The Performing Arts Center will present Welsh triple harpist Robin Huw Bowen (above) on April 20 at 8 p.m. in Hodgson Concert Hall. Bowen is recognized internationally as the leading exponent of the Welsh national instrument and ranks among the most important figures that Welsh traditional music has produced.
The concert was originally scheduled for Ramsey Concert Hall but has been moved to the larger hall to accommodate ticket demand. Tickets are $15 and $20 (half price for UGA students with valid ID). Discount tickets are available for groups.
Of the few harpists worldwide who can play the triple harp, Bowen is the foremost professional now specializing solely in this particular field. At the Machynlleth Festival 2000, he was awarded the Glyndwr Award for “outstanding contribution to the arts in Wales.” In 2002 he received the BAFTA Cymru Award—the Welsh equivalent of the Oscar—in the best original music category for Eldra, a film about Welsh Gypsies.
Bowen comes from a Welsh-speaking family based in Anglesey in the North of Wales. In 1979 he received a degree in Welsh language and literature from the University College of Aberystwyth, Mid-Wales, and the following year began his pursuit of the Welsh triple harp while employed at the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth. He researched the music and techniques of the old Welsh harpers by studying many of their manuscripts and publications. He also was able to learn tunes and techniques from several elderly harpists who shared with him the musical heritage that had been in their own families for generations, thus enabling him to carry on an unbroken musical tradition.
Bowen has performed for British royalty and has toured throughout North America, Europe, Australia and the Far East.