Minnesota-based Irish harpist and singer Hannah Flowers seeks to draw audiences together through her vibrant harp performances, inspiring them with storytelling rooted in the rich landscape of Irish traditional music and culture. Her stage presence, humor, and lyrical musicianship enthrall audiences everywhere from festival mainstages to senior communities. She holds a B.A. in Music and an M.A. in Irish Traditional Music Performance from Maynooth University in Ireland.
A childhood fascination with Ireland drove a life-altering immersion in Irish traditional music, which has led to her dedicating herself to the performance and teaching of Irish music on the harp. Over the past fifteen years, she has traveled to Ireland to compete in the Fleadh Cheoil na Éireann, study ancient Gaelic wire-strung harp at Scoil na gCláirseach in Kilkenny, and immerse herself in the Irish language. She received her first grant from the Fulbright Commission in 2017 and studied the Irish Language at Oideas Gael in the Gaeltacht in Donegal for three summers (2017–2019).
In 2020, she was honored to be awarded the prestigious Fulbright research grant to Ireland to study harp accompaniment in the 20th century and pursue an MA in Irish Traditional Music Performance from Maynooth University outside Dublin. During her Fulbright year she was privileged to study with master harpers such as Grainne Hambly and Michael Rooney.
Hannah has released three albums, including “Amhrán na Cruite/Song of the Harp” (2018), and a second solo harp album of traditional Irish music and original compositions, “Hall-Gate House” (2022). Her third studio album is “The Harp and the Holly,” a collection of ancient carols and songs for the Christmas season that launched in December 2025.
An active presenter, performer, and visiting teaching artist, Hannah has performed at festivals and events around North America and Europe, including the Somerset Folk Harp Festival (New Jersey), the Milwaukee Irish Festival (Wisconsin), The Harp Gathering (Ohio), The Huron Harp Festival (Ontario), Stoney End Music, Musicmakers’ Harp Twangle, the C. S. Lewis Foundation Summer Institute (Belfast, 2025 and Oxford, 2022), Windstone Farm Community (Ontario), and many other Irish and Celtic festivals throughout the United States.
When not on the road, Hannah teaches harp and voice at the Center for Irish Music in St. Paul, a nonprofit community music school dedicated to passing on the Irish traditional music tradition.
She holds a BA in music and a first-class Honours MA in Irish Traditional Music Performance from Maynooth University in Ireland.
Awards
- 2012 “Best Musical Act” Minnesota Renaissance Festival
- 2014 1st Place winner at the Midwest Regional Fleadh Cheoil in four competitions–harp tunes, harp airs, traditional songs in English, and traditional songs in Irish.
- 2014 Competitor at Fleadh Cheoil na Éireann in Sligo, Ireland in harp tunes, harp airs, traditional songs in English, and traditional songs in Irish.
- 2014 Minnesota Scottish Harp Competition first place winner
- 2015 Recipient of a “Next Step” grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council used to study Ancient Gaelic harp at Scoil na gCláirseach (The Summer School of Early Irish Harp) in Kilkenny, Ireland
- 2016 Chosen as a “Young Ambassador” for the St. Patrick Centre in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland
- 2017 Recipient of a Gaeltacht Summer Award from the Ireland-United States Commission for Educational Exchange to study Irish Language at Oideas Gael in Gleann Cholm Cille, Co. Donegal.
- 2019 1st Place winner at the Midwest Regional Fleadh Cheoil in the senior “Irish Language Song” competition
- 2020 Government of Ireland International Education Scholarship Awardee
- 2020 Awarded a Fulbright to Ireland
- 2022 Awarded First Class Honours Master of Arts in Irish Traditional Music Performance from Maynooth University