Marshall McGUIRE
harp

Marshall McGuire is one of Australia's leading harpists, with a special interest in contemporary and baroque repertoire. He has commissioned many composers to write new works for harp, and in recognition of his support of Australian music Marshall received the 1997 Sounds Australian Award for the Most Distinguished Contribution to the Presentation of Australian Music.

Marshall was born in Melbourne and studied at the Victorian College of the Arts, the Paris Conservatoire and the Royal College of Music, London. His London debut recital was presented at the Purcell Room for the Park Lane Group.

He has performed with a diverse group of ensembles including the Australian Chamber Orchestra, English String Orchestra, Les Talens Lyriques, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Ensemble Modern and the Australia Ensemble and has appeared at international festivals including Aldeburgh, Melbourne, Milan, Brighton, Vienna, Huddersfield, Huntington and Adelaide. From 1988-1992, Marshall was Principal Harpist with the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra. He has been a member of the ELISION Ensemble since 1988, and lecturer in harp at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music since 1990.

Marshall studied piano and piano accompaniment at the Victorian College of the Arts, and subsequently worked with students of Dame Joan HAMMOND, Janice CHAPMAN and Dame Janet BAKER. In 1999 he made his conducting debut in performances of Mozart's The Magic Flute with Pacific Opera.

Marshall has been nominated twice for ARIA awards, including Spring Sea -- music for dreams with shakuhachi master Riley LEE. He has two CDs due for release in 2002 -- a collection of 17th century Italian songs by women composers with Jane EDWARDS and Erin HELYARD, and a recital of major twentieth century works for harp by composers including Britten, Takemitsu, Berio, Donatoni, Hindemith and Peggy Glanville-Hicks.

Marshall's performances in 2002 include recitals in Seoul and Shanghai, performances for Musica Viva, Kowmung Festival, Melbourne Festival, and a guest appearance at the World Harp Congress in Geneva.

In addition to his performing activities, Marshall is President of the New Music Network and a member of the NSW Arts Advisory Council.

February 2002

Marshall's recordings include:

• Awakening (Tall Poppies)
• The Birth of Venus (Artworks)
• Rough Magic (ABC Classics)
• Spring Sea Sound of Bamboo
• After the Fire (Vox Australis with ELISION Ensemble
• Harbour (Tall Poppies) Music of Andrew FORD, with Gerald ENGLISH
• Handel Arias with Yvonne KENNY, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra
• Scenes (Sony Classical)
• Australian Chamber Orchestra Mahler Adagietto
• The Lavender Songbook (Decca)
• Swoon II (ABC Classics) with Riley LEE
• On a Poet's Lips (Artworks) love songs, with Jane EDWARDS

`A new school of harp music is emerging from the enterprise of this innovative master performer´
--The Australian 15 March 1996

`McGuire, a real star among younger Australian performers  . . .  what is particularly striking is the expressive and technical range he creates for the instrument  . . . ´
--Richard TOOP Sydney Review October 1995

` . . .  Marshall McGuire stands at the morningtime of his career, but his performances here showed him a performer of exceptional musicality and precision´
--Peter McCALLUM Sydney Morning Herald 24 January 1995

`McGuire proved capable of creating spaces where soft sounds could become magical´
--Meredith OAKES The Independent 12 January 1994

`Marshall McGuire  . . .  is plainly a musician of exceptional imagination and flair, reflected in his choice of music as well as in his superbly assured playing´
--Stephen PETTITT The Times 13 January 1994

Marshall can be contacted by email at harpo@dot.net.au. His website is www.marshallmcguire.com.