& multi-instrumentalist
Chris Knowles plays a variety of instruments; his
primary instrument is the Celtic harp, and his other
main instruments
for traditional Celtic music are Irish bouzouki, whistle & low
D whistle.
In contrast to the trad. Celtic music, he also often plays electric
mandolin, and alto and soprano saxophones in
performances of more improvisational styles of music.
Chris is a full-time freelance musician. He lives in
North Wales in the UK, and is available all over the UK and beyond for
public performances, and also for private bookings such as weddings,
corporate events etc.
An established solo Celtic harpist, Chris has recorded numerous albums and has worked as a freelance professional musician for over 29 years with Celtic harp as his main instrument, specialising particularly in traditional Celtic music including much Irish, Welsh, and Scottish material and also some Breton , Manx and Cornish music, and also some original material and live improvised music.
For weddings & corporate bookings, Chris can
also offer a large selection of popular music on the harp as an
alternative to the trad. Celtic material, or in addition to it.
He also has a set of early/medieval/renaissance music.
Chris has performed in widely varied venues including
arts centres, concert halls, theatres, arts festivals, folk festivals,
castles, hotels, museums, folk clubs, restaurants, on numerous TV and
radio programmes, at open air concerts, green fairs, and 2 Glastonbury
festivals. He has also played at over 1,000 private events such as
weddings, garden parties and corporate events.
He was the official harpist at Caernarfon Castle in North Wales for 9
years, and during that time also played many live events at other
castles in Wales for CADW.
As well as many solo performances, Chris has worked in a number of duos and bands, including numerous performances and recordings with Welsh singer Heather Jones, fiddler Mike Lease, acoustic guitarist Anthony Griffiths, singer/songwriter Catrin O'Neill, and in particular with multi-instrumentalist & singer/songwriter Ben Walker.
Chris plays a 34 string Camac Ulysse harp, and also
an antique 30 string Morley clarsach.
He also plays fiddle, whistle, sax and
sometimes other instruments with local North Wales-based ceilidh band
Mooncoin.
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*Concert with Ben Walker - near Harlech, Wales - Thur. 10th Aug.
*Gig with Ben Walker - Number 39 music bar in Darwen - Fri. 18th Aug.
*Concert with Catrin O'Neill - Barmouth, Wales - Thur. 24th Aug.
(see Gigs page)
*Latest album: Trad. instrumental album with BEN WALKER: 'The Coming of Spring'
on CD or DIGITAL MP3 DOWNLOAD- (see recordings page) -
Available on iTunes, Amazon, Groove, Spotify...
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CONTACT: For more
info or bookings, please email chris
chrisknowles.org
(The terms "harper" & "harpist" have the same meaning, broadly speaking- though 'harper', being the older word, is often used to distinguish a player of the styles and techniques of traditional music, as opposed to a player of classical style; rather like "fiddler" may be used to distinguish a player specialised in traditional styles of music from a classical violinist.)e
Top Image courtesy of Chris Hanley