The woman who convinced King Charles to reinstate the position of royal harpist after a century-long gap is aiming to inspire a new generation to play the instrument.
Renowned harpist Elinor Bennett is going on a 12-stop Wales-wide tour, The Dwylo ar Dannau'r Delyn (Hands on Harp Strings) and will be joining forces with former royal harpist Claire Jones, who hails from Crymych.
The concerts, masterclasses and workshops will take Elinor, who is the Artistic Director of the Wales International Harp Festival, to places where she has close personal connections.
These will include her appearance at Ysgol Preseli in Crymych where she will be joined by Claire Jones.
Claire was King Charles’ official royal harpist between 2007 and 2011 and played for the royal wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as well as on 180 separate occasions for the Royal Family.
The tour, which follows a launch concert for the festival at Bangor University's PJ Hall, will feature some her former students and colleagues.
As well as re-igniting interest in harp music, the aim is to promote the fifth Wales International Harp Festival which will be staged at Galeri Caernarfon from April 5-11 2023.
Elinor will be inviting harpists to take part in four competitions at the festival, with the aim of giving children and older harpists a platform to perform, receive comments from internationally esteemed harpists and make friends with young musicians from other parts of the world. The closing date for applications for the competitions is January 2, 2023.
Tickets for the tour are available online at www.walesharpfestival.co.uk and some local shops but will also be available on the door. When Elinor started learning to play the harp in 1954 there were very few harpists around.
Born at Llanidloes in the former county of Montgomeryshire, her family later moved to Llanuwchllyn near Bala in Merionethshire.
Her father bought her first harp when she was just seven years of age though she did not begin lessons for another four years as her legs were not long enough to reach the pedals.
Further details about the tour, the festival and the competitions are available on the Festival website www.walesharpfestival.co.uk
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