About Me

Welcome to the first official blog post of Harriet Flather Musician.
I thought I’d use this opportunity to chat to you a bit about what makes up my life and what I enjoy, other than music.
It’s very easy to forget that playing and teaching music is my job. Music has always been a huge part of my life – I started piano aged 5 – and have taken on a new instrument every so often to keep things interesting! Now, I specialise in woodwind and harp.
I studied clarinet at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, one of the most awesome places on the planet. It’s so alive with music and drama and bursting with creativity, I loved my time there. I also studied saxophone there for a while and this led me down the path of musical theatre and to meet some truly wonderful people. While traversing the course of in-ear monitors, mics, vamps and button notes, I discovered the flute. Mainly because I had to! I was playing in “Legally Blonde” and my part had lots of flute so there was no getting out of it. I basically learnt to play the part in a month and then set about actually learning how to play the flute…
I started harp aged 9 or 10, I can’t actually remember! To my parents’ annoyance I took to it very quickly and loved it. However, fast forward 8 years later and I had to make the decision between harp or clarinet. I chose clarinet. Having left university, having had a pretty horrific experience on stage (which I will blog about!) I realised I needed to create music in any way I could. Re-enter the harp. Once I sat down and played for a few weeks, I realised I hadn’t lost much of my technique.
Now, I spend my weeks teaching all my instruments, playing saxophone in a big band, playing harp at weddings and functions and generally trying to be as creative as I can! It is a struggle to be a freelance musician in a rural area like Rutland but I hope I’m making it work! I’m willing to travel!
Outside of my work, I love reading. I don’t read fast but I love to read. I’m also a keen baker (who isn’t these days) and I’m getting into cycling. I like National Trust properties, old cars, history and being outside when I can. I’m also on a mission to raise £5000 for Dementia UK at the moment – you can read all about this on my Fundraising page!
So that’s me, Harriet. Hopefully that’s given you a little insight into how I got where I am today, there will be more I promise…!