Could you tell us a bit about how you first came to play the harp - and what drew you to jazz?

My mother is a classical flautist and my godmother a harpist (who studied together at the RWCMD) and  they used to perform extensively when I was very young.

I was surrounded by music (and the harp specifically) at an early age and for reasons I cannot remember gravitated towards the harp when I was three. I started to learn at the age of four but from the off I was always drawn to more alternative pieces and not just the usual classical repertoire. 

I began studying jazz piano and improvisation at the age of six to go along with my classical studies and alongside competing and performing in the youth classical world I developed my jazz chops on the harp. At the age of eighteen I was at somewhat of a crossroads and decided to forgo a Conservatoire education for jumping straight into the jazz world and really, I haven't ever looked back. I still perform a lot of classical music - but my focus is now on jazz and alternative styles in many different combinations. 

You're based in Cardiff - what does it mean to you to be performing with Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra and how did the collaboration with CPO for this concert come about?

From the moment I was asked to write the Concerto by the Chandos Symphony Orchestra I knew it was very important to me to organise a performance in Wales, particularly in my home town of Cardiff. I'm lucky to have performed before with the CPO many, many years ago and so I sent a cheeky email to Michael to ask if he might consider a performance of this work; I was delighted that he was very enthusiastic about the possibility from the off. Unfortunately, with the issues around St David's Hall we've been a little delayed, but now we are all ready to go - and I'm so happy to be working with such a fine group of musicians in the excellent BBC Hoddinott Hall to a local audience. It's only fitting that the first performance in Wales of this Concerto should happen down the road from my house and with the very own orchestra of our city.

The harp is a rare sight in jazz - what possibilities do you think it opens up in this genre?

I believe that the harp is just as versatile as the piano in its applications in any musical genre - including jazz. It is one of the rare instruments in jazz that can stand alone for solo performances in many different styles of the genre, but then it can take on many different musical roles in an ensemble. In my band, the Transatlantic Hot Club, it assumes the role of Django Reinhardt's style of guitar work, in freelance standard work it can function just like the piano, whilst in my electro-fusion band Chube we ran the sound of the harp through effects pedals to play Led Zeppelin covers and more. I've yet to find anything the instrument can't do in any of the styles I've been required to tackle and relish the challenge of trying new things day in day out. 

What’s the story behind your Concerto for Jazz Harp? What inspired it?

My Concerto was based on the idea of combining the strands of my classical and jazz work into one. A few elements were at the forefront of my mind during the writing process. Firstly, to capture a number of different jazz subgenres to give the audience a flavour of the versatility not just of the harp in jazz but also an orchestra in jazz. Secondly, improvisation in the harp part is key - it's a core part of authentic jazz performances so it was essential that I write true improvisation sections for the harp throughout the work. 

Finally, I wanted to avoid an issue with many existing harp concertos in that the scoring is reduced dramatically so that the harp is not overpowered by the ensemble. I am incredibly fortunate to have an Electric harp manufactured by Camac Harps of France and this allows me to score the orchestra as thickly as I want from a sound point of view. Now the challenge is on the orchestra to keep up with the amount of noise the harp can produce! 

What can our audience expect from your performance with CPO?

Hopefully something completely unique! There's not many works like this one and really my mission with almost everything I do in jazz is to challenge the preconceptions of the harp that many people have. This is not merely an instrument to play at weddings or to provide a few glissandi in the orchestra - it's punchy, rhythmic, and very powerful, and I hope this work can provide a window into that for the audience. 

Do you approach performing with an orchestra differently to playing with your jazz ensembles?

I tried to write this work in such a way so that in fact it wouldn't be too different to being with a jazz ensemble - other than the number of musicians! To that end, having a big band style drummer in the ensemble is integral to setting up a rhythm section between the harp and percussion so that the work grooves where it needs to. The biggest difference though is that the orchestral parts are in fact set - usually when I play with a jazz band the entire band is making it up as we go which means if I do anything too outlandish then they'll come with me! So, I just have to remember to keep things just a little closer to what's on the conductor's stand than I might otherwise! 

What do you enjoy most about balancing classical and jazz performance?

I firmly believe that a rounded musical experience and exposure to many different styles of music is essential to becoming a more complete musician. I like the challenge of playing in a trad jazz bar on a Thursday night, a club-like venue on the Friday being with my electro-fusion band, and then Saturday is a Requiem Mass with a choral society. It keeps me on my toes and forces me to keep practising and developing all aspects of my playing. Eventually I do plan to narrow my focus a little, but for now the spread of work that I have is working quite well and giving me many musical challenges.

If you weren’t a musician, what do you think you’d be doing instead?

I in fact have a very long list of things I would've considered other than music. I'm a huge nerd so anything involving computing, gaming, sci-fi/fantasy, or Lego would be perfect. If it was sport focused maybe something in Formula One. I also love dogs so being paid to look after other people's dogs sounds pretty ideal to me as well! On a more music related note I would love to run a jazz venue at some point in my life and that's something I'd love to make a reality in the future

Do you have any pre-concert rituals or lucky charms?

I don't have any pre concert rituals because what happens if you aren't able to complete them properly?! Having said that, as a jazz musician, a pint or two before the gig is always pretty important!