Alice Giles AM is celebrated as one of the world’s leading harpists. First Prize winner of the Eighth Israel International Harp Contest, she has had a wide and varied international solo career, from London’s Wigmore Hall, New York’s Merkin, ‘92nd St Y’ and Carnegie Halls, to Mawson Station, Antarctica. She was regarded by Luciano Berio as the foremost interpreter of his Sequenza II. As Director of the Seven Harp Ensemble (SHE) has commissioned many new works by Australian composers as well as solo works for the electro-acoustic harp.
A guest artist at numerous international festivals, including the Marlboro Music Festival, Schleswig-Holstein and Insel Hombroich Festivals in Germany, all the major Australian chamber music festivals, and as soloist with orchestras such as the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Collegium Musicum Zürich, and all the major Australian Symphony and Chamber orchestras, Alice also has an impressive record as a teacher, giving Master Classes in the world’s major music institutions.
She was Artistic Director of the World Harp Congress Sydney 2014, founding Director of the non-profit company Harp Centre Australia, and is currently Lecturer in Harp at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Her annual summer course, held in Kioloa on the NSW South Coast, is now in its fifteenth year.
She was awarded an AM (Member of the Order of Australia) in the 2017 Queen’s Birthday Honours for “Significant service to the performing arts as a harpist, mentor and educator, and through contributions to Australia’s musical landscape.”
