Catrin Finch

Welsh harpist Catrin Finch is a native of Llanon, a village in Ceredigion, Wales. She took up the harp at six, and became a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain at ten. She studied with Elinor Bennett, and she attended London’s Purcell School of Music, where she worked with Skaila Kanga. Finch has won a number of harp competitions, such as the Nansi Richards Harp Scholarship Competition, the National Eisteddfod of Wales, and the Lily Laskine Harp Competition. She won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in 2000, which led to her debut at Wigmore Hall. Finch was made the Official Harpist to the Prince of Wales, a position she held until 2004. She is the recipient of several honorary fellowships, and teaches at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and the Royal Academy of Music. In addition to performing, Finch also composes and arranges music for harp, and she has collaborated with composer Karl Jenkins on several recordings. Finch has released CDs on Sony, Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, and other labels. ~ Blair Sanderson