Camilla Pay
A
harpist of great versatility, Camilla enjoys a fruitful career
on the concert platform, on television and in the recording studio.
Camilla was awarded a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy
of Music, with acclaimed harpists Skaila Kanga and Daphne Boden.
In 2013, she was invited back to the Academy to be honoured
with an ARAM, an award given to alumni who have distinguished
themselves within the profession.
As a charismatic soloist and chamber musician she has delighted audiences worldwide. After discovering a love of performance at just 12 years old, playing solo at St David’s Hall, Cardiff, she has appeared at all the major venues, including concerti in Canterbury Cathedral & St-Martin-in-the-Fields, solo recitals at festivals in Prague & Amsterdam with reviews including The Times’ description ‘…The mood of pristine mystery was evoked by Camilla Pay's solo harp...' A personal highlight for her was her duet with Sir James Galway in The Royal Albert Hall for The Classical Brit Awards, accompanied by The English Chamber Orchestra.
Her exciting and innovative chamber group of flute, clarinet and harp, ‘Korros Ensemble’ have premiered works with the Ballet Rambert, performed for several international music festivals in Sweden, toured Ireland extensively and all over the UK.
As well as working with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Mozart Players, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and Ulster Orchestra, Camilla is one of the UK's leading session harpists.
She has recorded soundtracks for Hollywood films at Abbey Road & Air Studios. Morrissey, Sinead O’Connor, Incognito and Tony Christie are amongst the artists that have used her on their albums. She has played her harp on every major television show including Strictly Come Dancing, The Royal Variety Performance, Later with Jools Holland and The Jonathan Ross Show, as well as being in the Dave Arch Orchestra for the ITV programme ‘Popstar to Operastar’. She has supported an unending list of other well-known singers such as Barry Manilow, Kanye West, McFly, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Michael Bublé, Bryn Terfel, Katherine Jenkins, Ellie Goulding and Enya.
2013 saw Camilla playing for the West End production of ‘A Chorus Line’ at the London Palladium, after her West End experience in 2011 playing on stage for Michel Legrand’s ‘Umbrellas if Cherbourg’ and some of the ‘Wizard of Oz’ shows in 2012.
This year she will be collaborating again with the Richard Alston
Dance Company playing Britten’s Ceremony of Carols with the Canterbury
Cathedral Choristers, with whom she has recorded the work as well
as another performance of the ever popular Mozart Flute and Harp
Concerto.
Camilla has enjoyed teaching for many years and has built up a
strong harp department at The Godolphin and Latymer school in West
London, since her appointment in 2009.
