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- Jury Chairperson Biëlla Luttmer presents the award to Emmanuel Padilla Holguín
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- First Prize winner Emmanuel Padilla Holguín
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- The finalists take a bow following the triple concerto.
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- Artistic Director Remy van Kesteren
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- Second Prize winner Jean-Baptiste Haye
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- The three finalists perform the improvisatory triple concerto “Rembrandt Frerichs.” (photo: Elise Kalkhoven)
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- Third Prize winner Giulia Ott
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- Business Director Gert Wijnalda and Competition Director Elizabeth Jaxon greet the audience.
Update: Oct 16
Emmanuel Padilla Holguín has emerged as the First Prize winner in the 2016 Dutch Harp Competition. He also received the Audience Award, determined by ballot vote of audience members. Jean-Baptiste Haye took Second Prize, and Giulia Ott received Third Prize. The three finalists performed a program that included the Handel Concerto in B-flat with original cadenza, a free choice “encore,” and the joint triple improvisatory concerto Rembrandt Frerichs, composed specifically for the event.
Padilla Holguín’s First prize includes €5,000, plus the competition’s Career Development Program of management, coaching, and performance tours. Second Prize is €2,500; Third Prize is €1,500; and Audience Award is €1,500.
The 2016 Dutch Harp Festival jury included:
Chairperson: Biëlla Luttmer, music journalist
Pieter Alferink, talent scout
Bernadeta Astari, singer
Peter van der Heyden, producer
Skaila Kanga, harpist
Miriam Overlach, harpist
Anna Verkholantseva, harpist
For more information about the Dutch Harp Festival and Competition visit harpfestival.nl/competition
Update: Oct 14
The jury has chosen three finalists:
- Emmanuel Padilla Holguín
- Giulia Ott
- Jean-Baptiste Haye
Update: Oct 13
The results are in, and the semifinalists have been announced! Here is the list of candidates who will play tomorrow on October 14th, in the order of performance.
- Miriam Ruf
- Kana Onishi
- Emmanuel Padilla Holguín
- Aurélie Bouchard
- Nick Scholten
- Giulia Ott
- Beate Loonstra
- Jean-Baptiste Haye
Each candidate will perform a 45 minute free-choice program, on a theme of their own creation.
Update: Oct 12
Today was the first day of the quarter finals, and now that the competition has begun, the jury has been announced.
- Chairperson: Biëlla Luttmer, music journalist
- Pieter Alferink, talent scout
- Bernadeta Astari, singer
- Peter van der Heyden, producer
- Skaila Kanga, harpist
- Miriam Overlach, harpist
- Anna Verkholantseva, harpist
Working alongside the jury, the legal committee of the competition oversees the voting rounds and ensures that the competition runs smoothly.
- Maartje Mathijsen-Molenkamp, official
- Hetty van der Veen, secretary to the jury
- Elizabeth Jaxon, competition director
Update: Oct 11
The candidates are arriving today! This year’s list of participants includes the following talented harpists from around the world:
- Sophie Baird-Daniel, USA
- Juliana Lillie Beckel, USA
- Aurélie Bouchard, France
- Héloïse Carlean-Jones, France/South Africa
- Juliette Commeaux, France
- Vanja Contu, Italy
- Jean-Baptiste Haye, France
- Heather Hills, USA
- Chen-Yu Huang, Taiwan
- Chu-Heng Liao, Taiwan
- Beate Loonstra, Netherlands
- Rosanna Moore, UK
- Kana Onishi, Japan
- Giulia Ott, Switzerland
- Lior Ouziel, Israel
- Emmanuel Padilla Holguín, Mexico
- Rosanna Rolton, UK/Netherlands
- Miriam Ruf, Germany
- Juri Saito, Japan
- Nick Scholten, Netherlands
- Diane Segard, France
- Michelle Sweegers, Netherlands
Tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m., the competition begins, starting with the quarterfinal round, and the names of the jury members will be revealed.
Update: Oct 10
The first shipment of harps has just arrived at the competition venue all the way from Italy. Salvi and Lyon & Healy have provided three harps each. A shipment of Camac harps from France is scheduled for tomorrow morning. At the Dutch Harp Competition, each competitor must play on one of three official competition harps – one from each of these makers. They are not permitted to perform on their personal instruments, which creates an equal playing field for everyone.
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The Dutch Harp Competition is a three-stage international competition that runs alongside the Dutch Harp Festival. It is taking place now for the fourth time in the city of Utrecht, the Netherlands, October 12–16, 2016. Twenty-seven candidates from around the world will compete for a total of € 10,000 in prize money, and the winner will receive the personally tailored “CCC Career Development Program.” Past winners of the competition have been Noël Wan, USA (2010); Amandine Carbuccia, France (2012); and Juliana Myslov, UK (2014). The members of the jury will be announced once the competition has begun. In the first round, starting on October 12th, the jury will listen from behind a screen, and the competitors must each perform Sequenza II by Luciano Berio and a free-choice work of maximum six minutes.
For more details, visit the Official Competition Website
