Caryl Thomas is widely recognised as one of
the most accomplished solo recital harpists of her
generation. She made her American debut in 1981 at Carnegie
Hall as winner of the Concert Artists’ Guild Award, and her London
debut at the Wigmore Hall a year later. She has performed to
critical acclaim throughout the UK, Europe, the USA and the Far
East, and her innate musicality is supported by a solid technique
and an exceptional ability to communicate with her
audience.
Caryl graduated from the Royal Welsh College
of Music & Drama and gained a Master’s degree from New
York University. Her teachers were Ann Griffiths, Marisa
Robles, Pearl Chertok and Susann McDonald. Caryl has been awarded
several scholarships and prizes, including a Rotary Ambassadorial
Scholarship, the Silver Medal of the Worshipful Company of
Musicians, and an ISM Young Artists Award. She was the first
British harpist to win a major prize at the International Harp
Contest in Jerusalem at the age of seventeen. In 1985, William
Mathias wrote the Santa Fe Suite for Caryl for her, who
premiered it at the Wigmore Hall.
In 1996, Caryl was invited to give a solo
recital at the World Harp Congress in Copenhagen. She has been a
Concerto soloist with the London Philharmonic, the BBC National
Orchestra of Wales, the Bournemouth Sinfonietta and the Orchestra
of St John’s Smith Square, and has appeared twice as concerto
soloist with the Mozarteum Orchestra in the Grosses Festspielhaus
in Salzburg playing the Gliere Harp Concerto and the Mozart
Concerto for Flute and Harp. As Principal Harp with the London
Philharmonic Orchestra, Caryl worked with eminent conductors such
as Sir Simon Rattle, Klaus Tennstedt and Bernard Haitink, and
played the Bartok Festival at the Royal Festival Hall under the
baton of Sir George Solti. She was a member of the Orchestra of
Welsh National Opera for Reginald Goodall’s performances of
Wagner’s Ring Cycle.
A keen exponent of chamber music, Caryl
has been a member of the Prometheus Ensemble, The Debussy
Trio, and The Instrumental Quintet of London, which made its debut
at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in 1987. She has also appeared in duo
recitals with flautists Susan Milan and Jonathan Snowden.
Caryl has performed with Bryn Terfel, Dennis
O’Neill, Dame Shirley Bassey and Rebecca Evans. In 2002, she was
featured on an album with the Icelandic pop singer, Bjork, and
appeared with her on her European tour.
Caryl’s discography includes the Mozart Flute
and Harp Concerto with the London Philharmonic and Andrew Litton, a
solo recording entitled Claire de Lune, a collection of
chamber works with the Prometheus Ensemble named French
Impressions, as well as recordings of Britten’s Ceremony
of Carols, Rutter’s Dancing Day and an album of Grace
Williams’ works.
Caryl’s broadcasting work includes recitals
for BBC Radio 3; and she has hosted three series of her own TV show
for S4C.
In 2007, Caryl was Artistic Director of
Arpa Viva Cymru, a ten-day harp festival held in Cardiff, which
incorporated the 7th European Harp Symposium and the
Cardiff European Harp Competition.
She is a Fellow of the Royal Welsh College of Music &
Drama and a Trustee of the Ryan Davies Scholarship Fund.
Caryl gives regular masterclasses at home and
abroad and is much in demand as a teacher. She was appointed Head
of Harp at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in
2011.
In June 2016, Caryl will be a member of the
jury at the 10th USA International Harp Competition in
Bloomington, Indiana, and will Chair the Artistic Committee of the
World Harp Congress when it comes to Cardiff in 2020. Caryl is a
member of the Board of Directors of the World Harp Congress.