In two words...beautifully exhilarating. At the age of only 20 years she was named Royal Harpist to HRH The Prince of Wales (Prince Charles..).  This is title is one that had not been given out since 1871. 

If the English were waiting until the arrival of this talented lass, they chose well.  Catrn Finch does an outstanding job of using the harp to entertain us all with the beauty and charm of both the instrument but also the love of music as a side dish.  Her harp is both modern in its' design and its' sound.  Prince Charles did something right and she should keep that title for life.  Please bring us more Ms. Finch.

Named Royal Harpist to HRH The Prince of Wales At The Age of 20,
Finch Joins Composer/Arranger Karl Jenkins (Adiemus, 'Diamond Music') In Creating An Inventive New Sound For The Harp On Recording
(New York, NY, June 23, 2003) - The young Welsh virtuoso Catrin Finch brings a dazzling new dimension to the traditional sound of the harp on Crossing the Stone, her first recording for Sony Classical.

Composer/arranger Karl Jenkins - the man behind the international hits "Adiemus" and "Palladio" (known in the U.S as "Diamond Music") - has created original works and imaginative new arrangements of classical, pop
and folk favorites for the new recording. Crossing the Stone will be released this fall.

Finch's career as a classical harpist was already hitting its stride when, at the age of 20, she was tapped for a Royal Appointment as harpist to HRH The Prince of Wales, a position last granted in 1871 and revived by
Prince Charles in the year 2000. One of the products of the appointment was the Prince's commissioning of a double harp concerto for Finch by Karl Jenkins. The concerto, entitled Over the Stone, uses the Welsh folk
song "Tros y garreg," which translates as "Crossing the Stone." The new recording features the fourth movement of the concerto, which Finch premiered in 2002 with her longtime teacher, mentor and future
mother-in-law Elinor Bennet as the other soloist.

The eclectic mix of pieces on Crossing the Stone ranges from Dave Grusin's sprightly "Mountain Dance," Pat Metheny's "James" and Chick Corea's "Spain" to the Bach/Gounod "Ave Maria" - in an ethereal treatment that features countertenor Terrance Barber - Astor Piazzolla's tango "Buenos Aires Hora Cero," the third movement from Steve Reich's Electric Counterpoint, the gentle Welsh lullaby "Suo Gan," and a highly original arrangement of "Claire de lune" by Finch's favorite composer, Claude Debussy.

Crossing the Stone also features several pieces by Karl Jenkins, including a new dance mix (arranged by Jody K. Jenkins, the composer's son) of the first movement of "Palladio," which became an international hit as
"Diamond Music," the theme of the DeBeers Diamond TV ad campaign.
Catrin Finch will tour the U.S. in November under the auspices of Young Concert Artists.
 

Her engagements include recitals at
Boise State University in Boise ID (November 8); 
Iowa State College (November 10-14); 
Spivey Hall in Clayton GA (November 16); 
Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C. (November 19); 
and the Port
Washington Library in Port Washington, NY,
on Long Island (November 22).

Crossing the Stone will be featured on Sony Classical's Web site at www.sonyclassical.com.

The harp may be the oldest of all instruments, but in the hands of Catrin Finch it sounds as vital, as fresh and as energetic as ... Catrin Finch herself. At 23, she is already one of the finest classical harpists in the world, but that only begins to describe her unique and dazzling artistry. For Crossing the Stone, her debut recording on the Sony Classical label, the Welsh-born Finch is joined by composer and arranger Karl Jenkins - the
creator of the international hits "Adiemus" and "Palladio," popularly known as "Diamond Music" - who has produced a highly original new recording that features the young virtuoso in new works and imaginative
arrangements of popular and folk classics. The recording will be released on Tuesday, August 12, 2003.

"The harp has a kind of archaic image - almost 'stuck in time' - and I'm keen to push it forward," Catrin Finch says.

"The record has a rich mix of material - some original pieces written by Karl, some Pat Matheny, Dave Grusin, Steve Reich, all adapted for the harp, and some traditional Welsh pieces," she says. "We worked closely
together on the recording of the arrangements to interpret the music in a new and exciting way. There's one really way-out track - Karl's 'Palladio,' which Jody K. Jenkins has completely turned around so that it's now a
dance track. There are also classical tunes. Karl was careful not to rewrite them, but adapted and arranged the pieces while retaining the integrity of the original music. The track for Debussy's 'Clair de lune,' for instance, sounds like someone skimming through French radio and coming upon the piece. I like the way we haven't actually touched the music, but changed the way in which it's presented."

As if her virtuosity were not enough, Finch has another distinction that makes her unique among harpists. She holds the Royal Appointment as Harpist to HRH The Prince of Wales, a position last granted in 1871 and
revived by Prince Charles. This historic appointment followed her performance at Prince Charles's 50th birthday celebration, when he heard Finch play for the first time and was introduced to her.

In addition to extensive solo classical concert activities in Europe and the U.S., Finch has developed a working partnership with Karl Jenkins, playing the first performances of his Adiemus 4 - The Eternal Knot. The Prince of Wales' desire to commission a harp concerto for Finch resulted in a work by Jenkins entitled Over The Stone, a double harp concerto she premiered with her first teacher Elinor Bennett, in the presence of the
Prince, on March 1, 2002 - St. David's Day (honoring the patron saint of Wales) - in concert with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in St. David's Hall in Cardiff. For the new recording, Jenkins has created an
adaptation of music from the double concerto based on the Welsh folk melody "Tros y Garreg" (Over the Stone).

Catrin Finch was born in Wales in 1980. Since the harp is the national instrument of Wales, it might seem her destiny. Almost from birth she showed an interest in music, and when she was five her parents took her to
hear a harp recital by the legendary Marisa Robles. Much of her early inspiration also came from Elinor Bennett, with whom she began to study at age eight. Then began eight long years of regular fortnightly, four-
hour round trips to Caernarvon for lessons. This ended only when, at the age of 16, Finch moved to the Purcell School in London to study with Skaila Kanga, with whom she is continuing her studies at the Royal
Academy of Music.

"Growing up in Wales, there's a lot of traditional music," Finch says. " When I first went to primary school, we learned all the folk songs in assemblies. It's a singing culture, a big musical culture, and, of course, that's been An imprint of Sony Classical the basis of my training. But I've never specialized in the folk element. People like to hear it, and I like to play it every now and then. There's not been a great deal of really great classical music written especially for the harp, though there is a lot of good 20th-centu^y music - beginning with Debussy and Ravel - and more music
being written today."

Though the harp is best known visually as a gilded, richly carved instrument, Catrin Finch prefers to play a plain black modern harp. (Because of all their moving parts, harps have relatively brief life spans - "the newer, the better," she says.) "It's always been difficult for the harp to find its place as a solo instrument, and only recently - in the last 20 years, really - has there been a place for it on the recital stage," Finch adds. "Then, too, harps have been greatly improved, technically. They're much stronger, much better instruments, much more capable of doing really remarkable things."

In addition to her concert work, Finch has performed extensively on British and international radio and TV. Her many accolades include, most recently, first prize at the Lily Laskine International Harp Competition in
France, one of the world's most prestigious harp competitions. The prize included a new harp as well as numerous solo engagements throughout Europe and the Middle East.

Finch's orchestral experience includes six years as principal harp in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain from 1990-1996. She was the youngest member of the orchestra to perform at a BBC Promenade
Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, when aged 10. In March 2000 Catrin Finch made her London debut recital at the Wigmore Hall, to great acclaim. Earlier that year she was awarded the Young Concert Artists prize in New York, which included three years of representation in the United States and worldwide. As part of this prize she also made acclaimed recital debuts in New York (at the 92nd Street Y), Boston and Washington. In addition to two U.S. tours. Finch has recently played recitals in Latvia, Germany, France and The Netherlands.

"I've never really been stuffy about classical music," Catrin Finch says. "I've always been a big fan of pop music - I love to go dancing. I'm open to everything. To be an overall musician in the 21st century, you have
to be open to all kinds of music. Especially today, because 21 "'-century music /'s pop music. I've always been keen to play music that is in keeping with what people hear every day."