Mared Emyr Pugh Evans is a Welsh harpist. She is the seventh Official Harpist to the Prince of Wales.
Education
editPugh Evans began taking harp lessons at age six.[1]
Pugh Evans began attending the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in 2016, graduating in 2020.[1][2] While at the college, she won the 2019 RWCMD Mansel Thomas Prize, the 2019 RWCMD McGrenery Prize for Chamber Music, and the 2020 Sir Ian Stoutzker Prize for most outstanding instrumentalist.[2] She completed her final exams remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] She then attended the Royal Academy of Music, graduating in 2022 with a master's degree in performance.[4][1]
Career
editIn 2018, Pugh Evans was one of three winners of the Youth Competition at the Wales International Harp Festival.[5] In 2019, Pugh Evans won a £1,500 scholarship from the Nansi Richards Scholarship competition.[6] That same year, she was the runner-up at the North London Festival Camac Harp Competition.[7] At the 2022 USA International Harp Competition, she took sixth place.[8]
Pugh Evans co-founded the charity Music in Hospices while pursuing her degree at the Royal Academy of Music.[1][4] The charity provides live music in hospice facilities.[9] From September 2022 to July 2023, Pugh Evans was an Open Academy Fellow.[4][10]
Pugh Evans was named as the King's Harpist in July 2024. Her first official performance in the role was on 11 July, on the occasion of the King and Queen's visit to the Senedd.[4][11]
As of 2024, she lives in London,[4] where she works with organizations such as the City of London Sinfonia, Live Music Now, and Wigmore Hall’s Music for Life.[1] She has previously performed with London Concert Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.[2]
Personal life
editPugh Evans speaks Welsh fluently.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Sinclair, Tom (2024-07-12). "Mared Pugh-Evans announced as the King's new harpist". Herald.Wales. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
- ^ a b c d "Presenting the King's Harpist: RWCMD grad Mared Pugh-Evans". Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
- ^ "Coronavirus: Cardiff students take final exams from home". BBC. 2020-05-21. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
- ^ a b c d e "Academy alum announced as the King's Harpist". Royal Academy of Music. 2024-07-11. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
- ^ "Looking back at the Wales International Harp Festival 2018 (1-7 April 2018)". Wales Harp Festival. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
- ^ Betteley, Chris (2019-06-04). "Harpist Mared wins £1,500 scholarship". Cambrian News.
- ^ "Music to one's ears — Harp on Wight festival sounds sweeter than ever". Isle of Wight County Press. 2019-10-30. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
- ^ "12th USA International Harp Competition". USA International Harp Competition. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
- ^ "About 2". Music In Hospices. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
- ^ "Mared Emyr Pugh-Evans". James Pantyfedwen Foundation.
- ^ "King speaks Welsh in the Senedd on its 25th birthday". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2024-07-16.