The Wales International Harp Festival 2023
Galeri, Caernarfon
5 – 11 April, 2023
An introduction to the 2023 Wales International Harp Festival by the Artistic Director, Elinor Bennett:
The Fifth Wales International Harp Festival, which will be held in Galeri Caernarfon from 5th – 11th April 2023, will be a golden opportunity for people to come together to be inspired by the music of the harp from many cultures.
I look forward enormously to hearing performances in concerts, recitals, and competitions, and sharing the musical traditions of the harp in Wales and other Celtic countries, with harpists from Colombia, USA and Gambia!
Music can transcend geographical borders and military conflicts and can strengthen friendships with people in other lands. There will be a warm welcome awaiting all visitors to Caernarfon next Easter when the thrilling sounds of dozens of harps will resonate through the spaces of Galeri Arts Centre, after the silence and nervousness of the Covid pandemic.
As this will be my last Festival as Artistic Director, I have chosen music that has given me great pleasure in the past and reflects the path of my career from the folk music of my early days to the classics of the harp repertoire and new works.
There will be many concerts by some of the world’s leading harpists, four competitions, several masterclasses, and plenty of workshops ranging from classes for beginners, sessions for young children and an introductory class for disabled people to play the harp.
An innovation will be the series of interviews and talks that I will record before the Festival with distinguished harpists from several countries (who cannot travel to Caernarfon) leading up to the Festival itself. This will enable us to learn more about the story of the harp and the lives and work of great harpists in other parts of the world.
We thank all of our sponsors – without whose support this Festival would not be possible.
Festival Concerts:
