"and what a fabulous concert, so much enjoyed by everyone, some said it was our best concert ever"
Geoff Scott, Binham Priory Concerts
Eleanor started learning the harp at the age of 5, thanks to her Scottish mum Valerie loving music and being a fan of Harpo Marx. She studied with Daphne Boden at the Royal College of Music Junior Department every Saturday for 7 years and made her London concerto debut at the age of fifteen, with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields conducted by Daniel Harding and broadcast live on Classic Fm.
At eighteen, Eleanor joined Middlesex University as an undergraduate, with a scholarship for academic and cultural achievement. She was privileged to take harp lessons with Alison Nicholls; a celebrated harpist, avid chamber musician and commissioner of new music, all of which inspired Eleanor hugely. These wonderful lessons continued for seven years, culminating in Eleanor winning the European Harp Competition in 2007, which led to many opportunities and Eleanor having a more international platform. Eleanor went on to compete further and won Second Prize in the 2011 Gaudeamus Interpreters Contest and a Wingate Scholarship. She has released several albums of music by living composers on her label Arts In Fusion, and staged multidisciplinary shows such as 'Elusive Symmetry' (2011), a hip-hop fusion show, and 'Wild Bird' (2015), a concert that showcased her spoken word and electro-acoustic compositions.
Alongside an international recital career, Eleanor uses her professional standing to question the rigidity of classical concerts and the nature of the harp itself. Whilst being Head of Harp at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (RBC) she worked with Dr Balandino Di Donato to enable plucked sounds to sustain and grow, and to defy the harp's static nature by 'throwing sound' around a space. Eleanor performed her gesture-controlled piece 'The Wood and the Water', based on a poem she wrote in creative British Sign Language and using Di Donato's ‘MyoSpat’ technology, at the 2017 International Computer Music Conference in Shanghai. A year later, she curated the world's first Electro Harp Day at the RBC.
From Eleanor's 'Philo Sophia' workshops, which highlight and explore a diverse range of feminine wisdom, to 'Disrupted Icons', her collaboration with visual artist Lucy Cade, the past five years have seen Eleanor challenging societal expectations of women within the sphere of western classical music. 'Disrupted Icons' was an exhibition that subverted expectations of motherhood using religious iconography, film and a sonic installation by Eleanor. Last year, she was moved to compile a book of harp arrangements called 'Lullabies for the Land' to raise funds for two important charities. With cover design and layout by Scottish-Palestinian artist Dima Nowarah, it is Eleanor's most meaningful musical contribution to date. Around £2000 has so far been donated to the Ghassah Abu Sittah Children's Fund and the Middle East Children's Alliance from the sales of the hard copy and PDF version of the book.
Alongside an international recital career, Eleanor has used her professional standing to question the rigidity of classical concerts and the nature of the harp itself. Whilst being Head of Harp at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (RBC) she worked with Dr Balandino Di Donato to enable plucked sounds to sustain and grow, and to defy the harp's static nature by 'throwing sound' around a space. Eleanor performed her gesture-controlled piece 'The Wood and the Water', based on a poem she wrote in British Sign Language and using Di Donato's ‘MyoSpat’ technology, at the 2017 International Computer Music Conference in Shanghai. A year later, she curated the world's first Electro Harp Day at the RBC.
Eleanor’s artistic development has been supported by awards from the Tillett Trust, the Ambache Charitable Trust, PRS Foundation for New Music, Ralph Vaughan Williams Trust, Help Musicians UK, the Park Lane Group, Sound and Music and a Wingate Scholarship. A key influence in Eleanor’s life is the American jazz harpist, composer and conductor Deborah Henson-Conant. Since their first collaboration in 2010, generously supported by Camac Harps, Eleanor and Deborah have worked together in New Orleans (where Eleanor performed Deborah’s concerto Soñando en Español with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra), Sydney and Hong Kong. This year in April they were reunited at the Edinburgh International Harp Festival 2025 and managed to squeeze in an impromptu performance together which brought the house down!
Collaborations and cross genre projects have always been Eleanor's life-blood. She started her own record label and production company ‘Arts in Fusion’ when she was in her early twenties and has released 6 discs on this label. Furthermore, she has recorded for Champs Hill Records and Naxos, Signum Classics, Guitar Classics, Nonesuch Records, Toccata Classics and Decca Classical. Recent collaborations include concerts with the Harborough Collective and the Orchestra of the Swan, both under the musical direction of violinist David Le Page. Eleanor’s ‘Aquilae Duo’ with Lisa has stood the test of time and they celebrated their 15th year as a duo with concerts and tutoring a course at MusicFest Aberystwyth 2024.
Exciting opportunities abound for Eleanor and Mendi in their tabla and harp duo, Tāla Tarang. If you'd like to book them, or Eleanor, for a concert or appearance, simply email info@eleanorturner.com and enquire about rates and availability.
To download Eleanor's official biography as a Word file or PDF, please visit the Press Pack page. Email Eleanor for updates or editing.
Eleanor Turner is a passionate ambassador for the harp and its music. She is an international prize-winning artist who has performed everywhere from Shanghai to New Orleans and is a leading expert in contemporary music. Eleanor has released classical discs on Champs Hill Records, Decca, Naxos and her own label, Arts in Fusion. She curates pioneering shows such as her 'Wild Bird' for harp with string quartet, flute, clarinet and percussion, and workshops such as 'Philo Sophia', a discussion-based event sharing feminine wisdom. Eleanor is at her best working with others; she has long running partnerships with tabla player Mendi Singh, guitarist and composer Wayne Bennett, cellist Clare O'Connell and flautist Lisa Nelsen. In 2020, she teamed up with harpist Elizabeth Bass and artist Iñaky Turner to create 'Enso Cards', 35 cards inspired by Japanese language and culture, referencing knowledge gained through years of personal study, to be used in musicians' practice.
Her latest venture is the cocreation of her first book, a substantial book of 18 lullabies from around planet Earth, including places whose culture is threatened by genocide, displacement, colonisation and land theft. It is called Lullabies of the Land and every tune was shared with Eleanor by a friend, student or family member, for the purpose of this book and arranged for harp by Eleanor. All proceeds from the first edition will be split 50/50 between the Ghassan Abu Sittah Children's Fund https://gascf.org/ and the Middle East Children's Alliance https://www.mecaforpeace.org/.
Over 200 copies sold so far and over £2000 raised for the charities. Buy the book here.
Lullabies for the Land is also stocked by The Harp Studio. If you're placing an order there, please add Lullabies for the Land. It makes a wonderful present, too.