Dream comes true for young cellist Elin at Bryn Seiont Newydd

Elin Taylor, 22, duetted with the former royal harpist during a concert for residents

A dream came true for a talented young cellist from Anglesey when she had the opportunity to perform with world renowned harpist Catrin Finch.

Elin Taylor, 22, duetted with the former royal harpist during a concert for residents, relatives and staff at Pendine Park’s Bryn Seiont Newydd care home in Caernarfon thanks to a project backed by Arts & Business Cymru.

Ms Finch, who was the official harpist to His Highness the Prince of Wales between 2000 and 2004, was in the area to star at the Wales Harp Festival at Galeri.

She fulfilled her promise to play at the festival after having to pull out last year because she was recovering from breast cancer.

The concert at Bryn Seiont Newydd came about as the result of a partnership between the Pendine Park Arts and Community Trust Canolfan Gerdd William Mathias (the William Mathias Music Centre) in Caernarfon which was made possible by funding from Arts & Business Cymru via their CultureStep programme.

It was the culmination of a series of 15 concerts at Pendine Park’s care homes in Wrexham and Caernarfon and at other venues in the community.

Elin Taylor, whose talent was nurtured at Canolfan Gerdd William Mathias, has just graduated from Cardiff University with a First Class degree in Music and a distinction at Masters level and was delighted to perform alongside Catrin Finch at Bryn Seiont Newydd.

"I really enjoy community projects such as CultureStep. Playing in a care home environment is really intimate and interesting and playing alongside Catrin Finch is a dream come true." said Elin who was brought up in Tregarth, near Bangor but now lives in Rhostrehwfa.

"It’s really clear residents were enthralled with the music and absolutely loved the short concert. Taking music into the community is something I always enjoy."

It was a sentiment echoed by Catrin Finch who said: "The project has run alongside the Wales Harp Festival and it’s great to see."

"It’s always lovely to play in somewhere such as Bryn Seiont Newydd. Not many care homes have a dedicated music room or a musician in residence."

"I enjoyed the intimacy, few if any of the residents will have had the opportunity to attend the Wales Harp Festival to listen to my concert so it’s been something special to bring the music to them."