Soraya Vermeulen is an award-winning harpist based in Leicestershire and Greater London, with a distinguished career as a soloist, orchestral musician, recording artist, and educator.
Soraya graduated in 2014 from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, London, with a Masters in Music, awarded with Distinction, following a First Class Honours Bachelor of Music degree in Harp Performance. She was also awarded a high Distinction in the LTCL Diploma for Music Teaching.
Born in Leicestershire, Soraya has been playing the harp since she was 7 years old and was a music scholar at Oakham School. She studied harp under Gabriella Dall’Olio and early music on the triple harp with Frances Kelly. Soraya gained a Leverhulme Arts Scholarship to continue her studies on a Masters of Music Performance course, and was awarded a Musicians Benevolent Fund Postgraduate Performance Award. Alongside these prestigious awards Soraya was also presented with a Penske Automotive Scholarship and City Livery Club Prize for Excellence.
Soraya has won many prizes for her playing in festivals and competitions, including Leicester Young Performer of the Year aged just 13 and the John Marson Harp Prize, (for an outstanding and creative musician), in 2012, leading to a solo recital at St Martin-in-the-Fields, London. She has also participated in many masterclasses with leading harpists such as Fabrice Pierre, Sylvain Blassel, Letitzia Belmondo and Elizabeth Fontan-Binoche.
Soraya made her concerto debut at St John’s Smith Square, London, at the age of fifteen and has since performed widely as a soloist and orchestral harpist throughout the UK and Europe, including engagements in Spain, Belgium, France, and Portugal. She has appeared at many of the UK’s leading venues, including the Royal Albert Hall, Barbican Centre, Southbank Centre, Birmingham Symphony Hall, and the Wales Millennium Centre.
Her performance career includes collaborations with an extensive range of internationally renowned artists, including Andrea Bocelli, Rod Stewart, Alfie Boe, Michael Ball, Gregory Porter, Bryn Terfel, Sam Ryder, Pixie Lott, Laura Mvula, Katie Melua, Sir Tom Jones, Hannah Waddingham, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Melanie C (Spice Girls), Blessing Offor, The Wellermen, Keala Settle and the West End cast of War Horse. Regularly invited to play for dignitaries, Soraya has performed for members of the Royal family, including His Majesty the King, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, The Duke of Edinburgh and also for Lord Lieutenants.
Soraya has a love of orchestral performance and was awarded a place on the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s mentor scheme under Principal Harpist Rachel Masters. Her orchestral career began early, holding the position of Principal Harpist with the CBSO Youth Orchestra for six years. She has since performed regularly with ensembles across Europe, whilst maintaining local engagements with orchestras such as the Leicester Symphony Orchestra and the Bardi Orchestra, at Leicester’s De Montfort Hall.
Soraya appears annually as Principal Harpist for the Mountbatten Festival of Music at the Royal Albert Hall and served as Principal Harpist for the BBC Festival of Remembrance for ten years. Throughout her career as an orchestral harpist, she has worked under the baton of many distinguished conductors, including Sakari Oramo, Edward Gardner, Jac van Steen, Andris Nelsons, Michael Seal, Paul Daniel CBE, Claus Efland, and Rainer Hersch, among others.
Soraya is a highly sought-after performer for weddings and events, with an extensive portfolio of prestigious private and corporate clients, including celebrity and professional sports figures. She is experienced in providing the discretion and confidentiality required for NDA-bound engagements, ensuring each performance meets the highest standards of professionalism. Her performances have included high-profile product launches and events for luxury brands such as Jimmy Choo, Diptyque, La Perla, Eve Lom, and BMW. She has also contributed to numerous recordings, collaborating with artists including Frank Benbini of the Fun Lovin’ Criminals and Stompy’s Playground, a twelve-piece ensemble that fuses the driving grooves of electronic dance music with a rich orchestral soundscape. She has worked closely alongside composer Amir Sadeghi, with whom she has recorded a world premiere with the Marson Harp Trio for BBC Television.
Alongside her performing career, Soraya is deeply committed to music education. She maintains a busy private teaching studio and is the harp teacher for The Loughborough Endowed Schools, Leicestershire, Oakham School and Southwell Minster. In 2023 Soraya was invited by the United Kingdom Harp Association to present a talk on “The Harp in State Education and Music Hubs”.
Soraya’s work is generously supported by awards from the Sir Andrew Martin Trust, The Gordon Robinson Memorial Trust, The Norman Gill Trust and The Dorothy Johnson Trust.
