Parthenope | |
---|---|
Birth name | Parthenope Ann Wald-Harding |
Also known as | Poppy Wald-Harding |
Born | 2002 (age 21–22) Swillington, England |
Occupation(s) |
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Years active | 2015–present |
Member of | Loud LDN |
Parthenope Ann Wald-Harding (/pɜːrθɛnoʊpiː/) (born 2002), usually credited as Parthenope and occasionally known as Poppy Wald-Harding, is a musician from Swillington, England. She is best known for her cover of Norah Jones's "Don't Know Why", and is a member of Loud LDN.
Parthenope Ann Wald-Harding[1] (/pɜːrθɛnoʊpiː/)[2] was born in 2002[3] in Swillington[4] and attended Chetham's School of Music in Manchester,[5] where she studied jazz saxophone,[6] and Guildhall School of Music and Drama.[7] Her mother, Hayley,[6] worked in a music centre.[7]
Wald-Harding was initially a violinist, which she played from the age of eleven after being gifted an 1804 Joseph Strauss by a violin teacher,[6] but switched to alto saxophone after hearing her sister,[7] Milly,[4] play with a jazz ensemble, and after her mother received a shipment of instruments to sell, including an alto saxophone which she found she could not shift.[7] In January 2020, she left her violin on a rack above her seat on a Manchester Victoria train; after her mother's Twitter appeal to find it went viral,[6] she found it at the station's lost property office.[8] Later that year, she won an art competition, the Welcome Back Project, which invited applicants to design an advert inviting punters to return to Leeds.[5]
When she was thirteen, The Press noted that she and her sister Milly were members of Yorkshire Young Sinfonia, a Yorkshire-based youth orchestra.[4] In September 2020, she played Monterey Jazz Festival as part of Next Generation Women in Jazz Combo.[9] On 29 January 2021, Wald-Harding played flute on Celeste's "The Promise", from her album Not Your Muse, where she was credited as Parthenope Wald-Harding.[10] Later that year, Wald-Harding[11] featured on two tracks by DJ Alex FB: "Guessing Game", also featuring Nate Gordon and Kya, on 29 May 2021,[12] and "Again and Again", also featuring Harry Linacre, on 24 July 2021.[13] On 22 October 2021, she featured on Pastel's "Papaya",[14] from the compilation album College Music Presents: Back on Track, released the same day.[15]
On 30 September 2022, she released a cover version of Norah Jones' "Don't Know Why",[16] which appeared on the compilation album Blue Note Re:imagined II; as part of a review for said album, KNKX noted that she "stays mostly faithful to Jones' original coffee shop vibe but adds her generational perspective with a more introverted vocal reading and sharp, concise saxophone solos", and likened it to "a coffee shop with free wi-fi, charging stations and great music".[3] In November 2022, she performed at Froge.tour.[17] On 30 March 2023, she released "City Life", and on 28 April 2023, she released "What You Wanted"; both featured on her four-track 2 June 2023 EP Go Somewhere Alone.[16] On 5 April 2023,[18] she played flute on Zak Abel's "Dance With You (Comeback)",[19] and on 16 April 2023, she performed at Brick Lane Jazz Festival with Vertaal and Harry Pearce.[20] On 9 June 2023,[21] Wald-Harding[1] co-wrote three tracks on Hak Baker's album Worlds End FM, "Dying to Live", "Almost Lost London" and "The End of the World",[21] and on 13 October 2023, she featured on "Portofino", from Gotts Street Park's album On the Inside.[22]
Wald-Harding is influenced by Michael Brecker's "Pilgrimage", having received it as a Christmas gift;[7] her writing style is influenced by Men I Trust.[23] As of January 2023, she is dating Harry Pearce, a bassist and composer.[24] She is a member of Loud LDN.[25]