Gwenan Gibbard

Gwenan, harpist and singer from the Llyn Peninsula in north west Wales, stands at the forefront of today’s thriving Welsh traditional music scene. Having graduated in music from the University of Wales Bangor, and gaining a masters degree in performance and research in the field of Welsh music, she went on to further her studies at the Royal Academy of Music, London. She has won many harp and singing competitions at The National Eisteddfod of Wales, The Cerdd Dant Festival and The Pan Celtic Festival, and has performed at several festivals, at home and abroad, including The Lorient Interceltic Festival (Britanny), The World Harp Congress (Dublin), The North American Festival of Wales (Cincinnati), Celtic Colours Festival (Nova Scotia, Canada), The Edinburgh International Harp Festival and Celtic Connections (Glasgow). She has released three albums, ‘Y Gwenith Gwynnaf’, ‘Sidan Glas’, and, most recently, ‘Cerdd Dannau’. She specialises in the unique art of ‘Cerdd Dant’, the ancient form of singing Welsh poetry to the accompaniment of the harp, and is one of the few people who performs this music self-accompanied on the harp. Gwenan’s recent solo performances include the Womex International World music Expo opening concert at the Wales Millennium Centre, and the Cairde na Cruite International Harp Festival, Ireland. She also recently performed at the Rie Midsummer Festival, Friesland, together with Welsh singer-songwriter Meinir Gwilym, combining their singing and instrumental talent to create a fresh and exciting sound. Gwenan features on Cerys Matthews’ latest album of Welsh traditional songs, ‘Hullabaloo’.