Harp Concert comes to Church Street Studios, Sydney on Sunday 17 March

On Sunday 17 March we welcome you to this stunning live music concert featuring world renowned Harpist, composer and educator Christina Tourin (USA) supported by African harp player Miriam Lieberman and Australian/Fijian singer-songwriter Andrea Kirwin and her wife Claire Evelynn on Celtic Harp. Tickets are $35 + bf and limited to 60 for what will be a truly blissful evening of live music. Doors will be at 5.30pm for 6pm show and will conclude by 9pm. The venue is not licensed but there are some good food and beverage options near the venue - address is 62 - 68 Church St, Camperdown. This tour is produced by Andrea's company Peace Run Records and Agency and is an all ages event. Read more about the performing artists below;

CHRISTINA TOURIN (USA)

Christina began playing harp at the age of four. She received Music and Education degrees from the University of Vermont and also studied harp at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria and at McGill University in Montreal.

After her studies in Counseling/Psychology at the University of Vermont and training in Resonant Kinesiology under the tutelage of Susan Borg, she continued on to receive her Music Therapy training at Arizona State University under the directorship of Barbara Crowe.

As an International recording and touring artist, she has concertized extensively. She is an active workshop organizer and has been instrumental in the revival of the folk harp since the early 1970″s. In 1982 she founded the Scottish Harp Society of America and is the Founder and Director of the International Harp Therapy Program established in 1994. Healing with sound, working in hospitals and hospices, the labyrinth, composing, teaching, and writing books round out her full life.

Christina Tourin is praised for bringing thousands of people to the harp through her workshop organizational skills; for introducing the modes into harp education/performance in the early 1970’s; and instrumental in developing the small interactive small therapy harp into the harp building world with Harold Westover.

As one of the foremost leading educators of the harp, she excels in her ability to combine harp history, culture, science and spirituality into her teaching and has educated multitudes of harp students through her signature programs, Creative Harping©, Rainbow of Sound™ and Color My World© plus private teaching for the past 50 years!

Christina is a Therapeutic Musician (TMus) and Music Therapist (MT) having studied under the tutelage of Barbara Crowe at Arizona State University. Her main focus is CONVERGENCE – bringing together all those who use music, sound and the arts for enrichment and well-being. Author of the respected and comprehensive book, A Cradle of Sound-Harp Therapy Manual, she is the founder and director of the International Harp Therapy Program. She has 15 recordings distributed internationally and has performed extensively worldwide.

Christina’s fascinating musical life has taken her from Ireland, where she’s brought the National Instrument of the harp to blind children – a practice she has also brought to the Blind Institute of San Diego – to Vermont where she performed six nights a week year round for 17 years for the Von Trapp Family at their Austrian Chalet Lodge. She’s also performed with Paul Winter, Tim Wheater, and Steve Hall. She has travelled the world performing and teaching people about the magic of Harp music and will be performing originals and some covers interwoven with fascinating stories from her 5 decade career.

MIRIAM LIEBERMAN

African influences blend seamlessly with blues-infused melodies and soaring vocal harmonies in the music by Sydney singer song-writer, Miriam Lieberman. Her albums are soulful collections of stories, beautifully told through strings, African kora and Lieberman’s unmistakable voice.

Amongst the themes, the songs relate a love for the natural world, stories of transformation, motherhood, love, loss and the power of imagination. The music is coloured by Miriam's journeys - from Guinea and Mali, where she studied kora (West African harp) to India and Latin America. These places have left an imprint on Lieberman’s musical style which she unifies with a catchiness and contemporary tone that is entirely her own.

Miriam is a multiple awardee of grants such as the John Butler Seed grant, Australia Council, Create NSW, APRA, Music NSW and the Australian Songwriters Association Award. Latest album Just Transforming is a finalist for the 2021 album of the year with the Australian Folk Alliance. Miriam and her trio have regularly featured at festivals around Australia including Woodford Folk Festival, The National Folk Festival (as the NSW showcase act), Fairbridge (WA), Yungaburra Folk Festival (QLD), Shir Madness, Blue Mountains Music Festival, Four Winds Festival, The Multicultural Festival (Canberra), Parramasala (Parramatta), Cygnet (TAS), Denmark Festival Of Voices (WA) and many more. Internationally, she has featured at The Guinean Jazz Festival, Hakodate World Music Festival (Japan), Voix des Femmes (Mali) and The Bali Spirit Festival.

ANDREA KIRWIN & CLAIRE EVELYNN

Australian/Fijian singer-songwriter Andrea Kirwin and her wife Claire Evelynn have been travelling and performing at Festivals together since they met in 2008 as part of Andrea's band. However, their duo show with Claire performing on Celtic Harp began with a Woodford Folk Festival Small Halls tour in 2021. The combination of Celtic Harp along with Andrea's soulful heartfelt original songs which she performs on vocals, guitar, harmonica, cigar box guitar and stomp has been described by many as a spell binding combination. Since their inaugural tour across 20 small halls in QLD in 2021, the musical couple have performed up and down the East coast in 2022 and also at Bay of Islands Jazz and Blues Festival in New Zealand and Maleny Music Festival in 2023. Andrea's originals are beautifully crafted songs about her real life experiences including stories from her multicultural upbringing in Townsville as well as love songs written for Claire. It is not often that the artist and muse perform together on stage and the result is simply divine. Claire's delicate harp playing dances around Andrea's rhythm guitar and together they create a harmony and ambience that transports listeners to a place where music is truly a balm for the soul. For more information on Andrea's music please visit www.andreakirwin.com

Andrea is now presenting international artists on boutique tours in Australia through her record label and agency Peace Run Records and is passionate about bringing live music to regional towns and enriching communities through presenting world class live music concerts on the Sunshine Coast and beyond. She is also currently a guest programmer for Horizon Festival (QLD), Caloundra Music Festival (QLD) and Woodford Folk Festival (QLD).