Biography

The early years

Janet Harbison, a celebrated figure in Irish music, was born in Dublin in 1955 into a family with deep musical roots. Her upbringing combined the influences of traditional Irish and classical art music, reflecting the legacy of her grandmothers, both musicians, and her father, a renowned pianist in the 1940s. Her formal musical journey began at the age of four with classical piano training at the Dublin College of Music.

From the beginning, Janet was also immersed in traditional Irish music, starting with the tin whistle, singing songs in both Irish and English, and Irish dancing at school, and there were regular sessions in her home (where her father also played concertina). At the age of 13, Janet began learning the harp with Máirín Ferriter of the esteemed Ní Sheaghdha sisters at Sion Hill Secondary School. A few years later, when Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann came to Monkstown (nearby), Janet participated regularly at the sessions there.

Janet’s formal education continued at Trinity College Dublin and Cork University where she studied piano, flute, composition and conducting – and at student concerts, she included performances of traditional harp surprising and challenging her audiences. Participating regularly in Dublin city sessions, and as the resident musician playing piano or harp in Dublin’s famous Shelbourne Hotel, she quickly came to public notice, featuring frequently on radio and TV.

Forming of a career

From 1979-81, Janet won every national harp competition (including the All-Ireland Championship) and a number of international festival competitions (including the Isle of Man Millennium Competition and Festival International de l’Harpe Celtique, Dinan) and was the first harper to tour the world with Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann (1980).

In the late 1970s, while Northern Ireland’s ‘Troubles’ (civil unrest) persisted, Janet worked with ‘The Peace People’ and resided in Germany 2 years working with their projects there.

In Germany she also collaborated with the Europa Zentrum in Tubingen researching early harp resources - which inspired her return to Ireland and her move to Belfast where she pursued her doctorate at Queen’s University and was awarded a 2 year Research Fellowship at the Institute of Irish Studies.

Appointed Curator of Music at the Ulster Folk Museum in 1986 where she instigated a number of cross-community cultural heritage projects - the most dynamic of which was the Belfast Harp Orchestra (1992-2002).

Early collaborations with The Chieftains brought world renown and a Grammy Award for their first collaborative album, the first of 4. Comprising 20-25 mainly teenage harpers from the Northern half of Ireland, the orchestra performed concerts throughout Ireland, the UK, north America, Europe and the Middle East. Supporting its harp schools and the ‘Belfast Harps’ agency, Janet established the Harp Foundation Ireland Ltd (registered charity) and served as CEO (1994-2002) accruing many awards along the way (including an honorary doctorate from Ulster University).

In 2002, Janet moved harp operations south to Castleconnell, county Limerick establishing the Irish Harp Centre, a residential college for harpers, which she directed from 2002-2016.

Building a legacy

In 1999, the orchestra was renamed the Irish Harp Orchestra as they became a professional touring concert troupe and Janet continued her solo performing (including accompanying President Mary McAleese on her state visit to China in 2003).

Janet’s most notable stage productions include the ‘recreation’ of the Belfast Harpers’ Assembly in 1988 (that lead to the Belfast Harp Orchestra in 1992), ‘The Christmas Cantata’ (suite of 13 ancient and new carols for choirs and harp orchestra, 1993), the Colmcille Suite for choirs and harp orchestra (1997) ; and the ‘Brian Boru - Lion of Ireland’ suite for massed choirs, harps and bagpipe bands (2014).

The Colmcille Suite was performed again in 2022 for the 1500th anniversary of St Colmcille’s birth, and because of the pandemic, was recreated as a film which is available to view on YouTube.

In 2016, Janet returned to Northern Ireland as Visiting Professor of Music at Ulster University at Magee College, L’Derry. Revisiting her academic interests in ethnomusicology, psychology, linguistics and pedagogy, much of her time is now spent researching, writing and organising the considerable archive of the Belfast Harp Orchestra, the Traditional Harp School (her training & examination programme), and managing her catalogue of publications.

In March 2020, she presented the keynote speech at the Ulster University Belfast symposium on ‘Irish Harp, by Note, Rote and Reason’ and in 2022, she became an Irish Research Council Scholar, working at the Dublin Conservatoire of Music (TUD) and preparing a PhD on the ‘Belfast Harp Orchestra, Music, History, Politics’.

She continues to perform, teach and present annual summerschools with the Traditional Harp School in Dungloe, Co.Donegal.