Elinor Harp

Award-winning Scottish harpist Elinor Nicholson graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music with a first class honours degree in 2014. She then went on to complete a Masters in Music with distinction in 2016. During her studies, Elinor won the prestigious RNCM Concerto Competition which resulted in a performance of Debussy’s ‘Danses’ for harp and string orchestra at the 2017 RNCM String Festival. Elinor was twice a finalist in the RNCM Gold Medal competition- the highest accolade for performance offered by the college.

Professionally, Elinor regularly performs with ensembles such as the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Northern Ballet Sinfonia. She has also performed alongside well known names including Nicola Benedetti, Katherine Jenkins, Russel Watson and the rock band Evanescence. This has led her to perform in some of the country’s most notable concert halls, including; Royal Albert Hall, Birmingham’s Symphony Hall, Sage Gateshead, Royal Glasgow Concert Hall and the Bridgewater Hall.

Elinor is a member of the Polaris Duo (saxophone and harp), who recorded their debut album ‘illuminate’ in 2018. In the same year they were selected as ‘BBC Introducing Artists’ and have subsequently had their music broadcast on BBC Radio 3. Elinor’s flute and harp duo, Meridiem, regularly perform for music societies across the UK; a highlight of 2019 was performing Mozart’s ‘Flute and Harp Concerto’ with the Sale Chamber Orchestra. Elinor also performs extensively with the genre-defying harp quartet CLOUDS. The ensemble performs folk-inspired original compositions by Esther Swift and have recorded a new album ‘Up She Rises’ which was released alongside a UK tour in May 2019.

Elinor is passionate about performing music in outreach settings and regularly works for Yehudi Menuhin’s ground-breaking scheme ‘Live Music Now!’. This programme sends musicians to perform and run workshops in schools, care homes, hospitals and day centres. Elinor is a fellowship musician on the Live Music Now! scheme and has spent a year in a special educational needs school, supporting children’s musical and personal development.