Originally from Ireland, Oona graduated with a Bachelor of Music Degree from Edinburgh University in 1984, specialising in the piano and flute. Thereafter she trained and worked as a music teacher in a secondary school. Her love of the harp began in 1989 when her brother turned up on her doorstep with a present of a Celtic harp, requesting that she play it at his wedding ceremony! Relishing a challenge (the wedding was only three months away), Oona applied all the musical skills at her disposal to give a warmly appreciated performance on the day.
Since this initial
success she decided to give some serious attention to the harp, and began
studying with the eminent Manchester-based harpist, Eira-Lynn Jones. This was
the start of a long and close association with this beautiful instrument, and it
wasn’t long before Oona herself received regular requests to perform at weddings
and functions. Eventually she decided to stop teaching to pursue a career
playing the harp.
In 2001 Oona achieved a Performers’ Diploma on the harp with the Associated
Board of the Royal Schools of Music. After this she studied for a Masters Degree
at Bangor University, specialising jointly in the study of Music of the Celtic
Countries and in Performance on the Harp, under the tuition of the renowned
harpist Elinor Bennett. Having also written a thesis on the Irish Harp as part
of the qualification means that she is now
somewhat of an authority on the subject! Oona was awarded a High Merit for this
Degree, which she will formally receive in July 2004.
Oona is now a harpist with many years’ experience, having played in numerous reputable hotels and venues throughout North West England and North Wales, at weddings and other private functions. She offers a wide repertoire of music in different styles ranging from classical, to Celtic, to modern, on both the full-sized concert harp and smaller Celtic harp, tailored to create the perfect ambience for the particular special occasion.
Although weddings and restaurant work provide most of Oona’s business, she is an extremely versatile harpist. For example, she recently played during a cocktail party for the Duke of Westminster at the Chester Grosvenor Hotel, has performed for ‘Chester in Concert’, given a recital of Celtic music to a group of alternative therapy practitioners at ‘Tower’ stately home in North Wales, and has even provided background music during a ‘Singles Shopping Evening’ at Safeway supermarket!
View A YouTube Clip Of Harpist Oona Linnett
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Comments From Previous Clients Include; |
| ‘Many thanks for providing the music for our daughter’s wedding last Saturday. My husband and I were delighted by your playing and by your choice of music during the ceremony and afterwards. I cannot think of another instrument which would be better suited to the occasion of a wedding.’ |
| ‘Thank you for coming to our daughter’s wedding at such short notice. Your music is beautiful and was very much enjoyed by all. It gave that extra special touch to the wedding.’ |
| ‘We would like to thank you for your music during our wedding reception on August 3rd. We thoroughly enjoyed it, it made a lovely contribution to our day. Many of our guests commented on how nice it was.’ |
| ‘Just
a little note to thank you for making Tracey and John’s wedding day on
Saturday, such a memorable occasion. The music you played was really beautiful, and made a great atmosphere’. |
| ‘Just a short note to thank you very warmly for entertaining us so well on Thursday evening. I’m sure you found your audience most appreciative of both your playing and your commentary’ (Chester in Concert). |
| ‘I would like to express how beautiful your harp playing sounded when we heard you play in Chester city centre. I would like you to accept this £25 as a deposit for your services at our wedding’. |
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Sound Samples |
| Sample Repertoire | |
| Classical Trumpet Voluntary (Clarke) Chaconne (Clarke) Canon in D (Pachelbel) Prelude in C (J. S. Bach) Arabesque No. 1 (Debussy) Passacaille (Handel) Variations on a Theme of Mozart (Glinka) Chanson dans la Nuit (‘Song in the Night’) (Salzedo) Prelude No. 3 (Tournier) Au Bord du Ruisseau (‘By the side of a Stream’) (Renie) Popular / Easy Listening Cavatina -theme from ‘The Deerhunter’ (Myers) My Heart Will Go On -theme from ‘Titanic’ (Horner) Unchained Melody -theme from ‘Ghost’ (North/Zaret) I Get a Kick out of You – from the musical ‘Anything Goes’(Porter) Hey Jude (Lennon/McCartney) Hedwig’s Theme - from ‘Harry Potter’ (Williams) Traditional Welsh Bugeilio’r Gwenith Gwyn (‘Watching the Wheat’) Dafydd y Garreg Wen (‘David of the White Rock’) Y Deryn Pur (‘The Pure Bird’) Merch Megan (‘Megan’s Daughter’) |
Berwyn (Evans) Cariad Pur (‘True Love’) (Evans) Llydaw (‘Brittany’) English Greensleeves Scarborough Fair Irish Danny Boy (‘The Derry Air’) Give me your Hand Lord Galway’s Lamentation (O’Carolan) Carolan’s Welcome (O’Carolan) Carolan’s Concerto (O’Carolan) Walsh’s Hornpipe Don Oiche Ud I mBheithil (‘One Night in Bethlehem’) Scottish My Love is like a Red, Red Rose Lament for a Blind Harper (Stevenson) The Mermaid’s Song Och Nan Och, ‘smi fo leireadh (‘Sad am I’) The Ancient Sports of the Glen Cruit gun Cheis, Ceall gun Aba (‘A Harp without a Key, a Church without an Abbot’) (Kennedy) Jewish Chorsha ha Eucaliptus (‘On the Jordan’) Mi Yitnami Of (‘Who will give me Wings?’) |
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