Rhiannon Skye is a Connecticut-based lever harper, composer, performer, educator, and Scottish Harp Society of America adjudicator.  Although her heart lies in Scottish, Irish, and Cape Breton traditional music, Rhiannon’s repertoire also includes classical, pop, jazz, and other styles.  She attended Berklee College of Music, earning a BA in Performance in May 2020, and the University of Limerick, receiving a Masters in Irish Music Studies in January 2024.  At these institutions, Rhiannon played with ensembles from a variety of styles, including Celtic, Middle Eastern, and bluegrass.

Rhiannon is this year’s Scottish Harp Society of America’s United States National Champion. In 2023, she was invited to compete in The Princess Margaret of the Isles Memorial Prize for Senior Clarsach (US), where she was awarded best original composition as well as best overall performance.  Rhiannon won the Iain Macleòid Young Composer Award through The Clarsach Society in 2021.  The international society then asked her to debut her winning piece, ‘Asrai, The Coin, The Hound’s March, and Waterfall Jig’ at the Edinburgh International Harp Festival, which she did in 2022.  She previously has competed in numerous Scottish harp competitions within the United States, including the 2015 US National Scottish Harp Championship where she placed second.

Having performed in New England, New York, Spain, Scotland, and Ireland, two highlights of Rhiannon’s career thus far have been playing onstage with the piper, Carlos Núñez, at the Boothbay Opera House in 2015 and performing for the Irish Ambassador to the UK on St. Patrick’s Day in 2021.