Following an online event last year, this year’s Dutch Harp Festival (DHF) will be held in person at the TivoliVredenburg Concert Hall in Utrecht May 7–8. Host and festival founder Remy van Kesteren has put together a lineup of harpists from around the world for the 7th edition of the DHF.
This year’s festival includes an emphasis on the origin of the harp. Attendees will follow the route that the harp took along the Nile region, with performances on several instruments similar to the harp. These include the Rwandan inanga (presented by its leading star Sophie Nzayisenga), the qanun, and the North African tambura, played by the famous Egyptian ensemble Mazaher.
Other performers include American harpist Mary Lattimore, along with Andrew Lawrence-King and his Harp Consort, specializing in Baroque music. Norwegian harpist Uno Vesje, winner of the 2021 DHF World Harp Competition, will also collaborate with a Norwegian women’s choir to perform his own composition about domestic violence.
The festival will also showcase laureates of the World Harp Competition, a foundational part of the DHF with the mission of promoting the newest generation of harp talents. In addition, the six semifinalists of this year’s competition will present their programs. During the closing gala, three finalists will compete for the grand prize. The jury will present their awards at the conclusion of the festival on May 8.
For more information, visit the festival’s website.
