Catrin Finch
Catrin Anna Finch (* 1980 in Llanon in Ceredigion ) is a Welsh harpist , composer and arranger.
life and career
Finch learned the harp from the age of five (after hearing the Spanish harpist Marisa Robles ) and was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain from the age of ten and performed with him at the Proms . From an early age she studied the Celtic harp with the leading Welsh harpist Elinor Bennett (* 1943). In 1991 she won first prize in the youth section at the World Harp Festival and in 1994 a second prize in the adult section. From 1996 she studied with Skaila Kanga at the Purcell School and from 1998 at the Royal Academy of Music. In 2000 she won the Young Concert Artists International Competition in New York City and was the Official Harpist of the Prince of Wales from 2000 to 2004 , a title that had not been awarded since 1873. She had previously played at Prince Charles 's 50th birthday celebrations .
She plays both classically (for example, in 2009 she recorded a CD with the Goldberg Variations by Johann Sebastian Bach for harp for Deutsche Grammophon, the first such transcription and recording) and as a crossover musician.
Catrin Finch gives concerts around the world and has released several albums under his own name, including The Harpist in 2002 (from her USA tour) and Crossing the Stone (Sony, with the Prague Philharmonic and compositions by Karl Jenkins) in 2003 . She also arranges for big bands and released the album String Theory with her big band CF 47 . She also performed with her big band at the 2007 Brecon Jazz Festival .
She also recorded with John Rutter (Blessing, Deutsche Grammophon 2012, also with her own composition Celtic Concerto ) and with the cellist Julian Lloyd Webber (Unexpected Songs 2006).
Catrin Finch is visiting professor at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama (of which she became an Honorary Fellow in 2005) and at the Royal Academy of Music. In 2006 she became an Honorary Fellow of the University of Wales. In 2004 she was nominated for the Classical Brit Award. In 2009 a Catrin Finch Center was opened at Glyndwr University in Wrexham .
She has been married to Hywel Wigley, son of Elinor Bennett and Dafydd Wigley , since 2003 and has two daughters. She and her husband started a recording studio (and venue) in a converted church in Cardiff, Acapela.
BBC Wales made the documentary Charlie's Angel about her .
Web links
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Finch, Catrin |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Finch, Catrin Anna |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British harpist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1980 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Llanon |