Lara Somogyi

Lara Somogyi is a Los Angeles-based harpist and contemporary classical performer-composer.  Known for her work with electronics and pedal fx, her work is focused on forging a new artistic identity for the harp. Born and raised in Kauai, Hawaii and New York, Lara is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London, and in 2018 was awarded as an honorary Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) for her contributions to her field.

Years of sculpting her sound and developing her set of contemporary expressions on the harp led her to write compositions for solo harp and electronics.  Finding company and comfort in vast sonic expanses and exploration ushered her to a renewed clarity of expression and identity with the instrument. Her debut full-length album, ! was released in 2022 via Mercury KX Records, which Pitchfork praised for "combining the mundane and the fantastical."

In addition to being a composer-performer, she is also an active session harpist - recording in a wide range of genres for Film and TV, from sessions with the London Symphony Orchestra to Rufus Wainwright and Bonobo. She was recently brought in specifically for her sound to record and explore harp textures and fx for the score to Blue Planet II by Hans Zimmer & Jacob Shea, featuring Radiohead. Her signature use of electronics and harp is heavily featured on the score. She also worked one on one with composers Mark Isham & Isa Machine (from Florence & the Machine) on the Hulu show Little Fires Everywhere where they brought her on to record with her unique approach to the way the harp is used and heard. She can be heard all over the score sculpting the sonic landscape with harp.

She has also featured as harp soloist on Hans Zimmer’s score for Disney’s The Lion King, Kris Bowers’ score for Greenbook, Netflix’s Bridgerton, King Richard, When They See Us, Space Jam 2 and Hulu’s Mrs. America, Rob Simonsen’s score for Tully, Bleeding Finger’s The Simpsons and Nat Geo Being the Queen, Jasha Klebe’s score for Netflix’s Animals, Black Godfather, Brian Tyler’s Charlie’s Angels,  Spike Lee’s film with Oscar Nominated score Da 5 Bloods by Terence Blanchard,  Daniel Pemberton’s Marvel film Birds of Prey, and Jermaine Stegall’s score for Coming 2 America.

Recently, she was brought on board to work with neo-classical label Erased Tapes where she is featured on Ben Lukas Boysen’s album Spells with Nils Frahm. She is also featured throughout Bonobo’s 2022 record Fragments. Lara has also recorded and performed live with Anderson. Paak, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Ariana Grande, H.E.R. John Legend, Camila Cabello, Kelly Clarkson, Bazzi, Ashanti, Kiana Ledé, Madison Beer, Melanie Martinez, We Are King, Billy Idol, Josh Groban, Sarah Brightman, and with Rufus Wainwright on Guy Chambers’ "Secrets of a Pop Song" on BBC.

Lara’s latest album désert is in collaboration with Jean-Michel Blais, it emerged from a serendipitous encounter amidst the serene expanse of Joshua Tree and was recorded at Lara's studio there. Melodies from their respective instruments (harp & piano) synchronise seamlessly & are reflective of their intuitive musical connection & the true essence of the moment.