About The Dangerous Harpist
Songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and comedienne Ursula Burns is The Dangerous Harpist! Born on the falls road, her journey through music has been smashing the stereo-typical image of the harp by taking it on a journey through Song writing, Theatre, Circus and Comedy. Her roots and life growing up in Belfast are deeply ingrained in her writing. Her troubled relationship with her home town lead her to run away with the circus and embark upon a life on the road writing songs and performing everywhere from Gypsy Wagons to burning fire escapes and Tardis Imaginarium’s to the Royal Albert Hall.
Burns debut album in 1998 According to Ursula Burns gained her a nomination at the hot press awards for best newcomer. 5 self-penned /self-financed solo albums followed; Spell; Rollercoaster Castaways; Deep in the Dreaming and The Dangerous Harpist. She has 4 other albums: An appointment with WB Yeats (Marie O’Neill); Unfit the picture (with Victoria Geelan) and two soundtrack albums Inventors( kabosh) The Assistants Revenge (Cahoots NI)
Having composed a wealth of shows including Little Red Riding hood (lyric Theatre) The snail and the Whale (Cahoots) and and many more …….
Ursula has toured extensively with her music in Ireland, UK, Europe, America and Australia. Burns accidentally fell into comedy when she won the Irish Musical Comedy Awards 2012 and since has been touring her one woman comedy show, I do it for the Money which got nominated for the Malcolm Hardee Award for comic originality on its first trip to Edinburgh International festival.
Burns is a perceptive writer with the ability to capture the profound and the profane with equal clarity. Hot Press
Ursula Burns has invented her own wild style of harp playing and Spell is a mini masterpiece, pitch perfect, it deserves our fullest attention. – The Irish Times
She is enchanting and funny in equal measure with a lovely lilting voice that makes the falls road sound like Brigadoon Kate Copstick Wow 27
Ursula Burns’ third outing is one of the few albums since Astral Weeks to mess with notions of temporal, spatial and cosmic displacement. Hotpress
Ursula Burns comes across as one of those original artists who defies musical barriers. She is completely unlike anybody else, especially other female singer/songwriters. – Irish News
Musical instruments & styles
Instruments
Harp, Piano, Vocals, Accordion
Styles
Music hall, World, Music writer, Theatrical, Folk