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Gwen Màiri was brought up in a Welsh-speaking household in north-east Fife. Both her parents were keen folk singers - her father in Scots and her mother in Welsh - and Gwen grew up singing the songs of both traditions. Her Stirling-born father had learnt Welsh but Scots was often used with his side of the family (and in the playground, of course), while long holidays grandparents in Lampeter, Ceredigion kept a very strong sense of belonging on the Welsh side.
Gwen Màiri is a graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now Royal Conservatoire of Scotland), BA(Hons) PGDipMus, where she studied pedal harp with Karen Vaughan (co-principal harp, LSO) and clàrsach (traditional Scottish lever harp) with Karen Marshalsay. Her career has been very varied, including work with professional orchestras (Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Bangkok Symphony Orchestra and the orchestra and education department of Scottish Opera), chamber music, teaching, publishing music for the lever harp and her main passion; researching, arranging and performing the music of Wales and Scotland in a traditionally informed contemporary style.
Gwen released her album, Mentro, in October 2019 through the label Erwydd. Receiving 4 stars in The Scotsman and many other rave reviews, Mentro was also long-listed for the Trad Album of the Year 2020 at the MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards. Grounded in Welsh traditional music and song, music from this album was the basis for Gwen’s solo performances representing Wales at the Festival Interceltique Lorient 2019. Concerts there included the Stade du Moustoir every night as well as at the reservoir, Enclos du Port and Église St. Louis as well as several performances at the Wales Pavilion.
In 2013, Gwen was selected to be part of Trac Cymru’s 10 Mewn Bws project which gave ten musicians from different background the opportunity to delve into the archives at the University of Bangor, the National Library of Wales and St. Fagan’s and to meet and learn from some of Wales’ most important traditional bearers. The result was an album and many performances throughout Wales including at Sŵn Festival, Hay Festival and the Radio 2 Folk Awards in the Millennium Centre, Cardiff. See their performance at the Folk Awards here.
Gwen is part of the duo, Tornish (with wooden flute and whistle player, Tim Orrell), whose performances include the Edinburgh International Harp Festival and Tŷ Gwerin at the National Eisteddfod. Here they are in concert at Pembrokeshire Intimate Gigs.
Her playing can be heard on the albums of Gwilym Bowen Rhys, concerts with whom have included Pontio Bangor, Galeri Caernarfon, Theatre Mwldan Aberteifi, Acapela Pentyrch. Gwilym's latest album, Arenig, is available here. She has also performed occasionally as a dep with the band Calan.
With three books of music published for learners of the lever harp through Alaw Music Publishers, Gwen’s arrangements of traditional music have been included in the Trinity Graded Exam syllabus, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s graded exam syllabus and have been included as set pieces at the Royal National Mòd. In December 2020 she arranged and published a set of twelve traditional Basque Noëls for lever harp.
An experienced teacher, Gwen was for many years the pedal harp instructor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s junior department and the lever harp teacher at Sgoil Ghàidhlig Ghlaschu (Glasgow Gaelic School) as well as in other schools in Glasgow and Edinburgh. She has taught courses in Welsh and Scottish music at the Edinburgh International Harp Festival and spent a few months as resident harpist and teacher at the Tamnak Prathom Harp Centre in Bangkok. She is also a tutor for Trac Cymru’s Gwerin Gwallgo courses and for AVANC (Welsh Youth Folk Ensemble) and at the workshops of the Clàrsach Society.
As a chamber musician, Gwen performs with the Style 85 Harp Duo and as part of BabaYaga (harp and saxophone duo) whose transcription of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition has been proving very popular with music societies around Scotland.
Graddiodd y delynores a’r gantores Gwen Màiri yn y RSAMD (RCS erbyn hyn) gyda BA(anrhydedd) a PGDipMus. Bu’n astudio’r delyn bedal o dan hyfforddiant Karen Vaughan (telynores gyda’r LSO) a’r delyn fach gyda Karen Marshalsay.
Mae ei gyrfa wedi amrywio’n helaeth gan gynnwys gwaith gyda cherddorfeydd proffesiynol (RSNO, SCO, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Bangkok Symphony Orchestra a cherddorfa ac adran addysg Scottish Opera), cerddoriaeth siambr, dysgu, cyhoeddi cerddoriaeth ar gyfer y delyn fach, a’i diddordeb pennaf sef ymchwilio, trefnu a pherfformio cerddoriaeth Cymru mewn arddull gyfoes ond gyda pharch tuag at y traddodiad.
Mae gan Gwen albwm newydd ar label Erwydd yn barod i’w ryddhai ym Mis Hydref 2019. Bu’r gerddoriaeth hyn yn sail ar gyfer perfformiadau unigol Gwen wrth gynrychioli Cymru yng Ngŵyl Rhyng Geltaidd Lorient eleni. Bu’n perfformio bob nos yn y Stade dy Moustoir ac hefyd yn argae Enclos du Port ac Egwlys St. Louis yn ogystal â sawl cyngerdd ym Mhafiliwn Cymru.
Yn 2013 dewiswyd Gwen i fod yn rhan o 10 Mewn Bws - prosiect Trac Cymru a roddodd gyfle i ddeg cerddor o wahanol gefndiroedd i ymchwilio yn archifau Prifysgol Bangor, Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru a Sain Ffagan ac i gyfarfod a dysgu oddiwrth rai o arbennigwyr traddodiad gwerin Cymru. O ganlyniad, cyhoeddwyd albwm a chynhaliwyd nifer o berfformiadau trwy Gymru gan gynnwys Gŵyl Sŵn, Gŵyl y Gelli a’r Gwobrau Gwerin Radio 2 yng Nghanolfan y Mileniwm, Caerdydd.
Mae Gwen yn rhan o’r ddeuawd Tornish ac maent wedi perfformio yn yr Edinburgh International Harp Festival a’r Tŷ Gwerin yn yr Eisteddfod Genedlaethol.
Gellir clywed ei dawn ar gynyrchiadau Gwilym Bowen Rhys a bu’n perfformio gydag e mewn cyngherddau yn Pontio (Bangor), Galeri (Caernarfon), Theatr Mwldan (Aberteifi) ac Acapela (Pentyrch). Mae hi hefyd wedi dirprwyo gyda’r band Calan.
Cyhoeddwyd trefniadau o gerddoriaeth traddodiadol a chyfansoddiadau gwreiddiol Gwen gan gwmni Alaw mewn tri llyfr ar gyfer dysgwyr y delyn fach. Mae rhai o’r rhain wedi’u cynnwys ar restr arholiadau y RCS a Trinity. Dewiswyd un hefyd fel darn gosod yn y Royal National Mòd.
Mae Gwen yn diwtor ar gyfer cyrsiau Gwerin Gwallgo ac Avanc (Ensembl Gwerin Ieuenctid Cymru). Bu Gwen yn athrawes telyn bedal yn Adran Iau y RCS am sawl blwyddyn ac yn athrawes y delyn fach yn Ysgol Aeleg Glasgow ynghyd ag ysgolion eraill yn Glasgow. Mae hi wedi bod yn athrawes ar nifer o gyrsau cerddoriaeth Cymru a’r Alban yn yr Edinburgh International Harp Festival a treuliodd gyfnod o rai misoedd fel athrawes yn y Tamnak Prathom Harp Centre yn Bangkok. Hefyd mae Gwen yn diwtor cyson yng ngweithdau’r Clarsach Society.
Fel cerddor siambr mae Gwen yn perfformio gyda’r Style 85 Harp Duo ac fel rhan o BabaYaga (telyn a saxophone). Mae eu trawsgrifiad o Pictures at an Exhibition gan Mussorgsky wedi profi yn hynod boblogaidd o fewn cymdeithasau cerddorol ar hyd a lled yr Alban.
Gwen Màiri is a graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now Royal Conservatoire of Scotland), BA(Hons) PGDipMus, where she studied pedal harp with Karen Vaughan (co-principal harp, LSO) and clàrsach (traditional Scottish lever harp) with Karen Marshalsay. Her career has been very varied, including work with professional orchestras (Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Bangkok Symphony Orchestra and the orchestra and education department of Scottish Opera), chamber music, teaching, publishing music for the lever harp and her main passion; researching, arranging and performing the music of Wales and Scotland in a traditionally informed contemporary style.
Gwen released her album, Mentro, in October 2019 through the label Erwydd. Receiving 4 stars in The Scotsman and many other rave reviews, Mentro was also long-listed for the Trad Album of the Year 2020 at the MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards. Grounded in Welsh traditional music and song, music from this album was the basis for Gwen’s solo performances representing Wales at the Festival Interceltique Lorient 2019. Concerts there included the Stade du Moustoir every night as well as at the reservoir, Enclos du Port and Église St. Louis as well as several performances at the Wales Pavilion.
In 2013, Gwen was selected to be part of Trac Cymru’s 10 Mewn Bws project which gave ten musicians from different background the opportunity to delve into the archives at the University of Bangor, the National Library of Wales and St. Fagan’s and to meet and learn from some of Wales’ most important traditional bearers. The result was an album and many performances throughout Wales including at Sŵn Festival, Hay Festival and the Radio 2 Folk Awards in the Millennium Centre, Cardiff. See their performance at the Folk Awards here.
Gwen is part of the duo, Tornish (with wooden flute and whistle player, Tim Orrell), whose performances include the Edinburgh International Harp Festival and Tŷ Gwerin at the National Eisteddfod. Here they are in concert at Pembrokeshire Intimate Gigs.
Her playing can be heard on the albums of Gwilym Bowen Rhys, concerts with whom have included Pontio Bangor, Galeri Caernarfon, Theatre Mwldan Aberteifi, Acapela Pentyrch. Gwilym's latest album, Arenig, is available here. She has also performed occasionally as a dep with the band Calan.
With three books of music published for learners of the lever harp through Alaw Music Publishers, Gwen’s arrangements of traditional music have been included in the Trinity Graded Exam syllabus, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s graded exam syllabus and have been included as set pieces at the Royal National Mòd. In December 2020 she arranged and published a set of twelve traditional Basque Noëls for lever harp.
An experienced teacher, Gwen was for many years the pedal harp instructor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s junior department and the lever harp teacher at Sgoil Ghàidhlig Ghlaschu (Glasgow Gaelic School) as well as in other schools in Glasgow and Edinburgh. She has taught courses in Welsh and Scottish music at the Edinburgh International Harp Festival and spent a few months as resident harpist and teacher at the Tamnak Prathom Harp Centre in Bangkok. She is also a tutor for Trac Cymru’s Gwerin Gwallgo courses and for AVANC (Welsh Youth Folk Ensemble) and at the workshops of the Clàrsach Society.
As a chamber musician, Gwen performs with the Style 85 Harp Duo and as part of BabaYaga (harp and saxophone duo) whose transcription of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition has been proving very popular with music societies around Scotland.
Graddiodd y delynores a’r gantores Gwen Màiri yn y RSAMD (RCS erbyn hyn) gyda BA(anrhydedd) a PGDipMus. Bu’n astudio’r delyn bedal o dan hyfforddiant Karen Vaughan (telynores gyda’r LSO) a’r delyn fach gyda Karen Marshalsay.
Mae ei gyrfa wedi amrywio’n helaeth gan gynnwys gwaith gyda cherddorfeydd proffesiynol (RSNO, SCO, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Bangkok Symphony Orchestra a cherddorfa ac adran addysg Scottish Opera), cerddoriaeth siambr, dysgu, cyhoeddi cerddoriaeth ar gyfer y delyn fach, a’i diddordeb pennaf sef ymchwilio, trefnu a pherfformio cerddoriaeth Cymru mewn arddull gyfoes ond gyda pharch tuag at y traddodiad.
Mae gan Gwen albwm newydd ar label Erwydd yn barod i’w ryddhai ym Mis Hydref 2019. Bu’r gerddoriaeth hyn yn sail ar gyfer perfformiadau unigol Gwen wrth gynrychioli Cymru yng Ngŵyl Rhyng Geltaidd Lorient eleni. Bu’n perfformio bob nos yn y Stade dy Moustoir ac hefyd yn argae Enclos du Port ac Egwlys St. Louis yn ogystal â sawl cyngerdd ym Mhafiliwn Cymru.
Yn 2013 dewiswyd Gwen i fod yn rhan o 10 Mewn Bws - prosiect Trac Cymru a roddodd gyfle i ddeg cerddor o wahanol gefndiroedd i ymchwilio yn archifau Prifysgol Bangor, Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru a Sain Ffagan ac i gyfarfod a dysgu oddiwrth rai o arbennigwyr traddodiad gwerin Cymru. O ganlyniad, cyhoeddwyd albwm a chynhaliwyd nifer o berfformiadau trwy Gymru gan gynnwys Gŵyl Sŵn, Gŵyl y Gelli a’r Gwobrau Gwerin Radio 2 yng Nghanolfan y Mileniwm, Caerdydd.
Mae Gwen yn rhan o’r ddeuawd Tornish ac maent wedi perfformio yn yr Edinburgh International Harp Festival a’r Tŷ Gwerin yn yr Eisteddfod Genedlaethol.
Gellir clywed ei dawn ar gynyrchiadau Gwilym Bowen Rhys a bu’n perfformio gydag e mewn cyngherddau yn Pontio (Bangor), Galeri (Caernarfon), Theatr Mwldan (Aberteifi) ac Acapela (Pentyrch). Mae hi hefyd wedi dirprwyo gyda’r band Calan.
Cyhoeddwyd trefniadau o gerddoriaeth traddodiadol a chyfansoddiadau gwreiddiol Gwen gan gwmni Alaw mewn tri llyfr ar gyfer dysgwyr y delyn fach. Mae rhai o’r rhain wedi’u cynnwys ar restr arholiadau y RCS a Trinity. Dewiswyd un hefyd fel darn gosod yn y Royal National Mòd.
Mae Gwen yn diwtor ar gyfer cyrsiau Gwerin Gwallgo ac Avanc (Ensembl Gwerin Ieuenctid Cymru). Bu Gwen yn athrawes telyn bedal yn Adran Iau y RCS am sawl blwyddyn ac yn athrawes y delyn fach yn Ysgol Aeleg Glasgow ynghyd ag ysgolion eraill yn Glasgow. Mae hi wedi bod yn athrawes ar nifer o gyrsau cerddoriaeth Cymru a’r Alban yn yr Edinburgh International Harp Festival a treuliodd gyfnod o rai misoedd fel athrawes yn y Tamnak Prathom Harp Centre yn Bangkok. Hefyd mae Gwen yn diwtor cyson yng ngweithdau’r Clarsach Society.
Fel cerddor siambr mae Gwen yn perfformio gyda’r Style 85 Harp Duo ac fel rhan o BabaYaga (telyn a saxophone). Mae eu trawsgrifiad o Pictures at an Exhibition gan Mussorgsky wedi profi yn hynod boblogaidd o fewn cymdeithasau cerddorol ar hyd a lled yr Alban.