A WORLD-RENOWNED harpist and composer has been named as the new artistic director of Musicfest Aberystwyth.
The festival board has announced that Catrin Finch, the international superstar and former Royal harpist from Llanon will step in to her new role in August.
When present director, David Campbell, expressed his wish to retire this year after more than 20 years of dedicated and inspiring leadership, the board knew this would be a hard role to fill. Musicfest needed a top-flight musician with a high profile, a wide-range of contacts in the musical world, and thorough commitment. With perfect timing, Catrin was looking for a new challenge, and is pleased to be have the chance to lead, and develop, a prominent festival in her home county.
Catrin has delighted audiences with her performances in the UK and worldwide for several decades. Inspired to learn the harp at the age of five, her rise to prominence started almost immediately when she achieved the highest mark in the UK for her Grade Eight exam at the age of nine.
She is the former Royal Harpist to HRH the Prince of Wales. Holding the appointment from 2000–2004, she had the honour of reviving the ancient tradition that had previously been held in 1873.
In May 2004 she was nominated for a Classical Brit Award. She has also received an Echo Klassik in Germany.
She has performed extensively throughout the US, the Middle East, Asia and Europe, and appeared with many of the world’s top orchestras including the Boston Pops, the New York Philharmonic, the Philharmonia, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields at the Barbican’s Mostly Mozart Festival, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, London Mozart Players, the English Chamber Orchestra, the Charlotte Symphony, the Lake Charles Symphony, the North Carolina Symphony and the Manchester Camerata.
She 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 and Julian Lloyd Webber.
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. She has received honours from the University of Wales and Bangor, the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and the Royal Academy of Music.
Catrin said: “I was looking for a way to give back to Ceredigion, which nurtured my musical life, and set me on my career. This was the perfect opportunity.
“I am looking forward to getting down to work on the 2023 festival in the next months. I hope to be able to take Musicfest out to other parts of the county, and I look forward to seeing how we can cooperate with the County Music Service.”
This year’s final Musicfest, on 30 July, will feature David and Catrin, and is sure to be an emotional occasion.
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