Welcome from UKHA President
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I am honoured to become President of the United Kingdom Harp Association following the tenure of the very distinguished harpist Elinor Bennett.
I joined the association as a student and have enjoyed watching it grow into a truly inclusive organisation representing all types of harps, harpists and enthusiasts from the United Kingdom and beyond.
Your membership makes it possible for the UKHA to sponsor events like the North London Harp Competition, give financial assistance to harp-related projects and support creative initiatives like the Emerging Artists Scheme.
Please send us your news for inclusion in the monthly email bulletin and HARP magazine. We all need audiences!
I’m very much looking forward to working with the Committee and excited to see what the next few years will bring to our association.
I joined the association as a student and have enjoyed watching it grow into a truly inclusive organisation representing all types of harps, harpists and enthusiasts from the United Kingdom and beyond.
Your membership makes it possible for the UKHA to sponsor events like the North London Harp Competition, give financial assistance to harp-related projects and support creative initiatives like the Emerging Artists Scheme.
Please send us your news for inclusion in the monthly email bulletin and HARP magazine. We all need audiences!
I’m very much looking forward to working with the Committee and excited to see what the next few years will bring to our association.
Karen Vaughan, Biography
Karen Vaughan studied piano, flute and harp at the Royal Academy of Music in London and continued her studies with the renowned Russian harpist Maria Korchinska – a past President of the United Kingdom Harp Association.
She was a founder member of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and then principal harp of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra for six years before her return to London in 1984, when she was appointed co-principal harp of the London Symphony Orchestra – a position she held for over thirty years. She played with the LSO under the baton of such eminent conductors as Abbado, Tilson Thomas, Bernstein, Boulez, Haitink, Sir Colin Davis and Gergiev, and collaborated on projects with Sir Paul McCartney, John Williams and Elvis Costello. She can be heard on numerous classical and crossover recordings with the LSO and on the soundtracks for films such as Braveheart, The Queen and the Star Wars and Harry Potter franchises.
From 1999 to 2008 she was Professor of Pedal Harp at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland). She has been a professor at the Royal Academy of Music since 2004, the years 2010-2022 as Head of Harp. She also teaches at The Purcell School for Young Musicians. Her pupils have had considerable success in national and international competitions and hold orchestral and teaching positions worldwide.
Karen has coached the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, the National Youth Orchestra of Wales, the Pacific Youth Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra of Spain and has given masterclasses in China, Japan, Portugal and Thailand as well as the UK. She co-founded the Harp Masters Summer Academy FUTURES in Switzerland and the Hong Kong Harpy Summer Academy. She has served on the jury for international competitions in the USA, Slovenia, Poland, Wales, Hong Kong and South Korea.
A participant in all the World Harp Congresses since 2002, Karen serves on the Corporation and Board of Directors of the WHC and for many years as Associate Artistic Director. She is honoured to be the current President of the UKHA.
Karen Vaughan studied piano, flute and harp at the Royal Academy of Music in London and continued her studies with the renowned Russian harpist Maria Korchinska – a past President of the United Kingdom Harp Association.
She was a founder member of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and then principal harp of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra for six years before her return to London in 1984, when she was appointed co-principal harp of the London Symphony Orchestra – a position she held for over thirty years. She played with the LSO under the baton of such eminent conductors as Abbado, Tilson Thomas, Bernstein, Boulez, Haitink, Sir Colin Davis and Gergiev, and collaborated on projects with Sir Paul McCartney, John Williams and Elvis Costello. She can be heard on numerous classical and crossover recordings with the LSO and on the soundtracks for films such as Braveheart, The Queen and the Star Wars and Harry Potter franchises.
From 1999 to 2008 she was Professor of Pedal Harp at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland). She has been a professor at the Royal Academy of Music since 2004, the years 2010-2022 as Head of Harp. She also teaches at The Purcell School for Young Musicians. Her pupils have had considerable success in national and international competitions and hold orchestral and teaching positions worldwide.
Karen has coached the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, the National Youth Orchestra of Wales, the Pacific Youth Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra of Spain and has given masterclasses in China, Japan, Portugal and Thailand as well as the UK. She co-founded the Harp Masters Summer Academy FUTURES in Switzerland and the Hong Kong Harpy Summer Academy. She has served on the jury for international competitions in the USA, Slovenia, Poland, Wales, Hong Kong and South Korea.
A participant in all the World Harp Congresses since 2002, Karen serves on the Corporation and Board of Directors of the WHC and for many years as Associate Artistic Director. She is honoured to be the current President of the UKHA.
