Semifinals
April 16th and 17th in TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht
Francesca Campo, Italy
Francesca Campo, harpist and music researcher, blends tradition and innovation, carrying a deep cultural heritage rooted in Sicily. Born in Pavia and raised in Verona by Sicilian parents, she studied harp at the conservatories of Verona and Turin, earning a Master at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague with Ernestine Stoop and Sylvain Blasel. Her research explores Southern Italian music, focusing on Sicily’s cultural and historical heritage. Through projects like Eco dal Popolo, Francesca gives voice to forgotten stories, connecting past and present, North and South, and sharing Sicilian music with audiences worldwide, creating bridges between memory, identity, and the future.
Eco dal Popolo
This program aims to share the identity of Southern Italy with the world through music. It revives a forgotten Southern Italian harp tradition, bringing composers like Francesco Bellotta back to light and presenting romantic works from Neapolitan and Sicilian repertoire inspired by folk melodies and opera themes. At its core stands Sikelia, a newly commissioned work developed during my research. Written by three composers for harp and diverse ensembles, it reflects the richness of Sicilian culture through their vision and my own.
Esther Sévérac, France/Germany
Esther Sévérac studied classical harp at the Hochschule für Musik Basel Switzerland with renowned harpist Prof. Sarah O’Brien. She soon took her instrument to the Jazz Campus Basel where she would study with renowned jazz masters while simultaneously continuing her classical education. She lives in Basel and is mainly active in the field of improvised music, where she is one of Switzerland’s most demanded harpists. She also teaches students of all ages in Basel in her own harp studio. Since 2022, she is teaching harp didactics at the Hochschule für Musik Basel. She released her solo debut album with her own compositions for harp and electronics in 2023.
Work Witch!
Esther’s original programme “Work Witch!” overcomes the harp cliché: more wicked and less angelic. She shifts between reality and fantasy by focusing on the horror of the witch hunts (“Catillon”) or on imaginary characters (“Baba Yaga”). Her music is composed, improvised and combined to digital live effects. A dark, light, funny, scary journey, always inspired by old and new stories.
Victims of witch hunts were very often women. They were deviating from society’s norms or from traditional gender roles. Attitudes that led to witch hunts haven’t disappeared in our modern world. This music is a reminder to fight for equal rights and to to continue to make art more fiercely than ever before.
Veronika Lemishenko, Ukraine
Veronika Lemishenko is an international harpist from Ukraine. She is the artistic director of the “Glowing Harp” competition and festival (Ukraine), a prizewinner of international harp competitions in Europe and Asia, the principal harpist of the Croatian National Theater in Osijek (Croatia), and an international visiting tutor at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (England).
Veronika is a guest artist and jury member at international music festivals and competitions. She performs as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player across Europe, Asia, and the USA. She promotes Ukrainian culture worldwide and supports young Ukrainian harpists through her charitable foundation.
Words, Sounds, Thoughts
The program features works by contemporary female harpist-composers, each carrying a profound social message. Through music, it explores themes of psychological pressure, the restriction of rights, humanity’s reconnection with nature, the impact of lockdowns, the realities of war, and deep reflections on love, death, and eternity.
Tara Viscardi, Ireland
Hailing from the Beara Peninsula in the South West of Ireland, Tara Viscardi performs on baroque, traditional Irish and classical harps. Praised for her music being ‘exquisitely performed’ (The Times), Tara is Associate Artist with the Irish Baroque Orchestra for 2025, having been a 2024 UK Harp Association Emerging Artist and first prize winner of the 2021 London Camac Harp Competition. She has featured on BBC and RTÉ radio and performed at venues including Wigmore Hall, St John’s Smith Square, Cadogan Hall, the Irish Embassy, No. 10 Downing Street, Canterbury Cathedral, Shakespeare’s Globe, Dublin Castle and the National Concert Hall, Dublin. She launched her debut album Beara in 2024.
Women of the Waters
This programme will explore my original compositions for the Irish traditional harp, sometimes accompanied by voice, inspired by my homeplace of the Beara Peninsula, alongside baroque music by Venetian female composers Barbara
Strozzi and Anna Bon di Venezia, which I have arranged for the Italian triple harp. The Beara Peninsula is surrounded by the wild Atlantic Ocean, with the rugged landscape and local folklore, such as that of the legend of Princess Beara, being a huge influence on my work. The unique setting of Venice, also surrounded by water in a lagoon on the Adriatic Sea, would have inspired Strozzi and Bon, and it is a privilege to explore and give new voice to the work of these incredible composers on the Italian baroque triple harp.
Anna Dunlap, USA
Principal harpist of the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra (AL), Anna Dunlap feels equally at home in the orchestra as she does performing contemporary music. She has performed as a substitute harpist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. As a founding member of the New Downbeat collective, Anna regularly performs chamber music and solo pieces written by up-and-coming composers. A recent graduate of the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music with her DMA, Anna’s primary teachers include Dr. Gillian Benet Sella and Professor Kathleen Bride of the Eastman School of Music.
Out of Darkness, Into Light
Take a moment during this program to reflect on how to look for the light in dark and difficult times. Each piece explores themes of hope, comfort, and courage to guide the listener’s experience.
Let’s seek inspiration from Kheiron by facing “fears and wounds…to make light shine.”
Let’s seek out our inconvenient wounds for these provide opportunities to find “threads of hope.”
And let’s recognize it does us “good to do what is difficult,” as stated by Van Gogh, the inspiration for and then at night I paint the stars…
Searching for hope may initially feel futile. Yet as we learn to find light, may it be easier and more scintillating to notice, facing each hard moment with hope and love.
María Cristina de la Rosa Peralta, Mexico
Cristy De la Rosa, harpist from Xalapa, Veracruz. At 14, she debuted as soloist with the Xalapa Symphony Orchestra. Since 2015, she has performed across Mexico and Latin America, with her works played by harpists worldwide. She appeared at Carnegie Hall in 2017 and 2019 through American Protégé. Holding a Master’s in Artistic Production and Cultural Marketing, she founded a civil association for harpists. Her projects include two books of her compositions, the album Arpa Mía, and the Suite for Jarocho Harp and Orchestra, aiming to place this instrument in Mexico’s concert tradition.
The Jarocho Harp of Veracruz
The Jarocho Harp of Veracruz is an immersive concert that celebrates Mexico’s musical heritage through Cristy De la Rosa. Rooted in the tradition of son jarocho—a blend of Indigenous, Spanish, and African influences—the Jarocho Harp stands at the heart of Veracruz’s identity, both melodic and percussive. This concert presents traditional music and Cristy’s compositions, weaving history, culture, and personal reflection into a unique experience. The music is highlighted with visuals and storytelling, offering audiences a journey into the soul of Veracruz and the enduring legacy of the Jarocho Harp.
Lise Vandersmissen, Belgium
Lise Vandersmissen graduated with Distinction from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London. She was invited for a Fellowship, where she was awarded the Guildhall Harp Prize. She won First Prize at the Slovenian Harp Competition, Second Prize at the Szeged Competition and Second Prize at the London Camac Competition. Lise’s highlights on the Italian Triple Harp include performing the Händel Concerto at the London Händel Festival, being Artist in Residence at the Intra Muros Festival and performing at the MA Festival. Lise released her album TRE last year with Etcetera Records, consisting of solo triple harp music.
Lise lives with her harps on her blue canal boat in London.
Triple Harp Time
My programme reintroduces the Italian Triple Harp as a solo instrument. It combines early and contemporary music: old and new intertwined. Triple Harp Time features one of the earliest solo pieces ever written for the Italian Triple Harp (Trabaci), and takes the listener on a journey through Baroque suites by Händel and Purcell all the way to the present day with two new commissions. Sun Keting was inspired by Qu Yuan’s ancient Chinese poem “Ode to the Tangerine” which celebrates stillness. Sasha Scott wrote for electronics and triple harp.
Uncovered is influenced by folk and early music, and includes ankle bells.
Triple Harp Time bridges the gap between the Baroque and 2025.
Gabriella Jones, UK
Gabriella Jones, 4th prize-winner at the 2023 Hong Kong International Harp Competition and former Park Lane Group Young Artist, made her solo debut at Wigmore Hall and the Southbank Centre. A former student of Gabriella Dall’Olio at Trinity Laban Conservatoire, she gave sold-out performances at St Martin-in-the-Fields and Westminster Abbey while completing her Master’s studies. Committed to contemporary repertoire and amplifying underrepresented voices, she has premiered works by Judith Weir and Deborah Pritchard. Current projects include collaborations with visual artists, dancers, a reconceptualisation of Stockhausen’s Freude, and a digital reimagining of Benjamin Rimmer’s Rise.
[UN]Love
[UN]Love is a 45-minute performance placing the harp at the centre of a dialogue between dance, film, and movement. With contemporary ballet dancer Alice Oakley Jones, we will explore the body of the harpist as choreography: gestures mirrored, distorted, and interrupted; sign language woven into rhythm; and physical theatre in direct response to sound. Inspired by female composers, this work reclaims the female narrative of love, challenging traditions shaped by male voices and inviting audiences into a performance that is intimate, defiant, and an opportunity to experience love in its most fragile, unsettling, and transformative forms.
Motoshi Kosako, Japan
Motoshi Kosako: Harpist, Composer, Improviser
Born in Matsuyama, Japan, Motoshi Kosako is an internationally acclaimed harpist and composer known for pioneering jazz and improvisation on the harp. Originally a jazz guitarist, he moved to the U.S. in 1997, quickly mastering the harp and later serving as principal harpist with the Stockton Symphony. He won 2nd place at the Lyon & Healy International Jazz & Pop Harp Competition in 2007 and has performed worldwide at the World Harp Congress, Rio Harp Festival, and more. With 15 albums to date, Kosako continues to inspire with his transformative performances and teachings.
Harp Explorer ~ The art of solo harp
Harp Explorer is my journey to push the solo acoustic pedal harp beyond classical roots into jazz, blues, and improvisation. Originally a jazz guitarist, I set out to make the harp swing with authentic phrasing, bend blue notes, and drive complex rhythms while honoring its resonance. Most of the pieces are my own, written to show the harp’s full potential as melodic, harmonic, and percussive. Using extended pedals, guitar-like strumming, and new fingering methods, I create true jazz voicings and improvisations drawn from jazz, blues, and world traditions. Harp Explorer is both a personal statement and an invitation to hear the harp transformed.
Léna Jallon, France/Switzerland
Léna Jallon began her studies with a master’s degree in sound engineering at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. After that, she moved to Lucerne in Switzerland to devote herself to the harp and study with Anne Bassand, with whom she is currently pursuing a master’s degree in orchestral performance. Attracted by novelty and interested in contemporary music, she enjoys collaborating with composers on the creation of new pieces. Léna is particularly interested in electroacoustic music, which allows her to combine her skills as a harpist and sound engineer. She regularly collaborates with composer Capucine Seuret. Léna receives support from the Rahn Foundation.
Deep Inside
Deep Inside is a musical project born out of my desire to combine my harp skills with the world of electronic sound creation. This piece for solo harp and live electronics is the result of a collaboration with the composer Capucine Seuret. Deep Inside is an introspective exploration, an emotional narrative in three different parts. Each of these three soundscapes invites sensory, introspective and meditative listening. This piece also offers a journey into the heart of sound: the electronic part is composed of both pre-recorded tracks and live processing on the harp. These two elements are mixed and broadcast on speakers placed around the audience, creating a feeling of full immersion.
Sujata Chapelain, France
Sujata Chapelain is a French harpist dedicated to pursuing her art in all its diversity and nurturing her passion for cross-disciplinary projects. She performs in a deeply connected duo with her sister, flautist Minaya, united by a shared sensitivity and curiosity for discovery. Currently completing a Master’s degree at the Paris Conservatory (CNSMDP), they explore repertoire for their ensemble while challenging its expected sonorities through transcriptions, contemporary works, and traditional music. In 2024 they won First Prize at the Léopold Bellan International Competition, and in 2025 were laureates at the FNAPEC European Chamber Music Competition.
Listening to remember
This programme explores the role of music in the camps during the Second World War, its liberating or oppressive power, from an instrument of torture to an act of resistance. Demanding works are presented with sensitivity by two sisters, great-granddaughters of a survivor of deportation, who express their urge in addressing the question of the duty to remember. Their artistic approach, humbly respectful of the words of survivors, is a contemporary quest into how the younger generation can take on the duty of remembrance. This duo seeks to push beyond the expected sonorities of harp and flute through arrangement and the creation of an original piece of music.
Renee Qin, Canada
Renée Qin is a Canadian harpist, composer, and multimedia artist whose work bridges classical tradition and emerging technologies. She holds a B.A. in Music and Economics from Stanford, as well as pursuing a Master’s in Computer Science, and is an Artist Diploma fellow at OAcademy. In 2025, she completed an artist residency with the Orchestra of the Americas in Mexico. Renée has been named one of CBC’s “30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30” in 2024. She creates interdisciplinary concert experiences that merge harp performance with electronic soundscapes, audiovisual design, and interactive systems, reimagining the expressive and collaborative potential of the instrument.
Beneath the Waves, Beyond the Stars
What lies beyond the tide’s last whisper and the first shimmer of the night sky? Beneath the Waves, Beyond the Stars reimagines the harp as a living dialogue between performer, audience, and technology. Through multimedia and human–computer interaction, light becomes sound, water becomes an instrument, and listeners become co-creators. The performance dissolves boundaries between sound and vision. Music is heard, seen, and felt. Sound and image breathe in real time, echoing our fragile bonds with nature and the cosmos. Whale calls, shifting depths, auroras fading into starlight. The hall becomes an immersive canvas, where listening turns to seeing, and seeing becomes remembering.
Anna Amigó, Spain
Anna is a multi-instrumentalist and composer. In 2009 she enrolled to harp lessons in Brussels for 1.5 years. She continued studying on her own and attending to different harp workshops with harpists such as W Stewart, JM Ribelles, R Romaní, A Savall. With her group Formiga and Cigale, Anna took part at the Rencontres IH in Dinan and at Noia Harp Fest. She returned to this festival in 2022 to present a first stage of her own solo project, based on Catalan traditional music. In 2025 she released her solo album: Sang de Dona, 28th at the WMCE August ranking. She plays in diversity and unique spaces around Europe. In 2024 she was awarded with the composition price SGAE-Cases Música.
Sang de Dona (from Catalan, “Women’s Blood”)
Anna has been digging deep into the Catalan folk song book to present ‘Sang de Dona’: themes of women’s empowerment, matrilineality and women’s daily trials and tribulations. She masterfully transforms the traditional, repetitive songs into modern, gripping story telling full of emotion, drama and excitement. Musically, both Anna’s clear voice and unconventional way of playing the harp, sometimes calm and melodic, other times tumultuous or apotheotic, reinforce the story lines and charge the songs with emotion. The created atmospheres are emphasized even more by using diverse techniques on the harp, bringing these resilient female protagonists to life and empowering them.
