Catrin Finch working with a student in Argentina in 2015
The Patagonia Instrument Project is raising money to buy a 34–string Welsh Teifi harp for music students in the Chubut region of Patagonia. These students were visited by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in 2015 as part of a community residency celebrating the 150th anniversary of Y Wladfa, a Welsh settlement in the plains between the Andes Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean. While there, the orchestra members, along with harpist Catrin Finch and conductor Grant LLewelyn, worked with over 1000 children in 29 school and community workshops.
A 34–string Welsh Teifi harp
The Patagonia Instrument Project, which is based in the United Kingdom, was formed in 2016 in response to the lack of instruments available in these schools. Since its establishment, over £20,000 GBP of instruments and equipment have been sent to Argentina to help support teachers and schools, including violins, violas, and chairs to allow students to sit while they rehearse. The project hopes to raise £1,500 by December to purchase the Welsh harp for the Gaiman School of Music so they can expand the harp program to the local bilingual secondary school.
To learn more, visit www.patagonia-instrument-project.org.uk. To donate, click here.
