ABOUT URSULA BURNS

Composer, harpist, recording artist, performer

Irish musician Ursula Burns has developed a hybrid style of harping that incorporates elements of Paraguayan and Celtic techniques, with a focus on self-expression. On stage, the harp underpins Ursula’s one-woman shows; for composition, she also works with piano.

For the past 30 years, Ursula has toured extensively with her music, performing in every conceivable venue from the Royal Albert Hall to her tiny, custom-made Cloud Truck Theatre. She's brought her magic to audiences across the UK, Ireland, Europe, America and Australia.

Ursula is a perceptive songwriter, who can capture the profound and the mundane with equal clarity. Her 1998 debut album According to Ursula Burns garnered her a nomination by the Hot Press Awards. Six self-penned, self-financed, independently released studio albums followed.

Ursula is an artist who defies categorisation. Her music is emotive, beautiful, dark and dramatic. Her virtuoso skill and dynamic stage presence set her apart as an original artist who breaks new ground. To understand Ursula’s epic odyssey with the harp, dive into her work as The Dangerous Harpist.

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ABOUT THE DANGEROUS HARPIST

Circus, Comedy, Performance Art & Social Commentary

The Belfast harpist’s troubled relationship with her hometown impacted her journey with the harp. The harshness of her childhood around the chaotic Falls Road was a far cry from the romantic image of the harp in Ireland. This contrast propelled her to explore the cultural stereotype, and so The Dangerous Harpist was born.

When Ursula started playing in 1994, the pathways to learning harp were traditional and classical. Coming from a long line of traditional musicians, including her mum, self-taught harpist Marie O’Neill (An Appointment with WB Yeats, 1987), Ursula wanted to break free from tradition.

This encouraged Ursula to think outside the box, kickstarting her artistic career. In 2012, she won The Irish Musical Comedy Awards in Dublin. In 2013, she was nominated for The Malcom Hardee Award for Comic Originality on her first trip to Edinburgh Festival. Her most recent win was the Everywoman TV Global Award for Outstanding Innovative Harpist of the Year, in 2023.

Through her exploration, Ursula has transformed the perception of the harp, demonstrating its versatility across genres. Her fearless spirit and determination to explore circus and comedy have made her a trailblazer in performance harp. To celebrate three decades of harping, Ursula created a groundbreaking show, How Many Bardic Harpers Does it Take to Change a Lightbulb? - tipping the hat to the bardic tradition of old. In the 1600s, Queen Elizabeth 1st decreed “Hang the harpers and burn their instruments!” As the original social commentators, the bards were considered highly dangerous! At that moment in Irish history, the bardic tradition went underground, and when it emerged in 1792, certain aspects of the art form remained in the shadows.

This is the work of The Dangerous Harpist.

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Psst! Do you wanna learn how to be a Dangerous Harpist? Join Ursula's new Patreon course!