World Harp Competition
Coming again soon... in 2026!
Congratulations to the 2024 winners!
1st Prize: Kevin Le Pennec
2nd Prize: Amy Nam
3rd Prize: Ariel Sol
Audience Award: Kevin Le Pennec
Meet the Jury
Grammy-nominated jazz harpist Brandee Younger joins the jury from New York. She will also be performing with her band at the Dutch Harp Festival.
Music journalist for the Volkskrant and former chief editor for the musical publications Klassieke Zaken and Luister, Guido van Oorschot has a background in recorder and music science.
Welsh harpist Catrin Finch will serve as chair of this year’s jury. A brilliant classical harpist, with a term as Royal Harpist to the Prince of Wales, she has been forging new musical paths and collaborations, and will be appearing at this year’s festival in a duo with violinist Aoife Ní Bhriain.
Head of Apple Music Netherlands, Joost Neelemans has also worked for major record companies such as Sony Music and BMG for the last 25 years.
Cellist Maya Fridman is originally from Russia but now calls the Netherlands her home. Her solo performances and collaborations have made it to some of the biggest stages of Europe.
“Hip Harpist” Deborah Henson-Contant brings her perspective as a boundary-pushing, cross-genre, Grammy-nominated performer/composer to the jury. She’ll also be appearing at the festival, leading the largest harp orchestra.
Award-winning jazz and contemporary music pianist, composer and arranger Martin Fondse is a self-described “musical omnivore”. He also plays the vibrandoneon, the baroque version of the melodica.
Quarterfinal report
Following a preselection round and a creative filming challenge, 25 candidates made it to the Video Round of the 2024 World Harp Competition. The range of music and ideas these artists have to propose is truly incredible! Watch their presentations in the Video Round:
Jury members for this round were Irish harpist, teacher and composer, Anne-Marie O’Farrell, Boston-based jazz harpist Charles Overton, and Eduardo Diazmuõz, a Mexican-Spanish-American conductor, composer and educator.
Candidates
Lise Vandersmissen, Belgium
Michelle Sweegers, Netherlands
Stef Van Vynckt, Belgium
Katilyne Roels, Belgium
Océane Minder, Switzerland
Sylvana Labeyrie, France
Alma Klemm, Germany
María Cristina De la Rosa, Mexico
Amelia Romano, USA
Emma Thomazeau, France
Liucile Vilimaite, Lithuania
Zoe Vandermeer, USA
Kevin Le Pennec, France
Dafne Paris, Netherlands
Katia Mestrovic, Australia
Eloïse Fares, France
Anabel Gutierrez Orraca, Cuba
Shu Hsin Chen, Taiwan
Ruth Lee, UK
Héloïse Carlean Jones, France
Amy Nam, USA
Alexander Thomas, UK
Fiona Rutherford, UK
Llywelyn Ifan Jones, UK
Ariel Sol, 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
The Competition
Over four rounds, candidates of the World Harp Competition compete to win the hearts of the jury and ultimately the grand prize. The competition begins with a recorded Preliminary Round, followed by the Video Round, and culminating in the live Semifinals and Finals at the Dutch Harp Festival. During the Video Round, the Scouting Jury screens 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 in Utrecht, the Netherlands. In the their journey through the competition rounds, candidates are challenged like never before to perform only at a world-class level of excellence but also in their own unique artistic voice. Watch our video coverage of the 2018 Regional Rounds to see how the World Harp Competition is making a bold break from tradition.
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