Recently crowned ‘Musician of the Year’ at the Scot’s Trad Music Awards, Ciorstaidh Beaton is a highly sought after Glasgow based freelance concert harpist, clàrsach player, collaborator, session musician and educator seamlessly weaving between both Classical and Traditional music scenes across the UK and further afield. Ciorstaidh, known for her rich sound, innovative arrangements and fearlessly driven style of harping, graduated in 2015 from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, and in 2019 completed her post-graduate studies in Glasgow on joint pedal harp and clàrsach performance at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. 

Ciorstaidh is a versatile harpist, always immersed in a vast range of musical styles which uniquely shape her as one of Scotland’s leading harpists. Her recent playing highlights include: having her own music recorded on NASA’s new podcast series, recording and filming BAFTA-nominated composer Fraser Purdie’s commission as a soloist with the Heritage Orchestra for the recent re-branding of the National Grid, performing live at Celtic Connections 2024 with Valtos, performing an art-science based solo programme at the 2024 Arctic Summit, being awarded the Camac Harp Competition’s ‘Audience Prize’ at the Lorient International Festival 2023, recording harp parts written by Donald Shaw for the 2022 Gàidhlig feature film “Dùthchas” which is currently on BBC iPlayer, and reaching the quarter-finals of the 2022 Dutch International Harp Festival’s “World Harp Competition”. Ciorstaidh and Scottish composer Lisa Robertson are recent recipients of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s “Make it Happen” fund. This exciting collaboration is a ‘passion project’ between the pair, and will result in a brand new contemporary solo harp piece which Ciorstaidh will perform to live audiences in 2025. 

As an experienced orchestral harpist and chamber musician, Ciorstaidh works regularly with a variety of leading orchestras and ensembles across the UK. Recent highlights include performing with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the orchestra of the Scottish Opera, London Concertante, the Mahler Players, London-based the Senbla Orchestra and jazz and swing orchestra ‘Down for the Count’, the Red Note Ensemble and she frequently performs with choirs and orchestral societies throughout the UK. Ciorstaidh gave her debut concerto performance in 2016, playing Marcel Grandjany’s transcription of Handel’s ‘Harp Concerto in Bb' in concert in Glasgow, accompanied by the RCS’ String Orchestra. For a number of years Ciorstaidh joined the Festival No.6 Ensemble with fellow RNCM graduates, who performed and recorded composer Joe Duddell’s crossover collaborations live with many different artists which include: Daughter at London's 2015 Somerset House concert series, numerous Mercury Prize nominees such as Gaz Coombes, Nadine Shah and William Doyle (East India Youth), internationally acclaimed rock band JAMES, and artists such as Temples, Rae Morris, Edwine Collins, Jane Weaver and newly-formed band ShadowParty (Debo/New Order) who had Ciorstaidh record harp on their debut album ‘Celebrate’, released on Mute Records. 

Ciorstaidh frequently performs at various award winning hotels and venues across the country such as The Fife Arms Hotel, and the Gleneagles Hotel. She provides entertainment at private and corporate events for celebrities and public figures, UK and Scottish Governments, the Royal Family, international business clients as well as tailoring specific music in intimate settings for private house concerts, weddings and funerals of all backgrounds. She felt privileged to perform with singer Hannah Rarity at the late Lord Alistair Darling’s memorial service, televised in Edinburgh’s St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral last year. 

Ciorstaidh is a passionate teacher with extensive experience in a variety of settings. She currently holds the positions of Lecturer of Clàrsach and Traditional Music at the Junior Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and at Douglas Academy Music School. She is an adjudicator for competitions such as BBC Scotland’s “Young Traditional Musician of the Year”, the Royal National Mòd and the Clàrsach Society. She mentors university students, leads workshops, often features as a guest tutor with the Clàrsach Society, and recently at harpist Keziah Thomas’ monthly adult harp class “Retreat To The Harp”. Ciorstaidh has taught many students of all ages and abilities privately and online since 2011. She has delivered outreach workshops with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in Glasgow schools during her post-graduate studies, having won a place on the RSNO’s ‘professional experience scheme’. Ciorstaidh also regularly teaches clàrsach and mixed instrument workshops through the medium of Gàidhlig for organisations such as Fèisean Nan Gaidheal and Tinto Summer School courses. In 2018 she coached the Glasgow Cathedral Choir for their televised performance of a Gàidhlig song filmed for BBC One’s ‘Songs of Praise’ for the centennial anniversary of the ending of the First World War.