The 2nd Helsinki Harp Festival 2023 will be held Aug. 31–Sept. 3 in the Helsinki Music Centre. The theme of this year’s festival is wellbeing. The lineup includes sound healing concerts, Pilates lessons, and ergonomic coaching by physiotherapists for harpists of all levels.
In addition to traditional masterclasses, jazz workshops, and electronic harp classes, the festival also highlights performances of Finnish and Scandinavian harp music, including a new commission from Uno Vesje. The festival says, “We look forward to hearing his music played by himself so much since his world famous Our Planet, Our Future was premiered in the 1st Helsinki Harp Festival 2020.”
Performers and presenters include Park Stickney, Sivan Magen, Isabelle Perrin, Isabel Moreton, Finland-based harpists, and others. The full lineup will be announced on the festival website later this spring.
Besides concerts and masterclasses, the festival also hosts two competitions. The Helsinki Harp Competition will take place Sept. 1–2 and is open to harpists of any nationality born 1995–2004. The Lilly Kajanus-Blenner Harp Competition will take place Sept. 2 and is open to harpists born 2004–2008 who are Finnish residents or citizens. Applications for both competitions are due May 15.
For more information, visit the Helsinki Harp Festival’s website.
