Featured Performers:
Catrin Finch, Harpist

Catrin is a phenomenal musician who is doing more than anyone else so far to put the harp on the musical map. Her rise to prominence started almost as soon as she plucked her first strings. After being inspired at the age of five she has been delighting audiences worldwide.

Her first major international prize came in 1999 when she won the Lily Laskine International Harp Competition in France – one of the premier harp competitions in the world. Following that, she was a winner of the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York, and as a result has now played in over thirty states in the USA, including recitals and concertos debuts in New York, Boston, and Washington DC.

In May 2004 she was nominated for a Classical Brit Award and performed on the ITV ceremony with Bryn Terfel. She also won an Echo Klassik award in Germany.

Catrin is the former Royal Harpist to the HRH. the Prince of Wales. She had the honour of reviving this ancient tradition last held in 1873 and held the appointment from 2000-2004. During those years she gave many performances at the Royal Palaces and to Royalty from around the world.

She has performed extensively throughout the USA, the Middle East, Asia and Europe. Notable events in 2004/05 season included an appearance with the Boston Pops, performances with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields at the Barbican's Mostly Mozart Festival, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Welsh Proms, a recital for Radio France and concerto appearances with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the London Mozart Players and Sir James Galway, the Philharmonia, the Charlotte Symphony and the Lake Charles Symphony.

The 05/06 season highlights include a recital at the Weill Recital Hall in New York, a concerto debut at the Lincoln Centre for the Mostly Mozart Festival, a performance at the MDR Musiksommer Festival in Leipzig, concertos with the Manchester Camerata, North Carolina Symphony, the London Mozart Players and the English Chamber Orchestra, performances at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff, plus an appearance at the Edinburgh Festival. She also looked forward to her first performances at the Salzburg Festival, June 2006, and in South America in January 2007.

Catrin's career is now expanding into television. Amongst her earliest appearances on TV were two features on BBC's Blue Peter and many Welsh TV appearances. Since then she has appeared on all the major television and radio networks in the UK and many abroad, and has added presenting her own programme to her extensive performance appearances.

She has collaborated closely with Karl Jenkins, including the premier of a new double harp concerto commissioned by the Prince of Wales and is also currently working on new works for the harp with John Rutter and Howard Goodall.

Catrin has recorded for most of the major international recording companies, including Universal Records, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI and Sony Classical, both solo and with notable artists such as Bryn Terfel, Sir James Galway, Julian Lloyd-Webber and Katherine Jenkins. Her versatility in different musical genres is demonstrated in her many recordings, which range from solo classical recitals and concertos, through to an eclectic cross-over mix and her own 14 piece band CF47.

Catrin's work within the community and with the younger generation is renowned. She is committed to introducing, not only the harp, but also classical music in general, to younger people around the world.

Catrin performs Pavane by Faure in How Music Works.

< Back: Nicola Benedetti

Next: Clifford Bevan >