SUMMER SCHOOL OF EARLY IRISH HARP
KAREN LOOMIS
Lecturer, Scoil na gCláirseach
Karen Loomis is a PhD student in Music at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. For her dissertation she is researching the construction of the early Gaelic harps of Ireland and the highlands of Scotland, using modern technology to unlock the secrets of these historical instruments. Karen strives to advance our knowledge and understanding of these harps, and is daily motivated in her work by all who seek to recreate their magnificent sound.
Karen is the 2011 recipient of the American Musical Instrument Society's Fredrich R. Selch prize, awarded for her presentation on the historical damage to the Lamont harp. In 2010 she received the MMus in Musical Instrument Research with Distinction from the University of Edinburgh for her groundbreaking research on the Queen Mary and Lamont harps of National Museums Scotland. Karen also holds a BSc in Physics and an MA in Astronomy.