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Passion, Authenticity and Strong Foundations: Heather Downie
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January 17, 2025
Scottish harpist Heather Downie is the principal lever harp tutor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She is also the creative force behind the wonderful online school: How to Harp. “I take immense pride in what we have accomplished and in being able to offer affordable teaching to individuals, something I struggled to access as a budding harpist.”
Quite a few members in the How to Harp community receive one-to-one tuition with other teachers but engage with Heather’s lessons on technique, tunes, and other related topics. This includes a monthly concert and workshop from a visiting tutor. “Additionally, I organise power hours where members can pose any questions they have.”
The community moves from the online world for the How to Harp retreat, which takes place next week in Stirling, Scotland. Alongside the daily workshops and harp activities will be concerts by Heather, Ben Creighton Griffiths and Bill Taylor (ancient and wire-strung harps).
But how did it all begin?
ROOTS
Heather is passionate about the fact that the harp should be accessible to all. Something which might be ascribed to her background “I come from a background far removed from harp players or that entire scene. My mother was a social worker, and my father had various jobs throughout the years. They really pushed my brother and me to seize as many opportunities as possible and I’m so grateful for all their efforts.”
Heather first became interested in the harp during a special family visit to the ballet. When Heather was five, her mother went all out on tickets with a view of the orchestra pit, where the harp immediately caught her keen eye: “I spent the entire time peering into the orchestra pit, asking my mum why the “big instrument” wasn’t playing. But when it finally did, it was captivating. From that moment on, I couldn’t stop talking about the harp.
By her own admission, Heather became obsessed with her wish to acquire a harp. She saved pocket money and washed cars, not fully realizing that it might never be enough to buy a harp of her own. Later, on holiday in Inverness, the family visited Balnain House, a hub of Scottish culture and tradition: “ I attended a harp workshop there, and while exploring, I saw several ads for secondhand instruments. To my surprise, there was a lovely old lever harp available for £800. Unfortunately, that was far beyond our budget.”
Having grown up in Dunblane, Heather had attended the Dunblane Primary School and was a survivor of the terrible events that had occurred there in 1996. Later, the Dunblane Trust was established to provide support to the children who had lived through that tragedy: “My parents wrote to the Dunblane Trust, which provided us with some financial aid, allowing me to buy my first harp. If it hadn’t been for that assistance, I wouldn’t be where I am now.”
However, although she had an instrument, accessing decent and affordable tuition seemed an impossibility. Already an accomplished pianist, Heather set about teaching herself for a spell. After a short period of study, Heather secured a scholarship to the Splore Summer School during the Aberdeen International Youth Festival. Finding herself in a peer group that had already been immersed in traditional tuition for many years, Heather felt out of place: “I had all the passion but not necessarily the foundation.”
Finally, it was arranged that Heather should take lessons with Charlotte McGirr, an experienced teacher of lever harp, hitching lifts with her older brother and his friends to make the journey: “Charlotte really helped me. She was a very very traditional harpist. Very old-school in her approach and her technique and that’s exactly what I needed. It was perfect.”
Armed with improved confidence and technical grasp of the instrument, Heather decided, at 17, to commit to the path of musical training and applied for the bachelor course in traditional harp at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS). “I went to the audition with this ramshackle harp, sitting on a little wicker stool. I don’t think at that point in time I realised how different I was from everyone else.”
Whatever her differences, the school immediately made her an offer to attend, with the stipulation that she acquire a better instrument for her studies. Another obstacle to overcome, which at the time seemed financially insurmountable.
A short time later, and still wondering what to do, Heather and her mother attended the Edinburgh International Harp Festival, where she was introduced to Elen of Telynau Vining:
“We weren’t there to shop for harps, but I fell in love with a harp (a Camac). This is where Camac comes into the story, and I sometimes feel a bit emotional when recounting this part. I’m not sure what conversation took place between my mum and Elen, but the upshot is that we left the festival with that harp. Throughout my career since then, I have found Camac to be supportive and considerate. Everyone on the team is just amazing.”
Elen will also be at the retreat this week with a wonderful exhibition of Camac harps, so the old team will be back together soon!
FINDING YOUR VOICE
Despite the joy of working on a really good instrument, Heather was still beset by a lack of self-confidence which marred her initial experience at the conservatoire: “I felt that something had to change.” Then, at the start of her third year, she had the opportunity to play a two-week tour in Germany and Denmark as part of her course:
“This experience changed me. I realised I had constantly been trying to do what others wanted of me. I was trying to please my teachers, fit in, and meet their expectations rather than being true to myself. Before the tour, I decided I would just play the music that was authentic to me, and I had the best time.”
SHARING THE KNOWLEDGE
After completing her studies at the conservatoire, Heather found fulfilment in playing and a burgeoning teaching career: “I became passionate about encouraging and supporting people to be themselves in their music.
Heather was profoundly influenced by her own teachers, Wendy Stewart, (whom she refers to as ‘Harp Mama’) and Corrina Hewat:
“I believe both Corrina and I share a genuine passion for breaking boundaries, pushing forward, and motivating our students to strive for excellence. This has been our approach for many years, I’m so grateful for our time working together. Three years ago, she decided to take a step back, and I took on the Principal lever harp tutor role. Each year, I invite a different guest tutor, a practice I feel very strongly about, as it allows students to engage with other creative voices.”
In closing, Heather summarises her love of teaching:
“ I love witnessing people discovering things for themselves and getting to know themselves better through their music, expressing things they perhaps haven’t managed to convey in other ways.”
See you next week, Heather!
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