Milo Harper explores the unique history and poetic symbolism of the harp through diverse sound-worlds and narratives. He strives to challenge the standard repertoire by carefully curating and also transcribing music by both recognised and lesser-known composers, particularly those from historically underrepresented genders, queer identities, ethnicities, races and cultures.
This year, Milo is a soloist on the Munster Trust Recital Scheme and also the Harp Fellow for the Philharmonia Orchestra's MMSF scheme. He recently returned to the UK from New York City, having completed his graduate studies with Emmanuel Ceysson (Metropolitan Opera, LA Phil) at The New School's Mannes School of Music, where he was awarded the Performing Arts Scholarship. At Mannes he was also coached by renowned jazz harpist Brandee Younger as a member of the Alice Coltrane Ensemble. He completed his Bachelors at the Royal Academy of Music, where he received the D Day Fund Award and the Robert Alva Memorial Prize for outstanding achievement, having studied with Karen Vaughan (LSO) and Skaila Kanga (Abbey Road Studios). Milo’s studies were sponsored by the Hattori Foundation, the Countess of Munster Musical Trust and the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Julius Isserlis Scholarship.
As a soloist, Milo has won competitions including the Camac Harp Competition (2018), the North London Festival President's Prize Competition (2018) and the Royal Academy of Music's Guy Magrath Harp Prize (2019). He has also toured globally, giving solo performances at the World Harp Congress (Hong Kong, 2017) and Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall (NYC, 2019) and concertos in the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Singapore. He is the harpist for LGT Young Soloists, with whom he has been featured on several albums released by Sony/RCA Red Seal Records. Previously, he was Principal Harp for the European Union Youth Orchestra (2019), a Britten-Pears Young Artist (2020), and Principal Harp for the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain (2014). Not limited by genre, his collaborators have included various jazz groups, singer-songwriters, producers and contemporary composers.
