Project, a competition for new harp music culminating in the Hidden Gems Concert at the Lord Leycester Hospital in Warwick on January 7th. 

The raison d'être of the Future Blend competition is to encourage composers to write for the harp, an instrument which sadly many composers find  daunting. For a surprisingly modest fee composers can submit works from which each year's judges and harpists draw up a shortlist, on this occasion from over two hundred submissions, whereupon each composer on the shortlist is paired with one of a group of volunteer harpists who then collaborates with his or her allocated composer to discuss harp writing, make any necessary adjustments to the music and finally perform it in the Hidden Gems Concert.​
For the full review, click here
10am - 4pm - "Come and Try the Harp"
Thank you to Pilgrim Harps for coming along to this years Future Blend Project and providing harps for the general public to try. It was an incredible day and we inspired so many people to start the harp. 
Photography by Alistair Barnsley
Photography by David Rann
Photography by David Rann

PoppyHarp's Opening Christmas Concert and Cake

Saturday 9th December 2017 - 4pm
What a way to celebrate opening.
A huge congratulations and well done to all our fantastic harp students that performed.

Concert Programme:
​
Chloe: Twinkle Twinkle
Laura: Lisa Lan
Marie: Islay Jig
Stephie: King
Carol: Gabriel's Oboe and Arabian Dance
Elpie: Mountain Stream
Tegan: Fiesta
Jess Z: Barn Dance Memory and Midnight Stars
Emily-Rose: Silent Night
Tamira: Islay Jig and Jingle Bells
Chloe and Caitlin: Jingle Bells Flute and Harp Duet
Jess H: Barn Dance and Back in Time

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PoppyHarp's has MOVED!

We are delighted to announce that due to the success of our harp studio we are hoping to move to a larger location soon! 
This also means we will be extensively expanding our stock. However this does mean our hours in the harp studio will significantly reduce over the next month. If you would like to visit please contact us to ensure we will be available. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. 

What the new shop will bring:
- New harps to try!
- Flexible trial hours. 
- Flexible tuition hours.
- Handmade harp gifts.


PoppyHarp's Lord Leycester Harp Room Now OPEN!


PoppyHarp's Lord Leycester Harp Concert with Fran Barsby

15th May 2017 - 5pm
PoppyHarp Company Director and Pilgrim Harps Resident Harpist, Fran Barsby performed a collection of her favourite music to showcase the flexibility and versatility of these harps.  

PoppyHarp's Lord Leycester
Harp Room Opening Celebration Concert

15th May 2017 - 2pm
Warwickshire's flourishing young harpists performed an eclectic mix of beautiful harp music. A very big well done and congratulations to all of our performers:
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star performed by Louisa Day
Own composition and Winstors Gallop performed by Emily Speller
Barn Dance and Sound of the Trumpets performed by Martha Aldridge
Hippopotamus Rag and Mountain Stream performed by Eve Woodcock
Barn Dance Memory and The Purple Bamboo performed by Megan Collyer
Celtic Air performed by Liz Boxall
Passing By performed by Marie Bawden
Own composition performed by Laura Bawden
Theme from Up performed by Imme Toft
Barn Dance Memory, Sound of the Trumpets and The Purple Bamboo performed by Elspeth Martin
Own composition performed by ​Abigail Wilkinson
Sarabande and Flowing by Caitlin Hughes performed by Caitlin Hughes
King by Years and Years, Duet performed by Stephanie Varney MacLeod
Sound of the Trumpets, Merry Go Round and Midnight Stars, The Cockle-Gatherer performed by Caitlin Liew

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PoppyHarp's and Pilgrim Harps Lord Leycester
"Come and Try the Harp"

10am - 4:30pm
FREE EVENT

We were incredibly lucky to have Pilgrim Harps support. Alongside the opening of our new harp studio we were able to hoast a free come and try the harp opportunity. The idea was to provide absolutlet anyone with the opportuninty to try a harp. You could visit the Lord Leycester Hospital's Great Hall on May 15th and try out harps, learn from harpists, meet the makers and hear them being played. We will be sure to hold another one because we were so busy meeting you all!

PoppyHarp's Spring Student Concert

12th February 2017
What a fantastic first concert of the year. Well done to everyone involved! 
​
Performers:
Liz Boxall, Marie Bawden, Laura Bawden, Caitlin Liew, Elspeth Martin, Megan Collyer, Louisa Day, Caitlin Hughes, Martha Aldridge, Eden Iles, Emily Speller, Willow Whitley, Eve Woodcock, Abigail Wilkinson, Stephanie Varney Macloed and Imme Toft. 


Birmingham Harp Day

21st January 2017
It was lovely to spend a day with hundreds of harpists at the Birmingham Conservatoire Harp day at Birmingham University. Well done Natasha for all your hard work organising everything! It was fantastic. 
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Hidden Gem Harp Concert 2017

7th January 2017 - 6pm
The Future Blend Project launched in 2015. 
It is a annual competition that brings composers and harpists together to create brand new music for the Harp. 

10 finalists are chosen from annonymous scores, they then have 5 months to work with their harpist to create the best piece possible for the instrument. 

The Hidden Gem Concert in the first week of January is the showcase and World Premier of these 10 new works.

'FBP' helps to increase the amount of music composed for the harp and is inspired by the difficult path young professional musicians and composers face in order to succeed in the music industry. 


The Future Blend Project Best Collaboration Award Winner   2016/2017
Ivory.   COMPOSER: ANTHONY GREEN.   HARPIST: OLIVIA JAGEURS


4 Runner Up Awards
The Child at Sunset  COMPOSER: BEN YEE-PAULSON HARPIST: ERICA SINCLAIR
NESHAMA     Composer: Alexandra Coursen HARPIST: OLIVIA JAGEURS
It was snowing butterflies.  COMPOSER: NATHAN JAMES DEARDEN. HARPIST: SOPHIE ROCKS
Haiku for Calumet Street.   COMPOSER: ARTHUR KEEGAN-BOLE.   HARPIST: SOPHIE ROCKS

Finalists
Resonances.  COMPOSER: ROB CREHAN. HARPIST: KINGA WAS
Tiento y Toccata.  Composer: Mauricio Cristales Armas.  HARPIST: CATRIN MEEK 
Pop Suite.  Composer: Carlos Dos SantosHARPIST: VERA KHAIT
Cyber Lullaby    Composer: Stanislav Fridman.  HARPIST: Dep - Erica Sinclair
The Awakening. COMPOSER: CLAUDIO PASSILONGO.   HARPIST: Dep - Fran Barsby
Suite pour Harpe  COMPOSER: LOUIS SAUTER. HARPIST: RITA SCHINDLER
Hybrid States.   Composer: Zoran Scekic   HARPIST: VERA KHAIT
In a Minor Groove    COMPOSER: ROB SEIBERT Harpist: Natasha Gale

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PoppyHarp and Pilgrim Harps 
'Come and Try the Harp' at the Lord Leycester Hospital

7th January 2017
​10am - 4pm

The Hidden Gem Concert


9th January 2016 
The Old Library, The Custard Factory, Birmingham. B9 4AA

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Celebrating 10 years of spreading Harpy goodness!
​​PoppyHarp is run by harpist Fran Barsby.
Location: West Sussex
Please email: [email protected] for full address information
Copyright 'PoppyHarp Ltd' 2024