Gramar Harp

2009-03-05T12:17:00.000-08:00

A combination of two Scottish Gaelic words meaning “channel of love”

Grá: Love, charity + Amar: the bed of a stream, channel

pronounced: "Graw-mar"

Ceud Mile Failte!

“A hundred thousand welcomes!”

Anne’s Mission Statement:

“To be used by God as a transparent conduit of His healing, grace and love through harp music.”

Anne Lloyd Durant has played the Clarsach (Celtic harp) for over twenty years. She is trained in the traditional Scottish style but has a wide variety of music in her repertoire including classical and contemporary.

Let the clarsach bring a rich tradition, texture and dimension to your next event.

Please contact Anne for bookings and prices at:

(912) 727-3782 or (912) 398-2815

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Anne is a native of Savannah, Georgia. As a high school student she began exploring her Scottish roots: a legacy of her Scottish grandmother, “Nanny”. Anne learned the great highland bagpipes as a member of the Savannah Celtic Pipe Band (now defunct) and the Atlanta Pipe Band. Later, she became intrigued with the Clarsach (Scottish/Irish harp) and took lessons on the instrument in Cincinnati, Ohio while pursuing her degree in Anthropology. Her teacher is renowned clarsach composer and performer: Nancy Bick Clark.

After a brief sojourn in exile (the “Nawth”), she returned to “God’s country” (the South!) where She lives with her husband, Donald, and son, Stuart, in Richmond Hill, Georgia. She teaches clarsach and performs. Her students are consistent prize winners in Scottish Harp Society sponsored competitions in the southeast. She is President of the Low Country Clarsairs ("klar-sheers") and is a member of the Savannah incarnation of “the Goliards” (an ancient music ensemble founded by John Hillenbrand). She and John Hillenbrand comprise the harp/vielle duo "Everyman". Anne is also a member of the duo "Twa Corbies" with lutenist Christopher Kohut. Anne’s harp style and music is not limited to traditional music, however. She has played for weddings, funerals, banquets and various other events in the Southeast for the past 8 years. References are available on request.

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“In the approximately three years that I have known and collaborated with Anne, I have found her to be an intelligent, accomplished performer, with whom it is quite easy to attain a musically synergistic equilibrium. She reads well, learns quickly, and regularly offers a balanced opinion on any musical object of consideration.

She gets a good tone from her instrument, and is quite creative as an improviser. I have come to rely heavily both on her playing and her counsel. Highly recommended.”

- John Hillenbrand, Founder of The Goliards

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"It is a joy to watch and listen to Anne Durant play the harp. She plays with a grace and style of finely-tuned phrasing, tone and tempo. Her repertoire ranges from Scottish pipe tunes to Irish airs, Sephardic melodies, early music, and even musicals. I have had the pleasure of knowing Anne for twenty years, when she first began harp lessons with me in Cincinnati. She was one of my first students.

When Anne moved to Savannah, she began teaching students of her own. A tribute to Anne's teaching is the success of her students. Several of them have won awards at the Northeast Florida Scottish Highland Games outside Jacksonville over the past six years. As the harp judge of those Games, I have seen these students progress from year to year in their playing. Her student, Catherine Mullins, won the Harper of the Day award in 2009. She has had at least three other students compete and do well. Her students have competed in other Scottish Games across the Southeast. Anne is very patient and clearly explains goals, techniques, and interpretation to the students, because these qualities clearly show in their playing.

Anne has performed on harp and pennywhistle with me in different ensembles when she lived in Cincinnati, and brought interesting arrangements of Breton tunes to our group. She now is performing with the Goliards in Savannah, as well as solo. Anne is not only a fine musician, but a person of integrity, faith, empathy, and a deep spirit."

- Nancy Bick Clark

Newport, Kentucky 3/13/09