The Willow Trio’s second album The Bestiary shakes things up after their classical-Gaelic debut The Swan of Salen. Filled front to back with new, original works for their unique 3-clàrsach instrumentation, the album presents the sound of the harp in all its variety, from cinematic to experimental to sweet, light-hearted and fun.
The Bestiary is all about nature, art, and the world around us. The compositions are penned by trio members Maya MacAdam and Romy Wymer, with a special piece ‘A Similar Gait’ by Ollie Hawker, written specifically for the trio and funded by The Marchus Trust.
The artwork for the album centres around lino prints that Romy and Maya made. They wanted to make a vibrant, and fun, and slightly esoteric look – and landed on medieval animals having a parade!
The Willow Trio are a Glasgow-based clarsach trio consisting of Maya MacAdam, Sophie Rocks and Romy Wymer, established in 2020. Maya and Romy had studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland together on the traditional music course and found Sophie on Instagram as a newly relocated local harpist. They met for coffee and cake, and the trio was born!
The trio plays music ranging from classical and traditional to their own original contemporary compositions. They have performed at festivals such as Kelburn Garden Party, Edinburgh international Harp Festival, Glasgow’s West End Festival, and Edinburgh Festival Fringe and regularly tour small and rural venues throughout the UK. They’re also part of the Live Music Now Scotland scheme.
Their debut album, released in 2023 received critical acclaim – it was album of the week on The Late Show BBC Radio Ulster, featured on BBC Radio Scotland (Caithream Ciuil and Classics Unwrapped), Blues and Roots Radio, Radio Skye and with featured in print in the Sunday Post, Fatea Magazine, The Oban Post and more.
Out-with the trio, each member follows a diverse career – multi-instrumentalist Maya MacAdam writes and performs as Maya’s Radio Orchestra and is a current Hen Hoose Mentee, and won the prestigious Paolo Nutini Scholarship in 2022. Composer, teacher and performer Romy Wymer is working on her first album. Sophie Rocks works as a performer, programmer and curator with a passion for bringing band new music to the forefront in both public and community settings.
The trio will be performing at Celtic Connections 2026, at The Hug and Pint, ticket link below.
https://thehugandpint.seetickets.com/event/adam-beattie-fiona-bevan/the-hug-and-pint/3256538
Artists’ website: https://www.thewillowtrio.co.uk/
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