Savourna Stevenson is a world class exponent of the Scottish harp. As both a virtuoso player and a composer she ‘completely re-writes the rule-books and proves the harp is capable of being pushed beyond it’s usual limits ... and sometimes doing the seemingly impossible’ (Taplas).

Savourna, who has been described as ‘a composer who is a national treasure’ (Herald) and ‘Mother of invention’ (Scotsman), identifies strongly with her Scottish roots while breaking through stylistic barriers between traditional, world music, blues, jazz and classical.

Her musical career started in the late 70's when, at 15, she first played at the Queen Elizabeth Hall with Fairport Convention, Ralph McTell and Martin Carthy, and went on to collaborate with many leading figures in traditional music including Dave Swarbrick, Aly Bainand Davy Spillane.

Daughter of one of Scotland’s most revered composers, Ronald Stevenson, Savourna’s inherited gift soon became apparent with a growing number of commissions for new music for theatre, dance and television as well as concert commissions. In her acclaimed ‘Tweed Journey’in 1989 she began to experiment with the harp in an electric setting with rock and jazz players including Mike Travis and Neil Hay and Steve Kettley, developing her interest in a wider variety of contemporary styles ... and although she has returned to a more acoustic sound on subsequent albums, her playing has continued to take the harp into uncharted territory.

During the 90's Savourna became sought after as a ‘world musician’ collaborating with artists including The Bhundu Boys and Toumani Diabate, earning her a place on the international stage at Womad (World of Music Art and Dance) festivals around the world and a request to play at Peter Gabriel’s wedding in 2002. She has also been acknowledged in the jazz world with performances at the Brecon and Glasgow Jazz Festivals and the Bath Festival ... and is of course know for several collaborations on stage and on CD with legendary bassist Danny Thompson.

As a song writer she has collaborated with lyric writers including Les Barker, Liz Lochhead, Michael Marra and Valerie Gillies writing and recording songs with singers including June Tabor and Eddi Reader.

Winner of the £25,000 Creative Scotland Award in 2001, Savourna is becoming a rising star in the Scottish contemporary classical music world. Her Harp String Quintet, featured on her last Cooking Vinyl album ‘Touch Me Like The Sun’ was used in the popular American TV series ‘Sex and the City’. Her first full symphonic debut of the award winning ‘Misterstourworm and the Kelpie’s Gift’, was premiered by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in 2003 with guest narrator Billy Boyd ( Pippin from Lord of the Rings ) followed by a new commission from Children’s Classic Concerts to write another orchestral work for children using the same format of story telling with orchestra and narrator. The new work, Hansel and Gretel, was premiered and toured over the autumn season of 2005 with seven concerts throughout Scotland by the Orchestra of Scottish Opera with guest narrator Blythe Duff (from the TV series Taggart). Savourna’s most recent work includes a venture into choral writing with a commission for three songs for the National Youth Choirs of Scotland.

Savourna’s recent showcase concert at the Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow ( January 2006 ) was a preview of her new CD ‘Persian Knight Celtic Dawn’ which draws upon a mix of Celtic and Middle-Eastern influences including song settings from ‘The Prophet’ by Kahlil Gibran and gaelic lyrics from the poet Aonghas MacNeacail. With Iranian percussion from Djamchid and Bijan Chemirani, and the distinctive voice of singer, Alyth McCormack, their performance was very warmly received by audience and press.