Gina is a graduate from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire where she studied under the tutelage of Rita Schindler, Eleanor Turner, Amanda Whiting and Catrin Finch. In her time at the conservatoire Gina was awarded the Winifred Micklam prize in her first year as well as the Henriette Renié prize in her first and fourth years. Gina performed regularly at the conservatoire as a soloist, in chamber groups and as part of their many orchestras – most notably the Symphony Orchestra which led her to perform at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall on many occasions under the baton of Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Barry Wordsworth and Michael Seal. Gina was delighted to perform her first concerto, Debussy Danses Sacrée et Profane, with Solihull Symphony Orchestra as part of their Rising Stars initiative in 2019.
Gina released her debut album, Rainbow Dreaming, in May 2020 and was soon spotlighted as Angelica Bell’s Young Artist of the Week on Scala radio. The album has since been played regularly on Scala and BBC radio stations with a particular affinity for her instrumental cover track of Owl City’s Fireflies. The album includes exciting and unconventional new repertoire for electroacoustic harp and effects pedals in which Gina showcases the wide variety of sounds the harp can provide in relation to contemporary popular music. Inspired by nature, Rainbow Dreaming includes her own compositions as well as arrangements of popular and folk tunes.
Gina loves to explore the manipulation of sound on the harp, whilst using techniques of a traditional harpist but pairing it with effects pedals that make an otherworldly soundscape. She is an avid improviser who enjoys picking up and feeding on audience reactions or that of those she plays with. Gina regularly plays with the free improv group ‘It’s Great to be Young’ in and around the Midlands.
When not at the harp, you can find Gina in the fields somewhere, tending to her garden or watering vegetable plants at the allotment.
Gina can be contacted at: georgina.taylor@gtharps.co.uk
