Ellen Gibling – Nova Scotia

harpist (Celtic & pedal) . composer . teacher

Autumn. Autumn is my favourite season! The colours are so beautiful here (Nova Scotia) – Ellen

Connection to Canada and Canadian harp music

I have lived and performed in Canada my whole life. I love working in Halifax, which is small but very active. I am so fortunate to play the harp in many diverse artistic projects and with people from a wide variety of musical and cultural backgrounds. – Ellen

Ellen Gibling is a harpist based in K’jipuktuk/Halifax, Nova Scotia whose music spans classical, Irish traditional, and improvised genres. She is a band member of Many Worlds, Scions, and Borrowers, as well as playing with The Bombadils, Adrianna Ciccone, Charlie Wilson, Olivia Barrett, Hayley Ryerson, The Narrows, Andrew MacKelvie, and Jack Chen.

Ellen’s solo album The Bend in the Light (2022) was reviewed as “bold and beautiful” (Celtic Life International) and “enchanting” (Folk London). Her duo album with fiddler Adrianna Ciccone.

The Pear Tree (2024), has been described as “genuine, heartfelt, and as replenishing as a spring morning” (Textura).

Ellen has enjoyed recent creative collaborations with Mocean Dance, Rock Bottom Movement, Maria Osende Flamenco, playwright Mary Fay Coady, and kora player Zal Sissokho. In January 2024, Ellen premiered a harp concerto by Jeff Reilly with Symphony Nova Scotia at the Open Waters Festival.

As a harp instructor and workshop leader, Ellen has taught at the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts, Acadia University, the Huron Harp Festival, and the Canadian International Summer Harp Institute.

Ellen studied classical harp at McGill University with additional training in the World Youth Orchestra of Jeunesses Musicales and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. She also studied Irish traditional music at the University of Limerick, and improvisation through the Creative Music Workshop.

Harp contributions and explorations

• Irish traditional music scene in Halifax – hosting sessions, playing in trad bands at pub gigs, accompanying dancers
• Free improvised music – playing in New Hermitage, attending regular casual improvisation sessions, being part of the local community for various improvising performances, accompanying silent films.
• Composing for theatre/dance/circus productions – Lizard of Pause, Breaking Circus, Matriarch.
• Playing in duos with fiddlers and flutists: Erin Dempsey, Hayley Ryerson, Olivia Barrett, Adrianna Ciccone, Charlie Wilson, Jack Chen Choral accompaniment, orchestra work, chamber music concerts.
• Membership in bands: The Bombadils, Scions, Many Worlds, The Narrows, Borrowers, Natural Elements Quartet, Swift Return, The Heavy Blinkers
• Teaching private lessons and workshops
• Teaching at Canadian International Summer Harp Institute, Huron Harp Festival, Journee de la Harpe, Halifax Institute of Traditional and Early Music
• Premiering a harp concerto with Symphony Nova Scotia: “Unfathomable Presence for orchestra and improvising harpist”, written for me by Jeff Reilly in 2024.

Connection to Canada and Canadian harp music

I have lived and performed in Canada my whole life. I love working in Halifax, which is small but very active. I am so fortunate to play the harp in many diverse artistic projects and with people from a wide variety of musical and cultural backgrounds.

Studies

• Montreal, Quebec, Canada – McGill University, BMus in Harp Performance, with Jennifer Swartz
• Limerick, Ireland – University of Limerick, MA in Irish Traditional Music Performance, with Alisha McMahon
• Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada – Creative Music Workshop, various teachers
• National Youth Orchestra of Canada 2013, with Heidi Krutzen
• World Youth Orchestra of Jeunesses Musicales, various teachers
• Lessons with Karen Rokos, Cheryl Reid O’Hagan, Elizabeth-Jane Baldry
• Additional Workshops and Lessons with: Grainne Hambly, Michael Rooney, Laoise Kelly, Maeve Gilchrist, Kim Robertson, Elizabeth Volpé Bligh, Mairi Chaimbeul, Cormac de Barra, Michelle Mulcahy, Ingrid Henderson, Lori Gemmell, Judy Loman, Julia Kay Jamieson, Maire ni Chathasaigh, Alys Howe, Sharlene Wallace, Erica Goodman

Links

Ellen’s Bandcamp
Many Worlds Bandcamp
Scions Bandcamp
Ellen + Hayley Bandcamp
New Hermitage Bandcamp

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