Catrin Finch
Biography
Born in Ceredigion, Catrin Finch's passion for the harp was ignited when she was given a Celtic Harp as a present for her sixth birthday. The young Catrin showed a prodigious talent for Wales' most ancient of instruments and spent the best part of her school years under the tutorship of the country's leading harpists.
By the time she was 10 years old she had joined the the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and she became the youngest member to play at a BBC Prom in London's Royal Albert Hall.
Music
In 2000, after a performance for Prince Charles at his 50th Birthday Party, she got a call from Buckingham Palace inviting her to become Royal Harpist to HRH the Prince of Wales - a post which had not been filled for over 130 years.
Catrin retired from her royal post in July 2004, but not before taking her harp across the world for live performances and in her extensive community work including a country-wide schools' tour and a trip to Bosnia with Warchild to play for children affected by the war in the early 1990s.
Together with Welsh composer Karl Jenkins, Catrin released her debut album 'Crossing the Stone' in 2003, an unusual mix of original compositions by Jenkins and arrangements of JS Bach, Pat Metheny and Steve Reich. It was in the Top 10 of the classical charts for several weeks.
Catrin Finch on Classic FM
Listen to Catrin Finch on the Classic FM Magazine show.
Discography
2009 - Goldberg Variations
2008 - Little Angels
2007 - String Theory
2006 - Catrin Finch Live
2005 - The Harpist
2004 - Crossing the Stone
2002 - Carnaval de Venise
2003 - From Coast to Coast
(Re-released in 2004 as 'The Harpist')
2001 - Catrin Finch Harp Recital
