The harp is arguably the oldest instrument, originating from the bow and arrow. But until the last century, it hasn’t been visibly recognized as a solo instrument. Harpist Catrin Finch is dedicated to bringing the harp out of the archaic and into the contemporary music world.

“I think the harp has been stuck in time — only really in the past 40 to 50 years has it started to be regarded as a solo instrument,” Finch says. “People come to concerts who have never even heard or seen it before.”

Finch is in Ames this week, performing several mini-recitals and presentations around the community in addition to a recital at Martha-Ellen Tye Recital Hall Thursday.

Finch holds her nationality close to her heart.

“I’m a Welsh girl,” Finch says. “Harp is the national instrument of Wales — everyone in Wales is a harpist.”

In other parts of the world, the harp is not such a prevalent instrument, something Finch is working to change.

“When you really want to do something, you have to put all your effort into it,” Finch told a wide-eyed class of fifth-grade students Wednesday morning at Kate Mitchell Elementary School, 3521 Jewel Dr.

Finch has put all of her effort into playing and promoting the image of the harp. At 23, she has already won several international competitions. She has also been the harpist for His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales since the position was reinstated in 2000 after a 130—year dormancy.

Finch began playing the harp when she was six, after attending a harp concert.

“Kids were [admitted] free; I have an older brother and sister, so my parents decided they’d save on paying for a baby-sitter and take us to the harp concert,” Finch says. “Much to their dismay, I decided that I wanted to play. So, for my sixth birthday, they got me a little harp.”

Finch says the decision to pursue a career as a harpist came naturally. She was playing abroad by the age of 10, including a performance at the World Harp Congress in Paris.

She says she believes the time is right and the public is ready to get to know the harp in a new light. The quality and engineering of the instrument has improved significantly over the past century, she says, allowing harpists to play at a level previously impossible.

“We, as harpists, have got everything in our favor, really. It’s the modern age; people are more open to ideas, they are willing to listen for the first time,” Finch says. “The general public gets bored with things really quick these days. If you can offer something new that they haven’t heard before, then that’s quite exciting.”

Finch is not only working to bring the harp into wider recognition, she is also crossing into genres previously nearly devoid of harps. She considers her latest album, ‘Crossing the Stone,’ a crossover album to new styles.

“I go through stages,” Finch says. “The “Crossing the Stone” album was something I’d wanted to do for years.” The album includes several classical pieces recorded in non-traditional ways.

“We changed the accompaniment; we played something else on top of it,” Finch says. “On ‘Queen of Sheba,’ we put a rhythm under it. I don’t like the idea of changing classical music, but I think presenting it in a new way can be a good thing.”

Harpist Andrew Teply, sophomore in music, agrees new ideas can produce more effective performances. “I think with any type of music, even classical, you need new ideas to get new sounds or just to get what you actually feel across to the audience,” Teply says.

Repertoire is especially limited for the harp, Finch says, so much music is borrowed from the piano. She says she believes some piano pieces were always intended for harp, which she explained to an audience at Green Hills Retirement Center, 2200 Hamilton Dr., Tuesday.

“I think “Clair de Lune” was always intended for harp, although Debussy wrote it for piano,” Finch says. “It is so suited for harp.”

During her appearances in Ames, she has interwoven mini-recitals with information about the harp.

Finch was met with excitement and curiosity around Ames this week. The Mitchell school fifth-graders were attentive, asking questions about everything from her shoes to what it’s like to play for Prince Charles.

High school and college-age harp students at her master class took turns playing and taking notes on her advice.

“I was actually quite impressed with her ideas and her techniques and how she musically thought of everything,” Teply says.

While she is just going with the flow right now, Finch says she does have some ideas in mind.

“I really want to do a harp and big band album one day,” Finch says. “I love the whole jazz big band thing. If I could have the chance to do it, that would be fab.”

Despite all of her musical ventures, classical music will remain her core. Finch says she can’t imagine ever not playing classical music at all.

“However, as a musician, you can play anything,” Finch says. “So why not, really.”

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Who: Catrin Finch

Where: Martha Ellen Tye Recital Hall

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday

Cost: $5 students,$10 public