Corporate and private event harpist in London

Drinks receptions and networking evenings, where music needs to warm the room without forcing anybody to raise their voice. This is what the harp does better than almost any other instrument.

Awards dinners and gala evenings, where live music during arrival and the meal sets a different register from a playlist.

Product launches, private views and gallery openings, where an instrument that people stop and look at is part of the point.

Corporate Christmas parties and seasonal events.

Private parties, milestone birthdays, anniversaries and dinners at home.

Conferences and formal openings, where music is needed to cover arrival, registration or a break.

It solves the volume problem. Most live music at a reception is either too loud for conversation or so quiet it may as well be a speaker. The harp genuinely occupies the middle, filling a room at a level people can talk over comfortably.

It is visually distinctive. A concert pedal harp is nearly two metres tall and is a genuine centrepiece, which matters at an event that is being photographed or filmed.

It needs almost nothing from you. One player, one instrument, no power in a normal room, no sound engineer, no long set-up. Compared with a band or a string quartet the logistical footprint is very small.

And the standard is high. This is a concert harpist with an international competition record, not a background music service, which tends to be evident within about a minute of the playing starting.

For most corporate work the programme is continuous instrumental music pitched to sit underneath conversation, drawn from the classical harp repertoire with its French heart, alongside Baroque, Romantic and twentieth-century pieces and Welsh traditional music.

Where an event wants a focal point rather than a backdrop, a short recital set of ten to twenty minutes can be programmed and, if useful, introduced from the front. Huw has given recitals at the World Harp Congress, at Wigmore Hall alongside the Nash Ensemble, and in the final of the USA International Harp Competition, so a formal presented set is well within normal territory.

Dress is matched to the event and confirmed when the booking is made.

An area of about two metres by two metres on a level floor, away from direct sunlight, radiators and heaters, and out of the main flow of traffic through the room.

Step-free access where possible. The harp is around 40 kilograms and comes in on a trolley, so a lift or a level route in makes a real difference, particularly in older London venues.

No power is required in a room of ordinary size. For large spaces, atriums, marquees, outdoor terraces or rooms with significant background noise, amplification is worth arranging and should be discussed when booking.

Huw is a member of the Musicians’ Union and carries public liability insurance. Certificates and any other paperwork a venue requires can be provided on request.