The Triumphs
of Oriana

Annemarie is a harpist and pianist with over 30 years' experience, ranging from solo to ensemble work, including appearances as a soloist with a large orchestra. She started playing piano at age 9 and by 17 was awarded Performance Diplomas from Trinity College of Music and the Guildhall School of Music. She read music at Durham University, studied piano with Professor Jean Anderson BEM of the Royal Academy of Music, and completed a Masters in Musicology (specialising in Early Music) at Durham.

While still at school, a local National Trust property invited her to play its historic 1809 Clementi piano for a candlelit concert, sparking a fascination with the Georgian and Regency periods. For many years she performed era-appropriate music in period houses, giving visitors an authentic sense of how the music would have sounded in the building’s heyday.

To deepen that authenticity, Annemarie learned the harp—an instrument fashionable in the Georgian and Regency era. With her 1814 Erard harp (affectionately called “Oriana”), she recreates Georgian and Regency sound worlds in historic settings, singing repertoire from the period and accompanying herself. Since 2013 she has appeared at Regency and Georgian events worldwide, in costumes she sews herself—always with a passion for hats.

In 2023 she began a collaboration with Lisa Timbs, The Square Pianist, exploring music from Jane Austen’s family collection. Annemarie joined “The Square Pianist & Friends” for the Jane Austen Festival in Bath (2024) and went on to perform at the Jane Austen Festival 2025 and the Portsmouth Early Music Festival, bringing forgotten works back to life.

Since 2002 Annemarie has sung with a specialist chamber choir and a madrigal choir, and she is currently furthering her harp study with her mentor, renowned harpist and composer Elizabeth-Jane Baldry.