Bio
Eleanor Dunsdon and Gregor Black are a Glasgow-based harp and percussion duo, who met during their postgraduate studies in Traditional Music at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2022. Blending their respective sounds of Scottish clarsach and Irish bodhrán, along with contemporary percussion and vocals, they form a dynamic and innovative new duo. Drawing on their shared experiences in classical, traditional, and jazz music, they aim to challenge perceptions of the clarsach and push the boundaries of the traditional music scene. The duo's debut EP, 'Let No Man', was released with GoatsKin Records in April 2024.
Danny Kyle Open Stage winners at Glasgow's Celtic Connections and Purbeck Rising winners, the duo have been invited to perform at both festivals in 2025. So far for 2024 the duo have also featured as ‘Rising Stars’ at the Edinburgh International Harp Festival, played as FATEA’s featured artists at Southport’s Love Folk Festival, and will head out on tour to Ireland in September. The duo have also been selected as the United Kingdom Harp Association's Emerging Artists for 2024, and will give concerts in London and Glasgow in the Autumn. Their music has featured on BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio Ulster, BBC Radio Scotland, RTÉ Radio 1, FATEA’s Showcase Sessions and Celtic Music Radio.
Elly Lucas Photography
“Eleanor Dunsdon & Gregor Black were something special ... a different feel and depth to the music” (FATEA)
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“The sound they created was amazing” (Jen Taylor, At The Barrier)
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“... hugely atmospheric... the level of excellence was apparent throughout.” (Folknorthwest.co.uk)
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Eleanor and Gregor have been invited to present workshops and masterclasses at the Edinburgh International Harp Festival, and for students at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. In February 2024 they presented a workshop and concert at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland alongside Ukranian bandura player, Anastasiya Voytyuk, showcasing the fusion of their shared musical traditions and the relationship between the bandura and Scottish harp.
Elly Lucas Photography
​​Alongside their duo project, Eleanor performs with award-winning Irish alt-folk band, Ranagri, who regularly tour across the UK, Germany and France. In recent years she has performed at Celtic Connections in Glasgow, Manchester Folk Festival, Costa Festival in Ibiza and Portugal, and the World Harp Congress in Cardiff. She will perform with Ranagri at Cropredy Festival, Shrewsbury Folk Festival and Wickham Festival Since 2023, Eleanor she has been involved in a collaboration project with singer and musician Tony Christie, touring the UK and recording a studio album to be released in Autumn 2024. Eleanor is currently working on a project with students of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland to commission new works by Scottish composers for an ensemble of classical string quintet, clarsach and fiddle, to be programmed alongside Sally Beamish’s work ‘Seavaigers’ for the same ensemble. This project aims to further explore the interplay between classical and folk repertoire and their place within the concert hall. In Summer 2023, Eleanor was invited to take part in the Silkroad Ensemble's Global Musicians Workshop in Boston, USA to perform and work collaboratively with Silkroad musicians such as Maeve Gilchrist and Jamey Haddad.
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Gregor is a percussionist and bodhrán player, steeped in both classical percussion and the musical traditions of Scotland and Ireland. He has gained his BMus Hons in percussion from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance before relocating to Glasgow to receive an MA in traditional music from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He has performed at the BBC Proms in London, the Edinburgh International Festival, and was recently invited to attend Silkroad’s Global Musician Workshop in Boston. Living and working in Glasgow, he runs a series of traditional music sessions in the city as well as travelling often to London to perform with his Irish trio, Green Time Folk, and ceilidh band, Stroma.