Mared Emyr Pugh Evans is a Welsh

harpist The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual string (music), strings running at an angle to its sound board (music), soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing ...

. She is the seventh

Official Harpist to the Prince of Wales The Official Harpist to the Prince of Wales, or King's Harpist, is a position within the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. History The harp is an important national instrument in Wales. The role of Official Harpist had fallen out of use since ...

, now referred to as the King's Harpist.

Education

Pugh Evans began taking harp lessons at age six. Pugh Evans began attending the

Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama () is a conservatoire located in Cardiff, Wales. It has three theatres: the Richard Burton Theatre, the Bute Theatre, and the Caird Studio. It also includes one concert hall, the Dora Stoutzker Hall, and ...

in 2016, graduating in 2020. While at the college, she won the 2019 RWCMD Mansel Thomas Prize, the 2019 RWCMD McGrenery Prize for Chamber Music, and the 2020 Sir Ian Stoutzker Prize for most outstanding instrumentalist. She completed her final exams remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She then attended the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

, graduating in 2022 with a master's degree in performance.

Career

In 2018, Pugh Evans was one of three winners of the Youth Competition at the Wales International Harp Festival. In 2019, Pugh Evans won a £1,500 scholarship from the

Nansi Richards Nansi Richards Jones (14 May 1888 – 21 December 1979) was a Welsh harpist, sometimes known as the " Queen of the Harp"Folktrax 351"Nansi Richards, Triple Harp" or by her bardic name "Telynores Maldwyn". Early life and education Jane Ann " ...

Scholarship competition. That same year, she was the runner-up at the North London Festival Camac Harp Competition. At the 2022

USA International Harp Competition The USA International Harp Competition (USAIHC) was founded in 1989 by harpist and pedagogue Susann McDonald. It is the only international harp competition held in the United States, and it is one of only seven music competitions in the United Stat ...

, she took sixth place. Pugh Evans co-founded the charity Music in Hospices while pursuing her degree at the Royal Academy of Music. The charity provides live music in hospice facilities. From September 2022 to July 2023, Pugh Evans was an

Open Academy Open Academy (formerly Heartsease High School) is a secondary school with Academy (English school), academy status located in the Heartsease Estate, Norwich, Heartsease area of Norwich, in the English county of Norfolk. History The academy was ...

Fellow. Pugh Evans was named as the King's Harpist in July 2024. Her first official performance in the role was on 11 July, on the occasion of the King and Queen's visit to the

Senedd The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

. As of 2024, she lives in London, where she works with organizations such as the

City of London Sinfonia City of London Sinfonia (CLS) is an English chamber orchestra based in London. CLS is orchestra-in-residence at Opera Holland Park since 2004 and holds a residency at St Paul's Cathedral. CLS also performs regularly across the city of London i ...

Live Music Now Live Music Now is a charity which works with special educational needs providers and care homes to provide live music. The name ''Live Music Now'' covers several connected charities around the world, the first of which was founded in the UK in ...

, and

Wigmore Hall The Wigmore Hall is a concert hall at 36 Wigmore Street, in west London. It was designed by Thomas Edward Collcutt and opened in 1901 as the Bechstein Hall; it is considered to have particularly good building acoustics, acoustics. It specialis ...

’s Music for Life. She has previously performed with London Concert Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.

Personal life

Pugh Evans speaks Welsh fluently.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pugh Evans, Mared Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century harpists 21st-century Welsh women musicians Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Alumni of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama British women harpists Musicians from London Welsh harpists