Dr Karen Loomis

Karen Loomis conducts construction and craftsmanship analysis of early Irish harps, uncovering the wealth of information these instruments hold. She has led groundbreaking work studying the harps of Ireland and Scotland, including a project for The Historical Harp Society of Ireland on the eighteenth-century Hollybrook harp at the National Museum of Ireland. Karen’s expertise is in non-invasive techniques, utilising extensive experience in scientific imaging and an interdisciplinary background in STEM and music. In 2006, Ann Heymann introduced her to the bardic cerdd dant repertory in the Robert ap Huw manuscipt. Since then, this music has been her primary rerpertory interest. More recently, she has studied cerdd dant theory under Bob Evans. Karen earned an MMus in musical instrument research and a PhD in music (organology) from the University of Edinburgh. She also holds a BS in physics from the University of Connecticut and an MA in astronomy from Wesleyan University.