Submissions for the competition had to be by harpists 35 years or under, playing compositions of 3-6 minutes in length, for solo harp or ensemble including harp, written in or after 2000. Videos were selected with equal consideration for both composition and performance, as well as originality and quality of presentation. Successful videos are hosted on a special public World Harp Congress Vimeo Channel for at least one year. 

Clara’s performance was filmed in Lawrence Hall by lecturer in music visuals Jed Welland. The audio was recorded by two MA Record Production students Kostas Martinkenas and Charlotte Han. MMus Composition for Film and TV alumnus Anastasios Antoniou added some postproduction touches to the audio.

Charlotte comments, 

Recording this piece was such an enriching experience! The composition was full of intricacies that provided a unique challenge for us engineers. We wanted to make sure we were capturing all facets of this contemporary piece while making the setup aesthetically pleasing for the video. Both Clara and Simone were extremely kind and easy to work with. Clara is a fantastic harpist, which made the whole session a breeze!"

Clara, whose PhD is in practice research and focuses on decontextualising the harp from conventional performance venues, says:  

I am extremely grateful to have received this recognition which gives visibility to my interpretation, and to everyone involved in making this video possible: Simone, who creatively explored the possibility of the instrument through his composition; Jed, whose videographic skills brought visual aesthetics to the music; Kostas and Charlotte, for giving quality to the recording and audio production; Anastasios, for the additional post production touches; and UWL for providing the space and resources to make this video recording happen.

The result demonstrates the interdisciplinary collaboration that can push creation forward in each of the different fields.” 

Head of Composition Dr Simone Spagnolo comments, 

It is absolutely wonderful to see yet another international award assigned to Clara and our LCM composition project, which demonstrates excellent teamwork and superb artistic quality from all students and lecturers involved."

• View the video on WHC Spectrum's Vimeo Channel.
• Read more about studying at the London College of Music.