Harpist Catrin Finch will top the bill at the opening concert for this year’s Meirionnydd Urdd National Eisteddfod on 25 May 2014. Performing on the Festival maes in Bala on the Sunday evening concert and returning to the stage at the Urdd, the renowned Welsh harpist is a huge name worldwide pushing the boundaries by offering a modern twist to our traditional Welsh instrument.
From 26 – 31 May 2014, the Urdd National Eisteddfod, one of Europe’s largest youth touring festivals will offer children and young people creative opportunities and performance competitions on and off the stage at the Rhiwlas estate Maes in Bala.
Catrin, a former Urdd member herself, was born in Llannon, Ceredigion and began playing the harp at a very young age. She is, an ambassador to all the 15,000 young people who will be competing at the Urdd Eisteddfod during Whitsun week.
Her rise to prominence started when she was nine years old achieving the highest mark in the UK for her Grade 8 exam. She studied with Elinor Bennett, her now mother-in-law,,for eight years before attending the Purcell School. Catrin graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in 2002. Her accolades are too long to list, but she has been awarded numerous prizes in the UK and overseas for her stunning performances, concerts and events.
By 2009, Catrin was acknowledged as one of the leading harpists worldwide, and she has travelled the world extensively performing. She has recorded for most of the major international recording companies, including Universal Records, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI and Sony Classical, as a soloist and also with notable artists such as Bryn Terfel, Sir James Galway and Julian Lloyd-Webber.
She is a visiting Professor at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and the Royal Academy of Music and is in great demand for masterclasses. In the last few years Catrin has created the Catrin Finch Academy Summer School near her home in Cardiff to promote the harp and classical music to a younger generation. A married mother of two, she is sure to wow the crowds at the opening concert.
Aled Siôn, Urdd Eisteddfod Director said: “It is an honour to attract a big name such as Catrin Finch to our opening concert in Meirionnydd. She is an example of the success each and every talented youngster competing at the Urdd could achieve. It will be an entertaining evening full of beautiful harp melodies, a variety of voices and the fun and vitality of dancers from across Wales. The whole region looks forward to welcoming visitors to Meirionnydd.”
Joining the bill will be the local boy, Bala’s Luke McColl. Currently studying for a post-graduate degree in in Musical Theatre at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Luke has just been announced the 2014 Principality Building Society Welsh Musical Theatre Young Singer Of The Year. He was also fortunate to be the first male student to win The Andrew Lloyd Webber Scholarship Trust this year. He is a well-known voice and face on our TV screens having appeared on S4C’s Noson Lawen and is an old hand at the eisteddfod competitions. With his talent and his velvet voice there will be a warm welcome for the local boy on the concert stage.
Another of Meirionnydd’s home-grown stars sharing the stage at Sunday’s opening concert will be the singer-songwriter from Tanygrisiau near Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gai Toms. He is a former member of the successful band, Anweledig, who sang about the rain in Blaena’, and was also the creator of ‘Mim Twm Llai’. Gai now plays with his band and experiments with all kinds of styles and genres. Often, his words develop the music style organically and his early work has brought him a reputation as ‘the next Meic Stevens’. Gai’s musical style ranges from Welsh ballads to Americana with a healthy mix of rock, pop and Latino grooves or Caribbean origins.
Two bands that are sure to draw the crowds to Bala on the 25th of May are well known Welsh bands, Jessop a’r Sgweiri and Swnami. The Jessops hail from Corwen and Bala and are still riding high following their overnight success, winning Cân i Gymru 2013. The band of six was formed in the summer of 2012.
Swnami was established back in 2011when the members were students at Coleg Meirion Dwyfor. They have performed on some of Wales’ biggest stages – Wakestock, Gŵyl Sŵn Festival, Maes B’s National Eisteddfod and Focus Wales and the group has had some great success with rock and pop music prizes. The songs from the band’s EP, ‘Du a Gwyn’ (Lit transl Black and White), is sure to captivate the audience in the Pavilion.
Ifan Jones Evans will be tasked with compering the evening, welcoming entertainer Eilir Jones, violinist Billy Thompson, dancers from Adran Amlwch and Coedpoeth plus talented solo dancer from Cardiff, Tom Felix-Richards to the stage. One person that is very comfortable on the Urdd stage is the winner of last year’s Urdd Gobaith Cymru Bryn Terfel Scholarship, Chloe Angharad Bradshaw who will also be starring on the night.
For tickets to any of the evening events or daily Eisteddfod tickets, visit www.urdd.org/en/eisteddfod/tickets or call the ticket hotline, 0845 257 1639.
