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Eleanor Dunsdon & Gregor Black
“Eleanor Dunsdon & Gregor Black were something special ... a different feel and depth to the music.”
"innovative, beautifully delivered ... decidedly delicious."
Duo - Vocal & Instrumental
Instrumentation
- Eleanor Dunsdon - Harp, voice
- Gregor Black - Drums, bodhrán, percussion
Repertoire
A variety of traditional and contemporary Scottish, Irish and English folk tunes and songs arranged for harp, voice, drums and percussion. New compositions inspired by the discovery of old Irish words from the West coast of Ireland, now a fading part of the modern Irish language, used by older generations of fishermen to describe the varying temperaments of the sea.
Wrong Foot Foreward (Flook)/Drams in the Field (Tia Files)
Courting is a Pleasure (trad.)/Castle Cave (T.Files)
Let No Man Steal Your Thyme (trad.)
Shetland Reels (trad.)
Maggie O'Ham (trad.)
Waulking Songs (trad.)
Gleo (E.Dunsdon/G.Black)
Biography
Eleanor Dunsdon and Gregor Black are a Glasgow-based harp and percussion duo, who met during their postgraduate studies in Traditional Music at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2022. Blending their respective sounds of Scottish clarsach and Irish bodhrán, along with contemporary percussion and vocals, they form a dynamic and innovative new duo. Drawing on their shared experiences in classical, traditional, and jazz music, they aim to challenge perceptions of the clarsach and push the boundaries of the traditional music scene. The duo's debut EP, 'Let No Man', was released on 26th April 2024.
Danny Kyle Open Stage winners at Glasgow's Celtic Connections 2024, the duo have been invited to perform at the festival next year. So far for 2024 the duo have featured as ‘Rising Stars’ at the Edinburgh International Harp Festival, played as FATEA’s featured artists at Southport’s Love Folk Festival, and will showcase at Purbeck Valley Folk Festival in the summer. The duo have also been selected as the United Kingdom Harp Association's Emerging Artists for 2024, and will give concerts in London and Glasgow in the Autumn. Their music has featured on BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio Ulster, FATEA’s Showcase Sessions and Celtic Music Radio.
In February 2024 Eleanor and Gregor presented workshops at the Edinburgh International Harp Festival and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland alongside Ukranian bandura player, Anastasiya Voytyuk, showcasing the fusion of their shared musical traditions and the relationship between the bandura and Scottish harp.
Alongside their duo project, Eleanor performs with award-winning Alt-Folk band, Ranagri, who in recent years have performed at Manchester Folk Festival, Costa Festival Ibiza, Shrewsbury Folk Festival and the World Harp Congress in Cardiff. Throughout 2023 Ranagri collaborated with singer and musician Tony Christie, touring the UK and recording a studio album for release next year. A finalist in the RCS Concerto Competition for her performance of Sally Beamish' 'Seavaigers', Eleanor is now working with Eliza Marshall's 'Freedom to Roam' on a collaboration project with Ballet Folk. Gregor is a percussionist and bodhrán player, steeped in both classical percussion (BMus Hons in percussion from Trinity Laban) and the musical traditions of Scotland and Ireland. He has performed at the BBC Proms in London, the Edinburgh International Festival, and was recently invited to attend Silkroad’s Global Musician Workshop in Boston.
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