Under the auspices of the Bermuda School of Music and through the coordination of John Barnett, chairman of the Praise and Worship team at Christ Church, Warwick, a concert will be held this Sunday at the church, featuring top harpist, Robin Ward, and concert pianist, Oliver Brugada Grant.

With more than 19 years experience playing the harp, Mr. Ward is the first and only New Zealander to complete post-graduate studies in historical harp performances. Focusing on the triple-strung baroque harp, he has completed both a Bachelors of Music and a Master of Music in Baroque Harp Performance at the Victoria University's School of Music, under the guidance of specialists Euan Murdoch and Douglas Mews.

In order to complete those studies, he had to design and build his own harps from information found in historical sources and photographs of surviving instruments. It is one of his self-built harps that he will be playing at the concert.

While the harp may be considered an odd instrument for anyone to play, especially a young man, the choice, he says, was a matter of opportunity.

"The opportunity came up and I took it," Mr. Ward said. "My mum wouldn't let me have a piano in the house, so I found something else."

Having the concert in Bermuda came as a result of opportunity as well.

"I came over, principally, for a holiday," he said, and when John Barnett heard that Mr. Ward was coming to the Island, he began arranging the concert.

Mr. Ward expects to perform a variety of pieces, ranging from the mid-16th century, to the early 19th century, mainly traditional pieces for the baroque triple-strung harp, including pieces by Mudarra, Ribayaz, Bach and Glinka.

To round out the concert, Oliver Grant will be performing on the piano.

A teacher at the Bermuda School of Music, Mr. Grant also serves as the organist at Christ Church, Warwick. He is originally from Swindon, England, but was raised in Spain, and has been playing for 23 years.

Mr. Grant's performance will include pieces by Brahms, Chopin, Bach, Liszt and Debussy, among others.

The concert will be held on Sunday, October 28 at Christ Church, Warwick. Tickets cost $30 and are available from the Bermuda School of Music and at the door.