Ciorstaidh Beaton Harpist Pedal harpist & clarsach player. Experienced performer, educator, collaborator

Recently crowned ‘Musician of the Year’ at the MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards, Ciorstaidh Beaton is known for her rich sound, innovative arrangements and fearlessly driven style of harping. She is a highly versatile sought-after soloist, session musician and orchestral harpist across many platforms and genres as a pedal harpist, clàrsach player, educator, collaborator and Gàidhlig speaker from the Isle of Skye, currently based in Glasgow. Ciorstaidh was selected to compose a ‘New Voices’ commission by Celtic Connections 2025, part of which was filmed for BBC Alba’s “Seirm”. Her own music is deeply rooted in her Gàidhlig heritage, and passionately addresses modern day hurdles facing both rural and urban communities, spoken honestly from a woman’s perspective. Recent collaborations include performing and recording with electronic folk duo Valtos who she joined on stage at the BBC Introducing Scottish Act of the Year finals, recording her own music for NASA’s brand new audio space program the “H.A.R.P Project” featured on NASA’s podcast ‘Curious Universe’, and recording a brand new concerto by BAFTA-Nominated Scottish composer Fraser Purdie as a soloist on clàrsach with the Heritage Orchestra for the 2024 re-branding of the National Grid.

Ciorstaidh is currently lecturer in clàrsach and Traditional music at the Junior Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and at the Music School of Douglas Academy. Since Graduating ten years ago from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, she has built a multi-genre freelance portfolio that uniquely shapes her as one of Scotland’s leading in-demand artists.