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Catrin Finch

Since the start of her professional career at the close of the 20th century, harpist Catrin Finch has carved out a unique path among classical musicians. After a four-year appointment as the official harpist to the Prince of Wales -- a long-dormant royal position filled after more than a century of inactivity -- Finch has become an in-demand performer on-stage and on record, where she has adapted classical, contemporary, and even the traditional music of her homeland for her instrument.Finch's rise was meteoric: born in 1980 in the village of Llanon, Wales, she began learning her instrument at the age of six; at the age of 10, she joined the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, becoming one of the youngest musicians at the BBC Proms. Finch continued her studies through the rest of her adolescence, in private study with fellow Welsh harpist Ellinor Purcell, at the Purcell School for Young Musicians in Hertfordshire, and ultimately, the Royal Academy of Music in London, under the tutelage of Skaila Kanga.Finch's mainstream breakthrough -- already uncommon for a harpist -- came by way of royal decree. In 2000, Prince Charles, a known patron of the arts, sought to highlight the use of the harp, Wales' national instrument, and so revived the position of official harpist to the Prince of Wales, unfilled since Queen Victoria sat on England's throne in 1871. Her four-year tenure in the position led to considerable interest in her work, coalescing in a BBC documentary (Charlie's Angel) and an album for Sony Classical (2003's Crossing the Stone, featuring works by Bach, Handel, and Debussy as well as Chick Corea, Dave Grusin, and Steve Reich).As Finch's career went on, she continued to branch out in interesting ways. In 2006, she joined James Galway on My Magic Flute, an album of Mozart compositions recorded for the Deutsche Grammophon label; she returned to the label three years later with a striking adaptation of Bach's Goldberg Variations, translated from keyboard to harp. Other bold statements included String Theory, her 2007 album leading CF 47, a big-band/jazz ensemble on unique, harp-forward arrangements of pop standards from Irving Berlin (Puttin' on the Ritz), Erroll Garner (Misty), and Booker T. & The M.G.'s (Hang 'Em High).Her 2011 album Annwn tackled the traditional sounds of Wales, while 2013's Lullabies offered gentle small-group arrangements of classical and contemporary compositions from The Well-Tempered Clavier to Over the Rainbow. Finch earned praise for 2023's Double You, a collaboration with violinist Aoife Ni Bhriain that featured original compositions by both players. Among her most notable collaborators remains an ongoing team-up with kora player Seckou Keita on two albums (Clychau Dibon [2013], the mostly original Soar [2018]) and several live tours.
© Mike Duquette /TiVo

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Discography

26 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller

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