Special Occasions » Harpist Angelina

Harpist Angelina plays for Golden Wedding Celebration in Darlington

I recently provided background harp music for a Golden Wedding Anniversary Celebration near Darlington, County Durham.

A photo of harpist Angelina in a sage green dress with her harp

This was a very special occasion. Me and my harp were going to be inside the marquee while the guests enjoyed the buffet.

The Playlist

I was requested to play a mix of everything for this special occasion, but with a focus on well-known classical music. There was plenty of Debussy, some Bach as well as Ludovico Einaudi. I was also asked to play a couple of solo pieces for the guests. Memory from Cats was the first solo, and then The White Cliffs of Dover, which was more of a sing-along.

This was a really lovely day, and it makes such a difference when I’m really looked after at a gig. They really had thought of everything. I was given a room to change into my dress, I was invited to enjoy the buffet, I was encouraged to take breaks and mingle with the guests. The guests were lovely and the catering staff were really friendly too. All in all, a lovely day and not too much of a drive either. I live in York so this venue was just an hour’s drive away.

If you’d like to learn more about booking me to provide harp music for your wedding or special occasion, you can view my current prices and packages by clicking here.

To send me an enquiry, click here.

Enquiries are coming in thick and fast at the moment, which is really exciting! July 2024 was the biggest month so far for my business, and I have been freelancing thirteen years. It’s so wonderful to be able to play for lots of weddings and special occasions, so if your wedding is coming up, send me an enquiry with your venue and date and we’ll chat.

Birdsall House – Harp Music for a special occasion

Earlier this month I played for a very special occasion at Birdsall House, near Malton.

It was the hundredth birthday of a lady called Hermione, who grew up in this beautiful home. Together with some of her family members, we came up with a playlist that we hoped she would enjoy.

Harpist Angelina playing the harp for Hermione on her 100th birthday

I love when my clients want to pay special attention to the playlist. It makes the event much more personal and meaningful. It also gives me the peace of mind that I am giving my clients exactly what they want.

The Playlist

The requests were as follows:

classical pieces, but nothing too cliché
plenty of folk music
nostalgic songs from the World War 2 era

I am classically trained so I have plenty of classical music in my repertoire. I use forscore on my iPad to create playlists for each event that I play for. So I put in most of my classical repertoire, taking out Pachelbel’s Canon in D, Greensleeves, and anything else I deemed ‘overplayed’.

For the folk music section, I added in Scottish folk tunes Fairy Lullaby, Loch Lomond and O’er the Sea to Skye, a Welsh folk song called Watching the Wheat, and from Ireland I decided to include Londonderry Air.

When it comes to the World War 2 nostalgia, I decided on A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square, The White Cliffs of Dover, and We’ll Gather Lilacs. These songs remind me of my childhood, my father would play the piano at parties while my sister sang these songs. Such happy early musical memories.

On the day

So with the playlist finalised, I headed over to Birdsall House with my harp. It’s worth mentioning that this was my first engagement since having my baby, so to be honest I was a little nervous! I hoped I would cope with lifting and moving the harp ok post-caesarean, and I hoped I would still have the stamina to play for long periods of time. I hadn’t done my usual amount of practice while looking after my newborn baby.

A photo of a harp behind a table laid for lunch at Birdsall House

Luckily, everything went really well and I received lovely feedback regarding my contribution to the festivities. I felt so welcome, the food and conversation were both excellent. I had a ‘harpy’ version of Happy Birthday up my sleeve, and then it was time to head home.

All in all, a fabulous gig and a fabulous day at Birdsall House.

Here is a lovely review following the party:

A google review of Harpist Angelina. Angelina came to play during my mother's 100th birthday party which was a lunch for 30. Angelina was a pleasure to deal with from start to finish.

If you’d like harp music for your Wedding or special occasion, click here to fill in my contact form. You can find information about packages and prices here.