We are thrilled to announce that the 2027 MANCHESTER HarpFestival and Competition will take place on Saturday 6th March and Sunday 7th March at the Royal Northern College of Music.

Headline Artist and Chair of the Advanced Competition: Alexander Boldachev.

Alexander Boldachev launches the festival on Saturday 6th March with a recital in the RNCM Concert hall. This very special opening evening will commence with an inspiring performance of Bach in the RNCM Atrium, featuring the Stratos Duo (Louise Thomson and Anne-Marie O’Farrell), Chroma Duo (Becki Luff and Lucy Nolan) and current RNCM students.

Artistic Director Louise Thomson is delighted to be able to share with you that the King’s Harpist Mared Pugh-Evans will be giving a recital as part of the Festival.

Alongside this, expect a whole host of exciting concerts, hands-on workshops and interactive activities for harpists of all levels, plus plenty of opportunities for families and complete beginners to jump in and give it a go!

We also have a superb panel of competition adjudicators lined up: Alexander Boldachev, Rachel Dent, Chris Hoyle (Head of Strings,The Royal Northern College of Music),Tom Redmond (Joint Principal & Director of Music, Chetham’s School of Music), Harriet Adie and Sue Rothstein.

We are hugely grateful to our  Festival sponsors Salvi Music London and RNCM, without whom we could not have made the 2027 festival happen,  and to Withington Girls’ School who, together with our lovely individual supporters and donors, have made our ‘Harps for All’ outreach programme possible.

Full details of all of the Festival events, including our extensive outreach programme, will follow soon. We so want you to join us, and look forward to seeing you in March 2027 and also at the Harpathon on October 17th.