Harpist Maeve Gilchrist Will Perform in Madison in 'Up Close' Series

Overture Center's “Up Close” series showcases a diverse lineup of emerging artists from around the world in a unique, intimate setting. This musical experience transforms the Capitol Theater into a cocktail lounge and gives audiences the opportunity to sit on stage. The second performer in the 2023/24 “Up Close” season, harpist, composer and producer Maeve Gilchrist will perform on Friday, March 29 at 8 p.m. for an unforgettable night of music.

Ticket holders will sit on the Capitol Theater stage at small cabaret tables and may purchase beverages to enjoy during the performance. A limited number of tickets ($45) are available for purchase at overture.org.

About Maeve Gilchrist

Maeve Gilchrist has taken the Celtic (lever) harp to new levels of performance and visibility.  

Born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland, and currently based in Brooklyn, New York, Gilchrist's innovative approach to her instrument stretches its harmonic limits and improvisational possibilities. She is as at home as a soloist with an internationally renowned orchestra as she is playing with a traditional Irish folk group or using electronic augmentation in a more contemporary, improvisatory setting.  

Gilchrist tours internationally as a bandleader and composer as well as belonging to a number of innovative collaborations, including the prestigious Silkroad Ensemble, Arooj Aftab's Vulture Prince Ensemble, progressive folk-quartet DuoDuo (featuring percussive dancer Nic Gareiss, cellist Natalie Haas and Yann Falquet of Quebecois super-group Genticorum) and a more electronics-based project with Nashville— based bassist Viktor Krauss. She has appeared at such major music events as Celtic Connections in Glasgow, Tanglewood Jazz Festival, the World Harp Congress in Amsterdam and the historic opening of the Scottish Parliament. She has played with such luminaries as Yo-Yo Ma, Esperanza Spalding, Tony Trishka, Ambrose Akinmusire and Darol Anger.
 
Gilchrist has released five albums to date, including her most recent 2020 recording, “The Harpweaver,” which was hailed by the Irish Times in its five-star review as “Buoyant, sprightly and utterly beguiling…. a snapshot of a musician at the top of her game." Other albums include three recordings for the Adventure Music label, including her 2017 release with bassist Viktor Krauss, “Vignette,” and a self-released solo-album, the “Ostinato Project,” a beguiling exploration of the possibilities of her instrument. In 2018, Gilchrist was a featured soloist on the DreamWorks blockbuster movie soundtrack, “How to tame your dragon: The hidden world.”
 
Gilchrist was the first lever harpist to be employed as an instructor by her alma mater, Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she taught for five years before switching to being a visiting artist in 2018. She has written several instructional books published by Hal Leonard Music and 80 Days Publishing. She is also an in-demand composer and arranger, with past commissions including a ground-breaking concerto for lever harp and symphony orchestra co-written with North Carolina-based composer Luke Benton and several works for harp and string quartet, including her three-movement piece “Pastures Red” premiered at the Edinburgh International Harp festival in 2018. Gilchrist is the co-artistic director of the new Rockport Celtic Roots and Branches Festival and the co-music director of WGBH's “Christmas Celtic Sojourn.”

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