World Harp Competition
Final Results
The winners of the 2022 World Harp Competition are:
1st prize – Juanjo Corbalán
2nd prize & audience award – Julie Rokseth
3rd prize – Maria Sá Silva
Announcing the competition jury
Principal harpist of the Czech Philharmonic, Jana Boušková won gold medal at the USA International Harp Competition in 1992.
Distinguished Japanese-Dutch harpist Masumi Nagasawa, specializes in 18th and 19th-century harp practice.
World class Israeli cellist and founder of ConcertLab in Utrecht, Gavriel Lipkind, serves as chairman of the jury this year.
Breton harpist Nikolaz Cadoret gives a fresh sound to traditional Celtic music. His group Descofar will perform at the festival.
Romanian accordion player Vasile Nedea is also a master of the hammered dulcimer.
Ukrainian singer and bandurist, Maryna Krut, is featured in the opening concert of the festival
First female master of the Rwandan traditional inanga, Sophie Nzayisenga can also be heard at the festival.
Quarterfinals
The second of four competition rounds, normally held as regional rounds in Hong Kong, New York, and the Netherlands, took place on Feb 13th as an online video round, due to continuing pandemic restrictions. The full show is still available on our YouTube channel and can be seen here.
Visit the program page to see the full line-up of performers and a description of the programs they presented.
Scouting Jury
French harpist Isabelle Perrin currently serves as artistic director of the World Harp Congress as well as professor of harp at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo.
As classical music programmer at The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Mirjam Wijzenbeek is perfectly positioned to spot promising talent for the international stage.
Breton Celtic harpist/singer/composer Tristan Le Govic merges traditional Celtic tunes and original compositions into a unique contemporary style.
First Prize in 2021 Awarded to Uno Vesje of Norway!
Following a rigorous application round, candidates representing every corner of the world were invited to pitch their original program ideas to the Scouting Jury at the Regional Rounds of the competition, in February 2020. From an original pool of twenty-eight candidates, five finalists were then selected to perform at the Dutch Harp Festival, on May 15th and 16th, 2021. We’re pleased to announce that the winners of the 2020-2021 DHF World Harp Competition are:
First Prize | Uno Alexander Vesje, Norway
Uno Alexander Vesje is a Norwegian harpist and composer. His original composition Our Planet, Our Future is a six movement solo piece for acoustic pedal harp and electronic elements designed to call attention to the environmental crisis. [Read more]
Second Prize & Audience Award | Romy Wymer, Netherlands
Romy Wymer is a Glasgow-based lever harp player and composer originally from the Netherlands. Her program Lore is a lever harp performance about connection and belonging. [Read more]
Third Prize | Grace Roepke, USA
Grace Roepke is currently pursuing her master’s degree in harp performance at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Her program State of Mind explores the communication of emotions and psychological experiences through the harp. [Read more]
Fourth Prize | Tara Minton, Australia
Tara Minton is an Australian born harpist, vocalist and composer. Her program If It’s Magic is a love letter to jazz, touring and the beautiful musician’s life she’s been missing these past 12 months. [Read more]
The jury
Jury members of the DHF World Harp Competition are invited for their musical eminence, technical expertise, and diverse perspectives. In 2020, the scouting jury traveled to Utrecht and New York City (and listened remotely in Hong Kong) to hear candidates pitch their programs in the Regional Rounds. The competition finals were then postponed by one year and held during the 2021 online edition of the Dutch Harp Festival. Despite the unique circumstances of this year’s competition, the adjudication continues to be held to top-class standards of fairness and transparency. This year’s jury members are:
Competition Jury
Ties Mellema, Netherlands [Chairman]
Stephan Fitzpatrick, UK
Corrina Hewat, UK
Gavriël Lipkind, Israel
Caroline Lizotte, Canada
Claron McFadden, USA
Jeroen van Vliet, Netherlands
Scouting Jury
Nikolaz Cadoret, France
Guy van Hulst, Netherlands
Ann Yeung, USA
Prizes
First Prize | €5.000 and the personally tailored CCC (Care, Coaching & Career) Development Program
Second Prize | €2.500
Third Prize | €1.500
Audience Award | €1.500 and a complimentary subscription to Harp Column magazine
The Competition
Over three rounds, candidates of the World Harp Competition compete to win the hearts of the jury and ultimately the grand prize. The competition began with a recorded Preliminary Round, followed by the live Regional Rounds, and culminating in the Finals at the Dutch Harp Festival. During the Regional Rounds, the Scouting Jury travels from Utrecht to Hong Kong and New York to hear creative program pitches from the world’s most promising young harpists. A select number of candidates are then invited to present their complete original programs at the Dutch Harp Festival. Watch our video coverage of the 2018 Regional Rounds to see how the World Harp Competition is making a bold break from tradition.
Read the FAQ
Past Winners
2020/2021
1st Prize | Uno Alexander Vesje, Norway
2nd Prize | Romy Wymer, The Netherlands
3rd Prize | Grace Roepke, USA
4th Prize | Tara Minton, Australia
Audience award | Romy Wymer, The Netherlands
Competition Jury | Ties Mellema [Chair], Stephan Fitzpatrick, Corrina Hewat, Gavriël Lipkind, Caroline Lizotte, Claron McFadden, Jeroen van Vliet
Scouting Jury | Nikolaz Cadoret, Guy van Hulst, Ann Yeung
2018
1st Prize | César Secundino, Mexico
2nd Prize | Alice Belugou, France/Switzerland
3rd Prize | Aimee Hang Yu Lam, Hong Kong
Audience award | César Secundino, Mexico
Jury | Neil Wallace [Chair], Amandine Carbuccia, Edmar Castañeda, Niladri Kumar, Harold Lopez-Nussa, Dominic Seldis, Erika Waardenburg
Scouting Jury | Remy van Kesteren, Maeve Gilchrist, Robert Paterson
2016
1st Prize | Emmanuel Padilla Holguín, Mexico
2nd Prize | Jean-Baptiste Haye, France
3rd Prize | Giulia Ott, Switzerland
Audience award | Emmanuel Padilla Holguín, Mexico
Jury | Biëlla Luttmer [Chair], Pieter Alferink, Bernadeta Astari, Peter van der Heyden, Skaila Kanga, Miriam Overlach, Anna Verkholantseva
2014
1st Prize | Juliana Myslov, UK
2nd Prize | Markus Thalheimer, Germany
3rd Prize | Shiho Minami, Japan
Audience award | Juliana Myslov, UK
Jury | Guido van Oorschot [Chair], Nino Gvetadze, Ramon Lormans, Sivan Magen, Isabelle Moretti, Gwyneth Wentink, Mikhail Zemtsov
2012
1st Prize | Amandine Carbuccia, France
2nd Prize | Sarah Verrue, Belgium
3rd Prize | Ruth Bennett, UK/USA
Audience award | Amandine Carbuccia, France
Festival Classique Originality Award | Anna Steinkochler, Austria
Jury | Bart van Oort [Chair], Sandrine Chatron, Henny Diemer, Igor Roma, Anton Sie, Naoko Yoshino, Mikhail Zemtsov
2010
1st Prize | Noël Wan, USA
2nd Prize | Rino Kageyama, Japan
3rd Prize | Eleanor Turner, UK
Audience award | Noël Wan, USA
Jury | Bart van Oort [Chair], Ken Hakii, Eeva Koskinen, Anne-Marie O’Farrell, Sivan Magen, Carlos Micháns, Gwyneth Wentink, Edward Witsenburg, Jaap Zwart
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