ABOUT ISLA

Isla Hallewell is a Classical harpist and vocalist based in Glasgow and Manchester. Studying for her Bachelors at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Isla is honing her skills as a dual-instrumentalist under the tutelage of Lorna Anderson (voice) and Pippa Tunnel (harp).

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Since joining RCS, Isla has premiered works at the annual PLUG Festival, performed in (voice-cello and flute-harp) duets, regularly sings in the RCS Choir and plays the harp in the RCS Symphony Orchestra. Over the past two years, Isla has been working with the outstanding Ukrainian pianist Sofiia Shokhina. The duo recently performed at the Hugh S Roberton Prize For Scottish Singing and won 3rd prize. Isla performs her own voice-harp arrangements of folk songs at the biennial Didsbury Arts Festival, and is a member of the newly founded folk ensemble Mother Tongues. Isla was a vocalist for Scottish Opera Young Company 2023-24 and this summer looks forward to singing the lead role of Flora in Jonathan Dove's opera The Enchanted Pig with Bedforshire Youth Opera.

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Isla was brought up in Manchester where she was trained in voice, harp, piano, music theory and composition at the Junior Royal Northern College of Music. During her time there, Isla received the Lindley Parker Hamer Prize and the Rose Goulding Scholarship. She studied under Jenny Heslop for voice and had pedal harp lessons with and Eira Lynn Jones and Anne-Marie O'Farrell.  Isla attended Parrs Wood comprehensive school and Xaverian College where she won their Young Musician of the Year competition. She also spent eight years in the Hallé Youth Choirs, performing regularly at the Bridgewater Hall with the Hallé Orchestra. Other opportunties included singing as a soloist with the Gorton Philharmonic, performing Voi che Sapete accompanied by Xaverian College Chamber Orchestra, and playing the harp in the Hallé Youth Orchestra and the Opera North Summer Orchestra Academy.​

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