Juan Corbalán of Paraguay is the first prize winner of the 2022 World Harp Competition, held May 7–8 in conjunction with the Dutch Harp Festival in Utrecht, The Netherlands. Julie Rokseth of Norway is the recipient of the second prize and the audience award. Maria Sá Silva of Portugal is the third prize winner.
The World Harp Competition offers contestants the opportunity to design their own artistic programs. Corbalán’s winning program, titled “South American Journey,” was designed to allow the folk instrument of Paraguay, the harp, to shine by expanding its musical landscape. His repertoire combined elements of traditional Paraguayan rhythms, native Guaraní sounds, other Latin American music, and jazz influences. Rokseth’s program was a tribute to her grandfather, who tragically lost his life at sea, and her grandmother who was left behind. Sá Silva celebrated her Portuguese and Spanish music heritage through classical pieces and new transcriptions of Portuguese guitar music.
To read more about the performers and their programs, visit the competition website. Learn more about Rokseth’s program, based on her three-album series ENE with her brother Andreas on bandoneon, in our review of the first CD in the series.
